By Ted Waddell
ELDRED — April 27, 2007 — Looking at the bright side of things, at least it wasn’t a shutout.
But no matter how you cut it, getting stung by 15 runs has gotta hurt.
In Monday’s non-league baseball game between the host Eldred Yellowjackets and Tornadoes of Tuxedo, the visitors took the wind out of the home team’s sails, 16-1.
Tuxedo (3-2) scored two runs in the first as Garrett Gallagher had a two-run single.
In the top of the second, the Tornadoes added two more runs, and in the third racked up four more to take a 8-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third, the Yellowjackets avoided being shut out. Phil Talley led off with a single, which was followed by three walks, the third of which sent him across the plate.
Tuxedo’s big inning was the fourth. The team scored six runs in the frame, with the key hit being a three-run homer by John Cernuto.
The game remained scoreless until the sixth when the visitors added a couple of more runs to their tally.
“I think our players came out and executed the things that we needed to work on,” said Tuxedo Coach Marco Margotta, who is in his 10th year at the helm.
Margotta considers the fundamentals to be things like two- strike hitting, baserunning and putting the ball into play.
“We’re just trying to polish up things like pitchers getting ahead in the count, throwing the speed stuff when they need to,” he added.
With only four games under their belts, it’s still early in the season. But Margotta had a few words to say about the 2007 baseball season.
“I’m looking for us to come together a little more as a team, getting more experience with our pitchers,” he said. “We haven’t had a lot of innings this year.”
Eric Mondschein earned the win for Tuxedo.
He was relieved on the mound by Ryan Gallagher in the fifth inning.
Catching duties were shared by Ryan Gallagher (four innings) and Jimmy Lynch (three innings).
Eldred (0-4) used two of its stable of six pitchers. Phil Talley, the team’s only senior, was tagged with the loss. He was spelled by Chris Mehedin in the fifth.
The Yellowjacket catchers were Ian Holloran and Aaron Smith.
Eldred Coach Frank Kean has been around the block a few times, as this is his 34th season at the varsity helm.
“We started out walking several batters,” he said.
“Tuxedo is a strong team, and we’re a little [Class] D [school] with four freshmen out there, so you’re going to suffer for a year until they get some experience behind them,” Kean continued.
“I’m trying to bring young kids up to play at a varsity level.”