By PAUL GOTHAM
VICTOR, N.Y. — Cos Zeiser struck out seven over 5.2 innings and delivered a run-scoring single to pad an early lead as host Victor (6-2) defeated Fairport, 11-2 in Monroe County Division I Baseball action on Wednesday.
The win snapped a mini two-game skid and came two days after the Blue Devils lost to the same Fairport (5-2) squad, 7-0.
“That was a huge win because it was a league game,” Victor head coach Sean Rucker said. “We bounced back. We went to Fairport (on Monday), and they beat us up pretty good. We turned the tide today so feeling good about it.”
Zeiser hurled five scoreless frames in a game where Victor never trailed.
“We had a great talk with our coaches after the game,” Zeiser said. “They told us that the energy on Monday wasn’t great and if we wanted to win, we would just have to really bring the energy. That’s what we did today.”
The senior right-hander was at his best in the third inning when Fairport loaded the bases with one out. He responded with back-to-back strike outs.
“I just really wanted to keep the ball down,” Zeiser said. “I could tell they were sitting on curveballs. I went to the fastball and they just watched it.
“It was a huge relief. Any time the bases are loaded, it’s a little extra pressure especially if you only have one out. After the first strike out, I knew I had it.”
Zeiser retired six straight and seven of eight batters from that point.
Cos Zeiser works a 1-2-3 fourth. Victor 4 Fairport 0 pic.twitter.com/lYlbxMNa2B
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) April 19, 2023
“With a pitcher who’s a strike out guy, if he can just say ‘you know what, I’ll take it from here and get a couple outs then nobody has that stress or pressure. It’s huge. That’s what he did.”
Battery mate Jameson Ricigliano connected in the home half of the frame on a two-out, two-run single that plated Carter Fink and Weston Elkovitch.
Zeiser drove in a run with a two-out single in the previous inning.
“We just wanted to really cut down on the strikeouts and try to put the ball in play,” Rucker said. “Usually good things happen if you can do that.”
Grady Kessler worked a leadoff walk and moved to second on an Adam Ruffalo sacrifice bunt. One out later, Zeiser brought home the run with a single to right field.
“I’ve been working really hard on staying back and going the other way,” Zeiser said. “I knew he was throwing me a fastball. He couldn’t get the curveball over the plate, so I just stayed back and drove it the other way.”
Mitchell Schalberg reached on an error in the first inning and eventually scored on an RBI groundout from Elkovitch.
Fink finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Ricigliano also went 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Pinch-hitter Keith Kriegelstein drove in a pair of runs with a single to highlight a seven-run Victor sixth.
Keith Kriegelstein gives Victor a 6-2 lead with a two-out hit. Jameson Ricigliano and Adam Ruffalo score on the play. pic.twitter.com/Foeqd0R04i
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) April 19, 2023
Elkovitch came on in relief with Victor leading 4-2 and a runner on first. The left-hander retired all four batters he faced including two on strikes to register a save. He also had two RBI in the win.
Fairport scored both of its run in the sixth on a Mason Broncatello two-run single. Jackson Rucker was 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Nathan Mathis singled and also scored for the Red Raiders. Will Stanek, Sam Miller, Owen Andreatta and Jonathan Roessel each had a single.
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