By Lori Brown
LIBERTY — July 31, 2010 — On Monday Mortons Recycling (5-8) took on Ratner and Son Paving (8-6) in an Liberty Slo-Pitch Softball League A Division game. The game was tied up from the end of the third until the beginning of the sixth inning when Mortons paved their way to victory with a final score of 17-10.
Mortons’ lead off batter, Jaryl Scott started the game off with a solo home run. Andy Garigliano continued in his footsteps as he also slammed a home run, scoring Paul Reifenheiser to give his team an early 3-0 lead.
Mortons continued to pile on the runs during the second. The players were aggressive on the bases scoring four runs from singles as Nick Vezquez, Ed Porter, Andy Porter, and Brandon Katz (pitch running for Bill Helms) crossed the plate .
Ratner closed the gap in the bottom of the frame with three runs. With two outs, Jeff Yaun hit a single and went all the way to third on an error, scoring Mike Juron and Steve Rogg. Dan Ricco then singled to score Yaun and make the score 7-3.
In the top of the third Mortons got doubles from Brandon Katz and Nick Vezquez, but Ratner prevented any runs with some great defense.
The home team tied the game 7-7 at the end of the third. Frank Scuderi started the inning off with a single and Mitch Juron drove him in with a double. Mike Juron’s three-run blast over the left field fence scored brother Mitch and Jim Piontek to knot the score.
The ball game remained tied throughout the fourth and fifth inning as both teams played good defense, but in the sixth, Mortons tacked on nine runs to pull away .
A combination of errors and hits earned Mortons five runs before any outs were recorded. Nick Vezquez started the inning off with a double and came home due to an overthrow at first. Bo Murphy hit a double and scored two teammates. Brandon Katz slammed an inside the park home run to score teammates Bo Murphy and Andy Garigliano and give their team a 16-7 lead.
In the top of the seventh, Joe Bertholf hit a double and Bo Murphy slammed an RBI single to close out Morton’s scoring.
Ratner and Son Paving had last licks, but was unable to come back from such a deficit. Mike Mulligan slammed a triple and came home due to an error. With bases loaded, Jim Piontek hit a single, bringing home one. Mike Juron had a sacrifice RBI to end the scoring.
Mortons Recycling Player/
Coach Andy Garigliano said, “We knew we could hit the ball. Our defense picked up our hitting to bring a win together for Danny Fraser, our pitcher.”
“Our power hitting came together. Big early home runs from Jaryl Scott and Andy Garigliano set the tone early,” added Bo Murphy.