By MIKAEL DeSANTO
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Harry Montero Jr. (Bloomfield College) went 3-for-4 with four runs batted in and a run scored in the Wellsville Nitros 12-7 win over the Rochester Ridgemen in New York Collegiate Baseball league action Saturday night at Basket Road Field.
“I thought we swung the bat well,” Montero Jr. said. “Mike (DEletto) came out, and he adjusted throughout the innings, went deep and saved our bullpen.”
Nitros assistant coach Franklin Bush said his team executed their game plan well, despite the good play of the Ridgemen.
“We came out here and we did what we expected to do, that’s a good team on the other side there and we give credit to them,” Bush said. “They pitched the ball well, they hit the ball well, they just happened to hit the ball at people; when we got runners in scoring position we were able to score them, that was the most important thing of the night.”
The Ridgemen sent Reagan Lucia (Lubbock Christian University) to the mound for his eighth start of the season while Mike DEletto (Central Methodist University) started for the Nitros, his fourth start of the year . Lucia threw five and one third innings, giving up 10 runs (nine earned) on ten hits and five walks, while striking out two.
“I just kind of settled in, used the defense,” Lucia said. “We went for a couple innings, then they just started finding the barrels with the bat.”
DEletto pitched seven innings, surrendering four runs on seven hits and five walks, and struck out six batters.
“I was a little shaky at first, but I got stronger as the night went on,” DEletto said. “I battled through and the guys helped me with run support, so well done by the team.”
The Nitros opened the scoring in the first inning by scoring four runs. Tyler Culpepper (Roane State Community College) started the game by drawing a walk, coming around to score on a triple by Nicolas Varda (Ashland University). Max Franzone (Dominican College) immediately followed with a walk of his own, setting up a two run double by Montero Jr. The final run of the inning came when Jacob Means (Cowley College) doubled, driving in Montero Jr. from third.
“Actually I got pretty lucky with that one,” Means said. “I hit a chopper over to the third baseman, but I knew that it got over his head, so I really hustled for that double, thought I earned that one, it was big to have an RBI for that too.”
The Ridgemen responded in the bottom of the first with two runs, cutting the lead to 4-2. They loaded the bases on walks to Devin Cerrato (Covenant College) and Ethan Luna (Southwestern University). Joe Done (Skagit Valley College) followed with a single. Matt Jackson (Reinhardt College) delivered a single of his own to bring home Cerrato and Luna.
“Historically they’ve pitched me nothing but away, so I was just dead set on away pitches,” Jackson said. “I got a couple pitches right away and I was able to put them straight up the middle, glad the people on base got to score.”
The Nitros added runs in the third and fourth innings to try and bolster their lead. In the third, Franzone hit a solo home run to centerfield, just the second home run to escape the park this season at Basket Road Field. The run in the fourth came when Culpepper hit a sacrifice fly out, allowing Cole Tracy (Finger Lakes Community College), who had singled earlier and moved to second on a single by Michael McNicholl (Eastern New Mexico University), to score.
“I just was not trying to do too much, trying to get a fastball, work ahead early in the count,” Franzone said. “I got in a good hitter’s count early, I just kind of hit a mistake with two strikes, I got a good pitch to hit and I just put a good swing on it.”
However, the Ridgemen countered with runs of their own in the third and fourth. Luna walked and Done was hit by a pitch in the third, allowing Jackson to pick up another RBI single, scoring Luna. In the fourth, Brooks Pitaniello (Harding University) doubled and advanced to third when Danny Molinari (De Anza College) singled, which Cerrato capitalized on with a run scoring single.
“I was just waiting for a pitch,” Cerrato said. “I got a 2-1 count and the at bat before he had thrown me an outside fastball 2-1, so I was sitting on that pitch again, he gave it to me again and I hit it to right field.”
The Nitros followed the back and forth two innings by scoring six runs over the course of the next three innings. They loaded the bases in the fifth with singles by Franzone and Montero, and an error at second which allowed Jacob Sims (Roane State Community College) to reach on a fielder’s choice. However, only one run scored, in the form of Franzone on a Means sacrifice fly out.
In the sixth inning, Patrick Scholla (John Carroll University) walked, McNicholl reached on a fielder’s choice, with an error allowing Scholla to get to third and Brett Migliore (Canisius College), who had replaced an injured Culpepper, walked to load the bases. A sacrifice fly out by Varda plated Scholla and the Montero Jr. doubled home McNicholl and Migliore, following a walk to Franzone.
“I was just looking for (a) fastball and to put a good swing on it,” Montero said.
In the seventh, Means singled, Tracy drew a walk and Scholla moved Means over with a fly out, before McNicholl singled to plate Means. The bases became loaded for the third consecutive inning after Migliore walked, which set up Tracy scoring on a fly out by Varda.
The Ridgemen began to mount a comeback in the eighth inning, plating three runs. Pitaniello and Casey Claflin (University of Northeastern Ohio) both walked, moving up one base each on a wild pitch, and Molinari then unloaded the bases with a two-run triple. Cerrato flew out after the hit, but Molinari was able to tag up and score.
“Prior to that at bat, the first two AB’s, were kind of rough,” Molinari said. “I wasn’t really getting the barrel head out in the zone, getting tied up, so that was a little frustrating, but you know, actually, leading up to the at bat with the triple I was in the bullpen warming up and some of guys were like ‘hey get down here you’re on deck’, so I just rushed down there, just got in the box, just cleared my mind, looked for a fastball up, got it and drove it.”
But the comeback attempt fell short and the Nitros took the win.
Hunter Bingham, the Ridgemen’s acting head coach, said his team played a good game, but they just got beat by the better team on the given night.
“They did a good job, they competed and played hard,” Bingham said. “We just lost a good baseball game, those guys hit the ball well and they just beat us.”
Patrick Berthelette (Marymount University) pitched the last two innings for the Nitros, giving up three runs on two hits and two walks, while striking out one.
Cerrato pitched one and two-thirds innings for the Ridgemen, giving up two runs on two hits and two walks.
Molinari pitched two scoreless innings for the Ridgemen to end the game, surrendering one run, one walk and struck out one hitter.
The two teams will face each other again July 10 in Wellsville at 5 p.m.
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