JAY – Marcus Palmer proved that good pitching neutralizes good hitting as the Mountain Valley baseball team passed a tough test to remain unbeaten Friday at Ouellette Field.
The Falcons utilized the entire part of home plate by throwing an array of pitches. The right-hander bent a little, but he always found the grit to bear down in order to finish strong.
Senior Ben Madigan smashed a two-run home run in the third inning for the eventual winning runs and the Falcons relied on their strong defense en route to a 4-1 triumph over the Tigers.
“I’ve got 12 batters who can hit the ball,” Falcon coach Steve LaPointe said. “A lack of offensive production has been a problem in the past. We knew Korey Stairs would be a solid second pitcher, but Chris Cayer has been a pleasant surprise.”
Class B Mountain Valley (6-0) wasn’t able to hit with authority. Table setters Pat Knapp (single, two runs scored) and Madigan (2-for-3, two runs, two RBIs) proved to be the Achilles heals.
Jay starter Steve Nelson cruised through the first two innings, but things turned south abruptly.
Knapp led off the third with a blooper that landed just inside the right-field line.
Madigan, a left-handed batter, then jumped on the first pitch and hit the ball over the right field fence.
“I was just looking for one in the zone,” Madigan said. “As far as the team success so far, I’d have to say we’ve been getting good defense and pitching.”
Pamer (2-0) threw 70 pitches, scattered five hits and was successful at battling back against the Tiger batters. The junior struck out seven, including the side in the second inning and did not walk a batter.
Class C Jay (4-3) scored when Ryan DiPompo singled leading off the fourth and raced home on Nelson’s RBI single. The Tigers, who had base runners in five innings, have now lost three straight games.
“I really mixed up my pitches,” Palmer said. “Jay is a good hitting team, so I really needed to spot the ball.”
In the fifth, the Tigers Mike Nemi led off with a bunt single and Zane Armandi and Jake Farrington each had 3-1 counts, but Palmer used catcher Ben French’s target for strikeouts. Shortstop Kevin Capponi made a long throw to erase Joel Ouellette.
“I made a couple of mistakes,” Palmer said. “Especially to DiPompo (two hits), but the key to the game was being able to hit spots.”
Mountain Valley added insurance when pinch-hitter Andy Shorey lined a shot off Nemi’s glove for a two-run single.
Knapp was hit by a pitch and Madigan singled, but Nelson struck out the next two batters.
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