By PAUL GOTHAM
HONEOYE FALLS, N.Y. — Matt Papenfuss hurled four-plus innings and Matt Pawlicki paced the offense as Canandaigua (1-0) defeated host Honeoye Falls-Lima (1-2), 10-2 in Section V Baseball action, Monday evening.
Papenfuss struck out seven over four and a third innings. The senior right-hander allowed five hits and two walks. Both of the runs scored against him were unearned.
“He kept us in every game he pitched last year,” Canandaigua head coach Dale Werth said. “We expected a good outing from him. He’s worked really hard in the offseason. He’s worked really hard in his high school career to develop multiple pitches that he can command. I’m really proud of him. That’s what you really hope for out of him.”
Papenfuss was at his best in the second inning when HF-L’s Matt Meachem, Nate Weber and Robert Brown strung together back-to-back-to-back singles to lead the frame. Papenfuss responded with three straight strike outs – the last two looking.
“He’s got a pretty good arsenal,” Werth said. “He’s more than a two-pitch pitcher. When he gets them all going, he can be pretty tough. He can present some different things to batters which is nice.”
He minimized the damage in the third when HF-L had runners on second and third with one out. Papenfuss held the Cougars to two runs in the frame.
“The curve ball was great,” he said. “Fastball was on point and where it needed to be. They’re a good team, and I was able to keep them off-balance.”
Canandaigua scored all the runs it needed in the first inning when the Braves sent seven batters to the plate.
Pawlicki started the scoring with a base hit that brought home Josh Barnes. Aaron Crunick scored on a Nate Barone RBI groundout, and ninth-grade catcher Jack Clark capped the frame with an RBI triple in his first varsity at-bat.
“To jump out and get multiple runs in the first three innings it really lets you relax and play baseball,” Werth said. “We were talking before the game. We’ve had some scrimmages. We hit okay, but not great. So we weren’t sure how the bats were going to come out and do. That was really nice. We had hits throughout the order. As a coach, that’s what you’re looking for.”
Pawlicki finished the day 2-for-2 with a walk, four RBI and two runs scored.
“We were definitely hitting very well,” the senior centerfielder said. “Swinging at the first fastball strike we see. Putting it in play that’s always good no matter where it goes.”
Canandaigua scored four more runs in the second inning for a commanding 7-0 lead.
“It really does help especially early on,” Papenfuss said of the production. “When you know you got a lead, you can use different pitches at different times. It’s a great feeling to have a three-nothing lead to start the game.”
Barnes had a hit, two walks and three runs scored out of the leadoff spot. Barone drove in two out of the five-hole. Clark went 2-for-3, and Trevor LaFlam hitting eighth had a single, two walks and two runs scored.
“You expect the top of the order to produce,” Werth said. “But we got some nice production in the bottom of the order as well It was great.”
Johnny Mohammed came on in relief with two men on and one out in the fifth. The sophomore right-hander retired the first two batters he faced. Mohammed finished with four strike outs in 2.2 innings of work.
HF-L’s Brown finished 2-for-3 at the plate. Aidan Neenan singled, walked and scored a run. Paul Iacobucci drove in both Cougar runs with a single. Ed Brown and Nate Weber had a single apiece.
Carson Joint scored a run and hurled a clean seventh inning in relief. Mitch Martini tossed two scoreless innings of relief.
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