By PAUL GOTHAM
EAST ROCHESTER, N.Y. — It doesn’t go in the record book as a no-hitter, but East Rochester’s Sam Slater recorded the last 18 outs (of a six-inning game) without allowing a hit.
The right-hander surrendered singles to the first two batters of the game before retiring 18 of the next 19 he faced without another hit.
“Amazing,” Slater said of how he felt following East Rochester’s 11-1 win over North Rose-Wolcott/Red Creek in Wayne County action Saturday. “After coming in, pitching well the rest of the year, i’s nice to get momentum going toward the end of the year, toward sectionals. We need to just keep it up.”
Slater struck out seven and walked improving to 4-3 on the season.
“He’s a spot guy,” East Rochester head coach Patrick Walsh said. “He was hitting his spots today, and that curve ball was just breaking in. You could see it. Guys on the other team thought it was coming in at them. They just buckled, and it was big.”
Slater retired the first batter of the third on a fly ball to left. It was the last ball he allowed out of the infield as he struck out four of the final six batters he faced. In eight appearances (five starts) on the mound this season, Slater has fanned 54 in 37 innings pitched while issuing 15 walks. He is holding opposing hitters to a .228 batting average.
Sam Slater gets the ground ball, and Parker Seeley takes it from there. @AthleticsNrw goes in order in the second. @ERBombers 4-1. pic.twitter.com/MspG4ilBd9
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 29, 2021
“I just try to hit my spots,” he said. “Coach Simmons (assistant coach Joe Simmons who calls pitches) knows what he’s doing. I trust him, and I trust Kevin (Marcial) behind the plate. I just try to hit my spots where they tell me to put the ball. It’s been working. I just keep pounding and it’s helping us be successful.”
At the plate, Slater finished 2-for-2 with two walks, two stolen bases and two runs scored. He started a four-run first working a base on balls and came home when Marcial reached on an error. The Bombers pushed across three more runs in the frame without a hit.
ER had all the runs needed for a win in the first inning.
“It takes stress off me on the mound,” Slater said of the lead. “You’re up three going into the second and it’s just huge. You can take it slow, and you’re not too worried about what’s around you. You don’t have to worry about going in and hitting the ball again. You got a cushion, keep up the defense and you’ll be fine.”
ER added two runs in the second and another in the third.
Dion Mather, Jackson Peters and Slater connected on RBI singles in a four-run fourth when the Bombers put the game out of reach at 10-1.
Dion Mather plates a run with a single to to left. pic.twitter.com/AI9UoYwBRi
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 29, 2021
North Rose Wolcott/Red Creek took a 10-9 decision when the two teams met on May 10th. That loss was the third of four consecutive for ER at that point. Saturday’s win was the fifth straight for Walsh’s club.
“We weren’t making the routine plays,” the skipper said of the losing streak. “Instead of having three outs, we would give other teams four or five outs an inning.
“We’ve been working on fundamentals like you wouldn’t believe: catching balls, making the routine play. We got a lot of young kids in terms of experience and age. We got some good leaders. They got good role models. Sam works hard. That rolls off on to the others. That’s what we got clicking.”
Landon Wollschleger finished 2-for-5 with two stolen bases and a run scored. Marcial and Mather scored two runs apiece.
Ryan Flanagan, Jack McCarthy, Jacob Mercado and Parker Seeley scored a run apiece.
Nick Gilbert led the game with a single to center field. Logan Caves put runners on the corners with a base hit, and Gilbert scored on a double steal to give NR-W/Red Creek a 1-0 lead.
ER (7-5) travels to play at Gananda on Tuesday. The Blue Panthers have rattled off eight straight win.
NR-W/Red Creek (8-5) plays at Gananda on Thursday.
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