By Rob Potter
JEFFERSONVILLE — May 18, 2010 — There was plenty of offense in Saturday’s non-league baseball game at the Lions’ Field in Jeffersonville.
The Sullivan West Bulldogs hit two home runs and scored in every inning but one as they defeated the visiting Walton Warriors, 17-10.
SW (12-5) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. With out out, Jeremy DeGori hit a double off the fence in left field to score Lucas Bauer and Mark Tesseyman.
In the bottom of the second, Tesseyman hit a two-run double and then scored on DeGori’s single to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 5-0.
SW took a commanding 12-0 advantage by scoring seven runs in the bottom of the third.
With the bases loaded and one out, Bauer singled to right field to bring Justin Zaccari across home plate. Ryan Alsdorf then blasted a pitch from Walton’s Dustin VanValkenburg over the fence in left-center field for a grand slam home run.
The Bulldogs quickly loaded the bases again. Tesseyman and DeGori scored when Zaccari and Mike Pierce drew walks.
Walton (12-6) got on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth as VanValkenburg crossed the plate on an error.
But the Bulldogs responded with three runs in the bottom of the fourth to push their advantage to 15-1.
Mike Durkin scored when VanValkenburg was called for a balk and Tesseyman belted a two-run homer over the right field fence.
The Warriors made it a 15-4 game by scoring three runs in the top of the fifth. Phil Gladstone and Patrick Decker scored on a single by Phil Hanley and Steve Kaminsky crossed the plate when VanValkenburg reached base on a fielder’s choice.
After holding the Bulldogs scoreless in the bottom of the fifth, Walton cut its deficit to 15-9 in the top of the sixth. Hanley hit a two-run single, Dan Bowker had an RBI single, Tyler Magnis scored when Bryant Mead walked and Hanley scored on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Baxley. SW center fielder Durkin prevented the Warriors from scoring more runs when he made a terrific diving catch of Baxley’s sacrifice fly.
SW scored its last two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Alsdorf scored on a single by DeGori and Tesseyman scored on an error.
Faced with a 17-9 deficit, Walton tried to rally in the top of the seventh. With one out, Isaac Wacha and Hanley hit back-to-back singles. After SW pitcher Alsdorf recorded a strikeout, Mead singled to center field to bring Wacha in to score.
With two runners on base, Alsdorf struck out the next batter to end the game.
“We have had four games in three days this week,” Walton Coach Gary Backus said. “But that’s not the excuse. The excuse is that Sullivan West hit the ball very well today. They are a very good team.”
Backus noted that his team played better as the game progressed.
“I think we were still on the bus for the first couple of innings,” he said. “But once we scored a couple of runs, we played better and got into the game.
“We finished third in our division in the conference, but we scored the most runs of any team in the conference this season,” Backus added. “This was our last game before sectionals and I was hoping for a better tune-up for the sectionals.”
SW Coach Kurt Scheibe Jr. praised his team’s all-around performance in the game.
“In the fifth, we went down 1-2-3, but we scored in every other inning,” he said. “Ryan hit a grand slam and Mark had a home run. We hit the ball hard today.”
“Mike Durkin made a nice catch in center field,” Scheibe added. “[Starter] Mike Pierce pitched a nice game and the defense played very well behind him. I think we only made one error today.”