By Ted Waddell
LOCH SHELDRAKE — July 31, 2007 — Good pitching helped the Sullivan Spartans defeat the Dutchess Dutchmen, 5-2, in Thursday evening’s Collegiate Baseball League (CBL) game at the Sullivan County Community College (SCCC) baseball field.
The outing pitted a couple of home team right-handed pitchers, Everett Saul and teammate Chris Armstrong, who relieved Saul in the top of the sixth, against the Dutchmen’s southpaw Chris Salumn, who hurled the entire game.
As Armstrong took over the pitching duties, Spartans Manager Jed Carrier yelled from the dugout, “Hum zing it!”
Armstrong recorded four strikeouts and gave up two runs in two innings of work.
In his five innings, Saul struck out nine, nicked one batter, walked one and yielded just one hit.
After a scoreless first inning, the Spartans scored four runs in the second.
Mickey Collins led off by getting hit by a pitch. Derek Blume walked. Matt Burns walked to load the bases for the first of two times during the frame. Burns was forced out at second base on a ground ball to third by Dave Luczyski.
As Burns was forced out and Luczyski reached first base, Collins scored the first run of the game.
Blume crossed the plate on a single and Luczyski scored on a walk to give the Spartans a 3-0 lead.
Sepluveda scored the final run of the inning on an error at second.
In the sixth, the Spartans scored a run to make it a 5-0 ball game.
With a couple of outs, Byron Haynes walked and stole second. He then scored on an infield single by B.J. Masopost.
The Dutchmen scored two runs in the top of the seventh.
In the wake of two straight singles off the bats of Mike Maldonado and Edgar Fernandez, Chris Salumn stroked a single to send Maldonado home.
A groundout and a throwing error by Sepluveda sent Fernandez across the plate.
With two men on base, Armstrong buckled down and struck out Connor Burke looking to close out the win for Saul.
Burns picked up three free passes to first base, ripped a triple, scored a run and stole a base.
Dutchess showed up a tad shorthanded, so 47-year-old manager Joe Salumn took over first base to field a nine-man team. Among Salumn’s teammates were his sons, Chris, on the pitcher’s mound, and Tom out in right field.
“I hadn’t played in 20 years,” Salumn said. “We have a great bunch of high schools kids and first-year college students.”
“Chris [Salumn] had a couple of issues, he walked some guys, but once he settled down he was fine,” added the Dutchess manager/player.
Notes: The Spartans faced the Dutchess Tigers in a CBL doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers prevailed in the first game, 6-1. But the Spartans won the second game, 6-5.
On Sunday afternoon, the Spartans began their best-of-three game CBL semifinal series against the top-seeded Wappingers Yankees at the SCCC field.
The Spartans held a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth when the game was suspended by rain.
A RBI single by the Spartans’ Devin Conroy in the fourth accounted for the only run to that point.
The suspended game is slated to be completed at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Robinson Lane Complex in Wappingers Falls with the Spartans being the home team.
Game 2 will be played after completion of the suspended game.
Game 3 of the series, if necessary, would be played at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in Wappingers Falls.