Baseball

Spartans bounce back to earn split

By RICHARD A. ROSS

NEWBURGH, NY — Playing a doubleheader against Wappingers resulted in a split, allowing the Spartans to maintain their record at one game above .500 at 6-5.

After being limited to one hit in game one June 19, the Spartans were able to take game two in extra innings.

In game one, Andy Petersen (Bloomingburg/Brockport St) had the lone hit, a first inning infield single. Starting Pitcher Travis Steffens (Port Jervis/ Orange CC) allowed two earned runs in the 5-0 defeat. Steffens (2-1) struck out seven and walked two.

In game two, Eddie Gonzalez (Tampa, FL/Webber International) had the game-winning hit in the eighth inning to give Sullivan the 4-3 victory. Petersen contributed two doubles, an RBI, and he scored two runs, including the game winner. Jesus Pintado (Fallsburg/Mitchell CC ) added an RBI single in the first inning and Jeff O’Neill (Fallsburg/ Mount St. Mary) had an RBI double in the third.

The player of the week was Eddie Gonzalez, who went three-for-10 (.300) with two RBI, two stolen bases and a walk-off single against Wappingers in the eighth inning.

Spartans doomed by rough first inning

NEWBURGH, NY — It isn’t uncommon for good pitchers to need some time to find their groove. Even the best pitchers in the major leagues are sometimes vulnerable in the early going. This was the case with Sullivan Spartans’ starting pitcher Rich Fello (Wurtsboro/Teikyo-Post), who allowed three hits and three runs in the first inning on June 20 versus Newburgh.

Those first inning woes staked Newburgh to an early lead. Fello, who pitched well after the first inning, allowed only one hit and two runs during the remainder of the game. He struck out seven, hit three batters and walked none in the 5-2 defeat.

The Spartans closed the gap to one run in the fifth inning. With two outs, Mike Talmadge (Port Jervis/Sussex CC) hit a deep fly ball that was misplayed in the gap by the centerfielder. Tim Gilmore (Fallsburg/Concordia) followed with a RBI triple to right center. On the next pitch, Anthony Hernandez (Jersey City, NJ/Sussex CC) laced a double down the leftfield line to score Gilmore. The 3-2 score did not last long as Newburgh tacked on two insurance runs in the bottom half of the inning to close out the scoring.

Sullivan’s record is now even at 6-6.