Baseball

An Ideal fit

Undefeated Fitness Factory munches on Ideal Snacks

By RICHARD A. ROSS

MONTICELLO, NY - Looking as fit as they did last year when they garnered their second consecutive Monticello Men’s League championship in a best of three game series with Sullivan Sports, Fitness Factory is off to a blazing start for a three-peat this year.

The men in orange and blue advanced their cause on June 19, with a 14-2 five-inning romp over Ideal Snacks. The game was typical Fitness Factory?blazing bats and fine pitching turned in by Serafin Rodriquez and Fitness Factory’s off-season acquisition Tim “Chopper” Ackermann.

Ackermann and Ideal Snacks’ shortstop Joe Meyer were on Lewis Auto Parts, a team that opted out of the league this year, stating a lack of competition as its main reasons for not continuing its multi-year presence.

Clearly, Lewis Auto Parts did not include Fitness Factory or Sullivan Sports in that assessment.

Fitness Factory and Sullivan Sports (9-1) appear to be on a collision course for a possible rematch in this year’s playoffs, but that is still somewhat down the line. In the meantime, Fitness Factory captain Edwin “Flaco” Rodriquez has his team competing in the fast-pitch Middletown league, where the men in orange and blue have just evened their record at 4-4.

Playing against those teams, and facing pitchers who can really bring it on, is bound to better prepare Fitness Factory for such challenges as the Collins Tournament, Orangeburg, Turfler and states, and the other local tourneys, including those at Fremont Center.

But this game against Ideal Snacks was more business as usual for the defending champs.

Fitness Factory got off to a quick start as leadoff hitter Keith Shaddock parlayed a single and an E-10 into a trip around the bases. A double by Aaron Dinkel and a two-run homer by Jay Falasca gave Factory a 3-0 lead.

Defensively, Fitness Factory showed off its leather and its arms by turning three double plays over the course of the game, shortened by the five-inning 10-run rule.

Jim Moloney had a single in the bottom of the first, but was tagged out at the plate on a great throw from left field on a ball hit off the bat of Sal Accomando. Fitness put the game out of reach in the top of the second, with a seven-run outburst with RBI from Mike Weiner, Shaddock, Shane Connor and a three-run homer by Falasca, a blast launched on a 0-2 pitch off Ideal Snacks starter Bill Moloney.

A one-two-three Ideal Snacks second inning brought Fitness Factory back for more, this time against reliever Bob Culleny. A two-run single by Weiner, which followed a base hit by Denny Rivera and an E-4, was followed by a sac fly from Shaddock.

The energetic catcher added an RBI single in the fifth, to round out the Fitness onslaught to an even 14 runs.

Ideal Snacks (4-7) got two runs in the bottom of the fifth off Serafin Rodriquez, with RBI singles by Culleny and Greg Brewer Jr.

Fitness Factory (11-0) sweetened its victory over Ideal Snacks with a win over the Red Raiders out of Port Jervis (6-5), who currently hold second place in the Bickham Division.

Visit www.riverreportersports.com for an album of Fitness Factory/Ideal Snacks game pictures.