By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER — It took executing a play they haven’t been able to attempt in practice, and Nick Marcin’s Penfield squad once again converted in a late-game situation.
Patrick Bowes plated Andrew Ebersol with a one-out single in the seventh inning as Penfield outlasted the Rush-Henrietta Royal Comets 2-1 in the Monroe County Division I opener for both teams.
“This is the third time already this year where we’ve been in tight games late,” Marcin said. “I bring the guys in and say ‘there are teams that win these types of games and teams that don’t. Let’s find out what we are.’ They’re 3-0 in those situations.”
That Bowes had the chance to deliver the game-winner occurred only because of the senior’s previous efforts in the outfield.
When Raymond Specht’s sinking line drive was mishandled in right field, Marcin figured R-H would take a 2-1 lead into the seventh. Who wouldn’t with the fleet-footed Specht rounding the bases.
But Bowes made a routine play and it turned into a defensive gem.
“It starts with Patrick Bowes as soon as the ball is hit hustling, taking nothing for granted and using his speed,” Marcin said.
The centerfielder alertly backed up his teammate and hit Bobby Bradley with the cutoff in shallow right field. Bradley pivoted and the Patriots second baseman delivered a strike to AJ Kimmins at home plate to erase the potential go-ahead run.
“That wasn’t a double cut, but we talked about playing here with the big fence and that we have to do that,” Marcin explained. “While it wasn’t a double cut, it had the feel to it with that ball in the gap. The guys made the play.”
Penfield improved to 4-1 with the win.
“Every time they’re up against the ropes they just keep fighting,” Marcin said of his squad. “We’re only five games into the season, but I’m already so proud of how hard they’ve played. There’s no quit in them. They just battle. If you’re going to beat them, you’re going to have to get that 21stout. These guys don’t quit.”
Bradley had in hand in all three of Penfield’s big plays Thursday night at Towers Field on the University of Rochester campus. With two outs in the fourth, the junior infielder drove a first-pitch fastball into the right center gap for an inside-the-park home run to give the Patriots a 1-0 advantage. When Ebersol reached on an error to lead the seventh, it was Bradley’s sacrifice bunt that put the eventual winning run in scoring position.
“It’s big,” Bradley said of the win in their first game against a Section V opponent this season. “To beat a team like Rush any time is good, but to get the first one under our belt is better.”
Bowes took over from there and delivered the game-winner.
“I was looking first-pitch fastball, and I got it but just fouled it off,” he said. “I had been doing that all night. After I fouled off the second pitch, I knew I had to shorten up and look for a single. I got a pitch to hit and went with it.”
Danny Stapleton hurled two shutout innings in relief for the win. The sophomore right-hander struck out four and walked none. He threw 39 pitches – 24 for strikes.
Gage Ziehl started and went five innings. The freshman fanned six and walked two.
“For a freshman and sophomore to be able to go out there and be able to handle that type of atmosphere, that type of pressure early in the season it bodes well for us,” Marcin noted.
That Rush-Henrietta and Penfield played a tight game comes as no surprise. The last time the two schools met was in the 2017 Class AA quarterfinals. R-H edged Penfield, 4-3. The Royal Comets went on to advance to the sectional finals.
“I have so much respect for Rush-Henrietta,” Marcin stated. “There’s nobody out there that gives us more fits or plays us tougher or tests us game in and game out. I think Rush-Henrietta is a program that is so well-coached. Those kids are such fighters and competitors.”
R-H (0-1) used a two-rally to knot the game in the fifth. AJ Nestler drove in Lukas Haefner with a single up the middle to tie the game at one.
Patrick Sherron started for the Royal Comets and allowed one run on two hits over five innings. The right-hander struck out two, walked one and threw first-pitch strikes to 13 of 17 batters faced.
Penfield managed just three hits on the night.
Penfield opened the season, at the Mingo Bay Classic in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with a 10-3 win over West Seneca East (VI). A game in which the Patriots scored eight runs in their final at-bat. Penfield also outlasted Powdersville (SC) 4-1 in extra innings. Ziehl made a game-saving play in that game when he used his backhand to take away the game-winning hit down the third base line in the bottom of the seventh.
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