A brief, but intense downpour assaulted Wayne County Teener League baseball fans on their way up Route 652 Monday evening.
A caravan of Re-Max fans was headed toward Narrowsburg as the storm struck. Windshield wipers and headlights came on, but only for a few minutes.
The storm vanished just as quickly as it had arrived, leaving a spectacular rainbow in its wake. As cars rounded a bend in the Delaware River and crossed into New York, occupants could see that the rainbow appeared to end right on the old Narrowsburg ballfield.
Sadly for Re-Max fans, this particular rainbow didn’t deliver a pot of gold...at least, not insofar as a victory goes.
The homestanding Chiefs ran their unbeaten streak to 13 consecutive games, hammering out an 11-2 victory over the visiting Renegades.
“I’m definitely a little bit disappointed,” Coach Bill Phillips told TWI Sports. “I thought we could keep this game closer. For whatever reason, we just don’t seem to play our best baseball on this field.”
With the win, Tusten solidified its hold on first place in the Southern Division. The Chiefs are 13-0 on the year, while the Renegades are now two games back at 11-2.
Re-Max is in the middle of a busy week. Depending upon the weather, the Renegades could play three more games in the next five days.
Coach Phillips’ squad is slated to take on Valley View this evening. Re-Max will then battle the Paupack Indians (Friday) and Hawley A’s (Sunday).
Wayne County Teener League games begin at 5:30 p.m.
Strong Start
Jordan Meyer got out of the gate quickly for Tusten on Monday night.
The Chiefs’ shortstop ended the top of the first by starting a 6-3 double play, then made his presence felt at the plate in the bottom half of the frame.
Meyer dug in against Renegades’ starter Wyatt Davis and crushed a triple to deep leftfield. Moments later, Jordan trotted home on Peter Kelly’s bloop single to right and Tusten had itself a 1-0 lead.
“As a lead-off batter, I guess I’d like to see Jordan take a few more pitches,” Coach Joe Curreri said with a laugh. “But, if he’s going to hit a triple on the first pitch of the game, I really can’t complain, can I?”
Kelly kept up the offensive pressure, stealing second and setting the stage for one of the league’s top hitters.
Jeremy DeGori entered Monday’s ballgame with a batting average of .697. Tusten’s catcher took a called strike, then blasted a fastball to dead center. DeGori’s RBI double upped the Chiefs’ lead to 2-0.
“Wyatt had some trouble getting his breaking pitches over,” said Coach Phillips. “So, they just waited for the fastball.”
Davis dug down deep and escaped the first inning, limiting the damage to two runs. Wyatt fanned two of the final three batters he faced in the frame.
Ryan Alsdorf drew the starting nod for Tusten and cruised through the first three innings.
A righty who relies on excellent control and a lively heater, Alsdorf had won all four of his previous starts and carried a minuscule 0.74 ERA with him into Monday’s action.
“Ryan throws a ton of first pitch strikes and he doesn’t walk alot of batters,” said Coach Cur-reri. “When Ryan pitches the way he did today, he’s capable of beating anyone in the league.”
Alsdorf encountered a bit of trouble late in the contest, but still managed to post his fifth victory of the season.
Ryan worked five innings, allowing only three hits and a pair of runs, just one of which was earned. Alsdorf fanned seven and issued two free passes.
Heavy Lumber
Offensively, Tusten provided Alsdorf with more than enough support. The Chiefs banged out 12 hits in rolling to victory.
Kelly sparked a second rally in the bottom of the third.
Peter slapped a one-out single, stole second and was joined on the basepaths by Alsdorf, who also singled. Mike Pierce and EJ Franskevicz then proceeded to break the game open with back-to-back blasts.
Pierce smoked an RBI double to center.
One pitch later, Franskevicz connected with a Dirlam fastball and sent it sailing high into the trees in right center. This 2-run homer pushed Tusten’s advantage to 6-0.
“In the first half of the season, EJ really wasn’t driving the ball the way we know he can,” said Coach Curreri. “We made one little tweak to his swing...and you can see the results.”
Franskevicz reached base in three of his four plate appearances Monday night. EJ added an RBI single in the fourth and is now batting near .350.
Cody Dirlam finally put Re-Max on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth.
The Renegades’ lead-off man dug himself a 1-2 hole against Alsdorf, but went the opposite way with an outside fastball. Dirlam drove the ball well over a temporary fence in right center, good for a solo homer.
“He’s our tennis player,” said Coach Phillips with a chuckle. “Cody is a big, strong kid who can hit the ball a long way when he gets hold of it. He’s really improved alot this year.”
Re-Max tallied its second and final run of the game in the top of the fifth.
Kyle Carney coaxed a one-out walk, then moved to second on Dirlam’s single.
Alsdorf then tried an ill-advised pick-off throw to first. The ball eluded Pierce, ending up out-of-play. This allowed Carney to score from second.
Defensive Prowess
Re-Max may have six 13-year-olds on its roster, but the Renegades are doing what Bill Phillips likes best: running the bases aggressively and showing poise on defense.
Ryan O’Keefe and Jon Gillow each turned in a Gold Glove effort in Monday night’s game against the Chiefs.
O’Keefe robbed DeGori of certain extra bases in the fourth. Re-Max’s leftfielder raced back and made a leaping, over-the-shoulder catch to save a run.
Gillow saved at least two in the same inning when Kevin Durkin ripped a sinking liner over second.
Jon sprinted toward the infield from his position in right. At the last possible moment, he slid and made a circus catch.
Score by Innings...
Re-Max (10-2) 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 - 2
Tusten (13-0) 2 0 4 2 3 0 x - 11
