By Rob Potter
JEFFERSONVILLE — Unfortunately for both the Sullivan West Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs, their appearances in the Section IX Class B Baseball and Softball Tournaments were very short-lived.
Both SW teams fell in opening round games on Tuesday afternoon in Jeffersonville.
At the Lions’ Field, the second-seeded Bulldogs were shut out by the seventh-seeded Onteora Indians, 9-0.
At Lauren Hughson Field, the fifth-seeded Pine Plains Lady Bombers defeated the Lady Bulldogs, 7-2.
Bulldog bats are quieted
Onteora (11-8) gave its starting pitcher, G.C. Yerry, an early 6-0 lead.
Yerry then stymied the Bulldogs by posting 14 strikeouts and allowing only two hits on his way to recording a complete-game victory.
The Indians’ offense gave Yerry three insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning.
With two outs and no one on base, Ryan Hastie struck out. But he safely reached first base when the ball was dropped by SW catcher Gaston Owen.
After Kofi Boundy singled to put runners at the corners, Finn Alvaro ripped a single to left field to score Hastie.
Boundy and Alvaro then stole third base and second base, respectively. They both scored when George Loizou singled up the middle.
But Loizou was thrown out at second by Owen while attempting to stretch his hit into a double.
SW (16-4) tried to avoid being shut out in the bottom of the seventh.
The first batter of the frame, Mark Tesseyman, blasted a double to deep center field. After an out was recorded, Austin Sauer walked to put runners on first and second.
But Yerry got a fly out and a strikeout to end the game.
Onteora Coach Scott Via gave a great deal of credit for his team’s triumph to Yerry, who improved his record to 7-2 on the season.
“He pitched a nice game today,” Via said. “He threw strikes and got ahead of the batters. He is just a great baseball player.”
Via also praised his team for capitalizing on the Bulldogs’ miscues.
“We were able to take advantage of their errors,” he said. “We also hit the ball very well.”
SW Coach Kurt Scheibe Jr. noted that his team “didn’t play Bulldog baseball today” and committed six errors.
“We made too many errors and they took advantage of them,” Scheibe said. “That was the difference in the ball game.”
While the Bulldogs’ season ended abruptly, Scheibe noted that there were many positives this spring. One of them was the fact that the team won the Orange
County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division IV title.
“This is one of the best groups of players I have ever been around,” Scheibe commented. “They always showed up and worked very hard. They always wanted to keep getting better.”
SW will lose five seniors – Logan Grishaber, Eric Minton, Gaston Owen, Brad Reimer and Harold Smith – to graduation later this month.
But Scheibe noted that the majority of the team will be returning next year. Ryan Alsdorf will be one of the pitchers Scheibe expects to fill the void in the Bulldogs’ starting rotation left by Grishaber and Reimer.
Two of the team’s other key players next season should be Lucas Bauer and Michael Durkin. The two sophomores spent a good part of the season on the squad after being called up from the junior varsity team.
Lady Bombers top
Lady Bulldogs
In the game at Lauren Hughson field, Pine Plains took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
SW (9-11) answered with a run in the bottom of the first, however.
Angela DiSanto singled to center field to begin the frame. She then moved to second base when Gabrielle Humleker laid down a sacrifice bunt.
DiSanto then scored on an error to bring the Lady Bulldogs within two runs.
Lindsay Bauer and Autumn Ackermann then hit consecutive singles. But Bauer was thrown out at third base to end the inning.
The Lady Bombers extended their advantage to 6-1 in the top of the second. With one out and the bases loaded, Sarah Lima hit a two-run single to left field.
Pine Plains then added a run on a groundout.
Lima led the Lady Bombers’ offense with three hits and those two RBIs.
Pine Plains pitcher Anna Woodward gave up seven hits and struck out two batters while earning the victory.
Bauer paced the Lady Bulldogs with two hits and an RBI.