By Ted Waddell
JEFFERSONVILLE — May 25, 2007 – The host Bulldogs of Sullivan West defeated the Monticello Panthers, 16-3, in Tuesday’s non-league baseball game at Lion’s Field.
Following the win, SW (10-6) geared up for its final game of the regular season – a non-league contest scheduled for yesterday afternoon at Port Jervis.
For the Panthers (1-14) it was a curtain call, as it was their final game of the year in a season that was overshadowed by the tragic, untimely death of veteran coach John Spear, who was killed in a motor vehicle accident back on January 19 of this year.
Both teams sent three pitchers to the mound in Tuesday’s game. The SW pitchers were Logan Grishaber, Chris Freebes and Mark Tesseyman, who hurled his first game of the year. The Monticello pitchers included Andrew Moss, Mike Hughes and John Lacey.
The Panthers scored one run in the top of the first, while the home team answered with four.
At their turn at bat in the second, the Bulldogs sent six runners across the plate to take a 10-1 advantage.
In the bottom of the sixth, SW scored six runs.
Monticello closed out the game’s scoring with two runs in the top of the seventh.
Big hits for SW included doubles by Chris Story in the first and in the sixth innings and doubles by Brad Reimer and Gaston Owen. Chris Story had a team high four RBIs in the game, while Logan Grishaber and Chris Freebes each added three RBIs for the Bulldogs.
Monticello’s Hughes ripped a triple in the third inning.
“We didn’t play as well as we should have, and they played a good game,” Monticello Coach Rob Keesler said.
Asked how the death of John Spears affected the team, Keesler replied, “It impacted everybody. It was a terrible situation… it was tough on everybody.”
His take on the season and next year?
“Hopefully we’ll get some enthusiasm from some younger guys coming up,” Keesler said. “We’ll work on it next year. I’ve learned a lot and we’ll take a step in the right direction.”
SW Coach Kurt Scheibe Jr. summed up the game succinctly.
“We started out a little sluggish in the first [inning], but in the second we scored a bunch of runs,” he said.
When asked about the Port Jervis game and any possible postseason play, Scheibe said, “We’ll take it one game at a time and see what happens.”