By PAUL GOTHAM
HILTON, N.Y. — Grant Rodriguez and Dan Tirabassi paced a 14-hit attack as the Rush-Henrietta Royal Comets downed the Hilton Cadets, 11-7 in Monroe County Division I action Monday at Schwonke Field.
The pair supplied the offense in a four-run third inning when R-H took the lead and did not surrender it.
“Those are two guys that have a real a workman’s approach to hitting,” said R-H head coach Bill Rasmussen. “They take it very seriously. They’re having the results right now that come because of the work that they’ve put in during the offseason and preseason.”
Tirabassi highlighted the inning with a three-run home run. Rodriguez capped the frame with a run-scoring single.
Chris Kachala started the stanza with a base on balls. Frank McCabe reached when he beat out a bunt, and Tirabassi followed with a shot to straightaway centerfield. Andrew Sanchez doubled before Rodriguez connected on a run-scoring single for 5-2 Royal Comet advantage.
“I was very encouraged to see a lot of guys continue to swing the bat well and to have aggressive swings in good hitting counts,” Rasmussen added. “That’s something that we’ve struggled a bit with in the past. One through nine having guys go up there and swing with confidence is been a good thing to see.”
Rodriguez doubled and scored to get R-H on the board in the second.
“I was hoping that early in the count that I was going to get a good pitch to hit,” he said. “I got a fastball that was on the outside part of the plate. I just tried to put a good swing on it. Fortunately I hit it pretty well to right center. That just felt good.”
The senior first baseman finished 4-for-5 on the day with three runs scored.
“I just kept my approach really simple,” he said. “I just tried to stay positive when I got behind in the count.”
Cliff Genge allowed three runs (one earned) on five hits over four innings of relief. The junior right-hander struck out three and walked one.
“He’s a battler,” Rasmussen said of his junior hurler. “Velocity is there for him with a tough-nosed mentality, and he goes out there and competes. The question is consistency. Today he was able to supplement his velocity by throwing his curveball effectively early in the count for a strike. If he can become more efficient with that, it’s going to set up his fastball off even more.”
Chris Sleeper started and picked up the win with three innings of work. Sleeper struck out four and allowed four runs on five hits and two walks.
“We had a little bit of tough day defensively early on,” Rasmussen noted. “We were throwing a lot of pitches early, but he battled and he got himself out of jams. That’s what you’re looking for from a kid early in the season.”
Sleeper and Bobby Sellers both finished the day 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. Tirabassi was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. Frank McCabe singled and scored. McCabe also turned a sparkling play in centerfield when he ran down a Collin Nelson drive in the left center gap and doubled off a runner at first.
Tyler Cerame led Hilton going 4-for-4 with a triple, a double, two RBI and a run scored. The junior shortstop beat out an infield single to start the second, moved to second on a Kyle Douglas sacrifice bunt and scored on Jackson DiPalma’s single to right field to give Hilton a 2-1 lead.
Alex Noto singled and scored on a Collin Nelson base hit to give Hilton a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Noto finished with two hits and an RBI. DiPalma scored twice. Gavin Moore walked twice and scored a run. Douglas drove in a run in the seventh. Carter Clark singled and scored.
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