Baseball

Tri-Valley’s Murphy and Sullivan West’s Reimer hook up in a pitching duel; Bears edge Dawgs in eight-inning thriller

By RICHARD A. ROSS

JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — Every baseball game is unique, but none are more riveting than those featuring a great pitching duel between two premiere starters.

That’s exactly what was on display on April 29 as Tri-Valley’s Bo Murphy and Sullivan West’s Brad Reimer locked up in a high school classic. As Tri-Valley coach John Rusin and Sullivan West coach Kurt Scheibe were quick to point out following the game, it was a shame that someone had to lose.

By day’s end, Murphy had struck out 15 Bulldogs and Reimer had fanned 10 Bears. But the dominance displayed by the pitchers extended beyond their pitching lines.

Each was able to keep the opposing team off balance with a mix of pitches. Both were abetted by a generous strike zone that had batters from both teams mumbling as they left the plate empty handed. And both got out of jams, assisted by their fielders and the erasure of runners on the base paths.

By the close of the game, both starters had left the mound after having thrown over 100 pitches. Reimer threw 102 and Murphy threw 107. Logan Grishaber came on in relief of Reimer after he issued a lead-off double to Tim Martin in the top of the eighth.

Martin would come around to score the winning run on a double by Andrew Yager. Yager came on in relief of Murphy in the bottom of the eighth after the stalwart starter yielded a lead-off single to Grishaber. The Bulldogs made the final inning dramatic as Gaston Owen bunted Grishaber to second and Rusin had Murphy intentionally walk Reimer, who had already posted two solid hits on the day. That put runners on first and second with one out.

A double steal moved the winning run to second base following an infield fly rule out, but Yager struck out Eric Minton to close the door.

Yager, who is normally not used as a closer, had not pitched in a week. Both he and Murphy came into the game with ample rest and neither was slated to pitch again until the following week, although Rusin said that he could use Yager in relief of Sean Drown against Ellenville at Cooperstown on May 2.

The Bears scratched out a run in the top of the first as Rei-

mer walked Martin. Brendan Musa bunted him over and a single by Yager put runners on the corners. A run scored on an E-4 off the bat of Murphy, but Reimer induced a fly out to limit the Bears to a 1-0 lead.

Murphy was dominant from the get go. He yielded a two-out single to Reimer and struck out two before getting Mark Tesseyman to pop up to first to end the inning.

The Bears got a good start in the second as Brandon Edwards reached on an E-6 and stole second. A 1-4 double play erased him. Reimer struck out Jake Gray to end the inning. Murphy fanned the side in the bottom of the frame.

Murphy yielded his lone walk in the third to Grishaber, but struck out two Dawgs to avoid any damage.

Reimer walked Martin, who was caught stealing, as both teams showed good defense but far less acumen on the base paths. Two more Bulldogs were victimized by Murphy’s live curve ball in the bottom of the third.

After a lead-off double by Yager, a walk by Murphy and a stolen base by Yager, the Bears were set up with runners on first and third with no outs in the fourth. Reimer bore down and struck out the next two batters. A walk to Matt Garigliano loaded the bases. The inning ended as Jesse Brown grounded out.

The Bulldogs tied the game in the bottom of the fourth as Reimer recorded a lead-off single. Murphy struck out the next two batters. Reimer stole second, moved to third on a single by Austin Sauer and scored on a passed ball while Greg MacArthur was at the plate. Murphy fanned MacArthur and the teams were deadlocked at one all.

Reimer got stronger in innings five through seven, yielding only one hit and striking out seven during that timeframe.

A two-out single by Grishaber in the fifth proved harmless as he was caught stealing. Only one more man got on base for the Bulldogs in innings six and seven and that was Sauer, who reached on an E-4.

Murphy gave a lot of credit to the Bulldogs and Reimer in particular. “He gave me a lot of trouble all day,” said Murphy. “We had some trouble on the base paths, but we’re still learning and we’re getting better as the year goes on.”

Rusin noted, “What a great baseball game, whoever came out on top. Both teams had outstanding pitching. Reimer was incredible today and we couldn’t figure him out. We were lucky to get Timmy on in the eighth and were able to scratch out the win.”

Asked about his decision to intentionally walk Reimer in the eighth, Rusin said, “I just looked at the match ups. He had had two solid hits on the day and I also like the force play that gave my defense a couple of options.

Scheibe echoed Rusin’s review of the pitchers. “Brad and Bo both pitched a great game. We ran Reimer out there in the eighth since he’d been so strong up till then but told him if a man got on, we’d bring on Logan.” Reimer understood but as Scheibe noted, “he’s a great competitor.”

Scheibe went on to describe the final outcome. “Martin stuck out the bat and drove a liner to right. He came around and scored and that was the difference. We didn’t hit the ball as Bo had a great curve working today. We had the winning run on second base, but it was the same story all game. We didn’t come up with a hit when we needed one.”

Sullivan West (7-3) downed Monticello 8-1 on April 30. Tri-Valley (7-6) played at legendary Doubleday Field in Cooperstown on May 2. This week, the Bears have a critical league series against Chester.

Visit riverreportersports.com for an album of pictures from this classic.