Bats, Pitching Fuel Team's 1st Victory
The New Hartford Post American Legion baseball team opened its season with a comfortable 9-2 victory at home over Herkimer Post Monday evening. New Hartford played a superior all around game, proving themselves capable of hitting, fielding, and pitching at a level higher than their opponent.
Starting catcher Tim Whalen had a superb game on both offense and defense. After a Nick Decrisi RBI double in the bottom of the fourth inning, Whalen belted a 2-run shot to bust the game open 9-2 in favor of New Hartford. "I loved it," said Whalen. "[it was my] first hit of the season, [I] can't feel any better. He walked me my first at bat, after that I knew exactly what to look for." Whalen went 2 for 3 with a walk and a single on the evening. In addition to his stellar offensive performance, Whalen made some solid defensive plays, stopping the ball from escaping to the backstop on multiple occasions, and catching difficult pop-ups in foul territory.
Starting pitcher Tyler Porter looked a tad shaky at the beginning of the game, hitting the second batter he faced. However, the experienced lefty settled in nicely and quickly retired the number 3 and 4 hitters from Herkimer. Porter allowed only 2 earned runs through 5 innings, both of which came in the top of the second, one on an RBI double and another when catcher Tim Whalen picked off the runner at 1st base. 5 of the fifteen outs recorded while Porter was on the mound were strikeouts. When asked how he felt he did, Porter said he thought he did well, but not as well as he wanted to. "[I had] too many walks." Coming off an above average varsity season in which his team lost in the section final, Porter has high hopes for the Legion team this summer. "We're lookin[g] good, if we keep hitting, pitching, and fielding the ball like we did tonight, we'll have a solid team."
New Hartford set the tone early with a 5 run inning in the bottom of the first. After New Hartford's first 3 batters got on base (Mike Szczesniak, Vin Servadio, and Nick Decrisi), Whalen walked in the first run of the game. Immediately following Whalen, left Fielder and number 5 hitter Billy Cougan was hit by a pitch on the left arm, bringing in another run. Second basemen Joey Donovan laced an RBI single to left-center, tacking on another 2 runs for New Hartford. First basemen Kris Martinelli then hit a fielders choice RBI to shortstop to make the score 5-0.
The team proved tonight they could play solid defense. Shortstop Steven Tomaino, Donovan, Martinelli and Servadio all made good plays in the field. "Tonight answered alot of questions for me," said Whalen. "It was a team effort. We knew we could hit, but we proved we could play D and pitch well. Our young guys stepped up, which is [something we need]. It was a great team effort."
Whalen was indeed correct about the "young guys on the team". With key losses from last years team including New Hartford's dangerous "Triple Joe" threat consisting of Joe Carcone, Joe Betar, and Joe Desens, up and coming players like Tomaino and Donovan proved they can hang with the older guys. Also showing some promise was Tory King, who played the role of setup man. King allowed 0 earned runs and only 1 hit while recording 1 strikeout during his inning of work.
Vin Servadio closed the game for New Hartford. He struck out 2, including the last batter of the game. With limited pitching, Servadio could be a key piece of the puzzle for New Hartford in terms of their success. New Hartford looks to keep their winning ways going Wednesday against Fort Schuyler at Delutis Field 2 in Rome. The game will be played at 6 P.M.
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