Monticello Men’s Softball

Fitness Factory stays in perfect shape

Edgy win over Lewis Auto Parts extends Factory’s undefeated run

By RICHARD A. ROSS

MONTICELLO, NY — If you want to be perfect at something, you have virtually no margin for error. It’s a mantra that has given Fitness Factory (12-0) an edge this season as it has gotten by all of its opponents including heavy hitting Lewis Auto Parts (12-2). Beating Lewis means getting hits off of hard throwing Tim ‘Chopper’ Ackerman or Bob Head, and playing heads-up defense as the balls that come off of Lewis’ bats are often extremely hard hit.

Fitness Factory reached into their arsenal of timely hitting and good defense and coupled it with a sterling pitching performance from JoJo Vankeuren to edge Lewis Auto Parts 5-4 on July 19. It was their second one-run victory over the men in black this season. Fitness Factory later defeated Lewis Auto Parts 7-6 on June 26.

As the season winds down, the drama is likely to escalate as the two best teams in the Culligan Division are on a collision course into the coming playoffs scheduled to begin on July 31.

In the July 19 game, the scoring began in the bottom of the first inning when Lewis’ Mike Weir drove in Brian Kitson with a double to left center. Kitson worked out a rare base on balls off of VanKeueren who surrendered only two walks in the game. Fitness Factory responded with three runs in the top of the second. Aaron Dinkle started things going with a hard shot to third that Craig Smith couldn’t handle. A triple by Jay Legenos, a double by Shane Conner and a single by Mike Weiner made the score 3-1 in favor of Fitness Factory.

Both pitchers kept their opponents at bay until the top of the fifth when Fitness Factory tacked on two more runs. Alex Salazar led off with a double. Keith Shaddock got on with a single, and Salazar scored on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 4-1. Dinkle’s two-out single drove in Shaddock to make it 5-1.

Lewis got a run back in the bottom of the fifth when Kurt Buddenhagen reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Tim Ackerman drove in Buddenhagen.

Lewis Auto Parts looked set up to win the game in the bottom of the seventh. Kurt Buddenhagen led off the inning with a single. E.T. Toledo followed with another single. Ackerman drove in Buddenhagen with a single, and Chris Hubert made it 5-4 with the innings fourth straight single.

Then Fitness shut the door. Vankeuren got Matt Buddenhagen and Brian Kitson to fly out. With the tying run at third and the winning run at first, Vankeuren struck out Mike Weir on a knuckleball that had great movement on it.

“I knew he had a knuckleball,” said Weir, “but I never saw it before. It just veered away as it crossed the plate.” It was Vankeuren’s sixth strikeout of the game.

A jubilant Fitness Factory team mobbed Vankeuren at the mound as Lewis players walked off shaking their heads. It was another one-run loss to Fitness Factory and the second time in which an error played a key role. As both teams prepared to make the trip to Cortland this weekend for the state tournament, each acknowledged that the diamond wars between them would likely be rekindled in the coming playoffs of the Monticello Men’s Softball League.