By Cameron Boon
WEBSTER, N.Y. — It was a day of firsts for the Rochester Ridgemen. First game of the season, first game coaching for Brady James, and first start at the collegiate level for Stephen Chandler (University of Arkansas-Little Rock). Add all three up, and it equals a win on opening day for the Rochester Ridgemen, the first since 2011.
Rochester got a solid six-inning outing from Chandler, who allowed two hits while striking out six, and a 2-for-4 day from leadoff man Trent Sullivan (Mid America Nazarene), as they went on to win 4-3 over the Sherrill Silversmiths at Basket Road Field on Sunday evening.
“I had a pretty good gameplan coming in and it depended on Chandler starting,” Rochester coach Brady James said. “He was effectively wild and it kept the hitters guessing.”
It was very effective for Chandler through his first three innings, as he faced nine Silversmith batters and retired them all. “It’s always a good day when you’re throwing at the knees,” Chandler said.
The streak ended when he struck out leadoff man Brian Baquer, but the pitch skipped to the backstop and Baquer reached first on the dropped third strike.
The Ridgemen were able to build an early lead by scoring one in the bottom of the first and two in the bottom of the third, and it was Sullivan scoring in both frames. “The lead was huge because now the pitchers can just put it in the zone and trust their defense instead of forcing themselves to make a pitch,” the center fielder said.
In the first, Sullivan scored off a Nick Wolyniec single to make it 1-0 for the home team.
Santana drove in Sullivan with a single in the third to make it 2-0.
Wolyniec would then get his second RBI of the game on a groundout that scored Zane Mapes (Kansas City CC) and that gave the Ridgemen a 3-0 lead.
Sherrill would then rally and it started with the dropped third strike, and after Ellington Hopkins (Monroe CC) reached on an error, the Silversmiths were in business with runners on first and second and nobody out.
The error by Will Bass (New Mexico JC) was one of two he had in the game, and one of six the teams combined for in a sloppy affair. “There were definitely a little bit of the first game jitters,” James said.
Kaden Shaffer was next up, and he drove both runners in with a double down the left field line, cutting Rochester’s lead to 3-2. “He (Chandler) was challenging everyone with fastballs all game and I was able to get my hands through on an inside one” Shaffer said.
This was the only big hit of the game for the Silversmiths in a game which they only mustered five, and Chandler played a big part in that.
“He did a great job attacking our hitters early in the count,” Silversmith coach Ben Grimm said.
Bass redeemed himself in the bottom of the sixth, driving in Holt Davis (UAB) with an RBI triple to the right-center field gap. This would prove to be the winning run, but at the time put the Ridgemen up 4-2.
Preston Williams replaced Chandler on the mound in the seventh, and after retiring his first batter, ran into some trouble. Justin Dattilo (University of Maryland-Eastern Shore) crushed a triple, and then scored on a wild pitch, cutting the Ridgemen lead back down to 4-3.
“You really have to square one up using wood,” Grimm said, and Dattilo did not seem to have a problem with that.
Brian Epstein (Clarendon College) came on for a scoreless eighth, and would hand the ball to Colton Roberts (Toccoa Falls College) for the save in the ninth.
That save did not come easy as the first two Silversmith batters reached base in the top of the inning. After Dattilo sacrificed the runners over, the situation was second and third with one out. Roberts stayed cool, calm, and collected, as he struck out the final two batters.
“It’s good for the guys to get their feet wet,” Grimm said, as Sherrill has now lost their last four games on opening day.
As for the Ridgemen, they broke a streak of two losses in a row in their first game of the season. “It’s nice to get the first win under our belt,” Chandler said.
“It makes it so you aren’t pressing out of the gates,” James added.
Grimm and the Silversmiths will look to right the ship on June 3rd as they travel to Syracuse to take on the Salt Cats, while James and the Ridgemen look to improve to 2-0 on the season and in James’ coaching career on June 2nd when they take on the Geneva Twins.
“To me, it’s way better than playing,” James said of the sideline experience.
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