By Stephen Borgna
CORTLAND, N.Y. — The Sherrill Silversmiths swept a pair (6-0/7-0) from the Cortland Crush in New York Collegiate Baseball League action at Beaudry Park, Saturday evening.
The Silversmiths countered Cortland’s defense in both games with a steady offensive attack.
“In both games, it was really important to get a lead early. That’s something we talk about each game,” Sherrill Head Coach Greg Dombrowski said.
Sherrill did just that—grabbing a 1-0 lead in the first inning of game one after Kellen Brown (Florida Atlantic University) stole home on a passed ball. They did it again in game two by seizing a 4-0 lead early—again in the first inning.
Sherrill’s defense was also a deciding factor. The Silversmith’s defensive feats for the day included three double plays, and only four walks in 16 innings of play.
“I was really happy with the effort we got defensively today, and the effort we got on the mound.” Dombrowski said. “I was really happy with our pitchers going after the guys—just attacking the strike zone all day.”
Sherrill’s overall pitching for the day—which kept the Crush at bay in both games—was highlighted by David Wright (SUNY Oneonta). Wright threw a complete-game shutout in the opener.
“He did a great job today,” Dombrowski said. “He held his body together; he pounded the strike zone early in the count; a lot of early contact, which allowed him to get deep in the game and allow our defense to work well behind him.”
Wright threw 96 pitches, allowing only three hits.
“Mainly it was about establishing the fastball and trusting my movement on my fastball,” Wright said.
However, Wright credits the offensive efforts of his teammates with giving him and his fellow pitchers the confidence to perform at their best.
“It’s definitely important to get off to an early lead, to give our pitchers the confidence to just go out there and throw strikes,” Wright said.
In the evening’s doubleheader, the Crush found themselves back on their home turf following a string of cancellations due to bad weather.
“It’s been a long time,” Cortland head coach Yale Hughes said. “All we’ve been doing is waiting to play and practicing inside. I feel like its high school in the gym in March and it’s real frustrating. It’s good to be outside.”
The Crush took the opportunity to utilize most of their pitchers throughout both games.
“We pitched a lot of pitchers today,” Hughes said. “We wanted to see what they could do. They haven’t pitched in a while.”
The Crush used five in each game—a trend that paid off in the middle of the second contest. Beginning at the top of the fifth, a trio consisting of Daniel Karasinski (Concordia College), Terence Engels (St. John Fisher), and Tom Taplin (University of Buffalo), limited the Silversmiths to one hit, and no runs. They were aided by a solid infield defense that executed two double plays throughout the game.
Despite the day’s offensive shortcomings, Hughes said he’s happy to get the chance to play at Beaudry Park after a week of bad weather.
“It’s not great what we did offensively, but it’s good to get back out on the playing field again and play,” Hughes said.
The Crush (2-5) get a day off before taking on the Geneva Red Wings(5-5), Monday at Beaudry Park. A 7p.m. first pitch is scheduled.
Sherrill (8-4) sits atop the NYCBL’s Eastern Division and hosts Wellsville (3-7) 5 pm Sunday at Noyes Park.
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