By Rob Potter
JEFFERSONVILLE — The Sullivan West Bulldogs grabbed an early lead over the visiting Deposit Lumberjacks in Friday afternoon’s non-league baseball game at the Lions Field in Jeffersonville.
The Bulldogs added to their advantage on their way to an 11-4 victory.
Down 7-2 entering the fifth inning, Deposit (1-6) cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 7-3 as Derek Lenio scored on a passed ball.
SW (3-3) got that run back in the bottom of the fifth, however. E.J. Franskevicz led off with an infield single and scored when the next batter, Mike Pierce, doubled to left field.
Deposit, a Section IV Class D team, answered with a run in the top of the sixth. The first batter of the inning, Brett Merrill, reached base on an infield hit and proceeded to steal second base. After SW pitcher Richard Mirch recorded a strikeout and induced a groundout, Doug Raymond singled to left field, which allowed Merrill to cross home plate and make it an 8-4 game.
The Bulldogs added to their lead in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Ryan Alsdorf reached base on an error and Jeremy DeGori walked. Justin Zaccari singled to left field, which allowed Alsdorf to score.
Following the second out of the inning, pinch hitter James O’Connor, hit an infield single to put a runner on each base.
Pierce then singled to left field. DeGori and Zaccari both scored on the base hit to give the Bulldogs an 11-4 advantage.
Alsdorf then pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning.
Mirch earned the win for the Bulldogs. He pitched six innings, struck out seven and allowed just three hits.
“He did a nice job today,” SW Coach Kurt Scheibe Jr. said of Mirch, a junior right-hander. “He threw strikes and he changed speeds.”
Scheibe also praised the Bulldogs’ offense.
“Mike Pierce got a couple of good hits,” he said. “Justin Zaccari came up with a big hit in the bottom of the sixth.”
Zaccari had another RBI single earlier in the game. DeGori and Franskevicz each had two RBIs.
“SW has some very good hitters and they got good at-bats today,” Deposit Coach Tom Halbert said. “We had about five errors.”
Halbert noted that he has a relatively young team. The Lumberjacks’ roster includes two seniors, five juniors and four freshmen. The seniors are Merrill and James Atherlay.
“Our record is 1 and 6 right now, but we could be 4 and 3,” Halbert said. “We’re looking to keep improving as the season continues.”