Even with one of the area’s best young pitchers on the hill, Waymart’s storybook baseball season came to an abrupt end Monday at RD Wilson Field.

Billy Gillette dominated Tusten batters in a first round Wayne County Teener League play-off game. The Chiefs were able to scrape up three runs in the first two frames against Waymart’s ace, but Gillette pitched five shutout innings thereafter.

Sadly for a large contingent of hometown fans in the stands, Tusten made those early tallies stand up.

The Chiefs’ trio of Pat Ripa, Mike Pierce and Ryan Alsdorf combined on a two-hit shutout, pacing the visitors to a 3-0 victory.

“Billy Gillette is a very good pitcher and we were happy to get a couple of runs off him early,” Coach Joe Curreri told TWI Sports. “It was nice to see our kids hit what was pitched and not try to do too much. We took what he gave us and that was enough.”

The win propels Tusten into tonight’s quarterfinals. The Chiefs will take on the Honesdale Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Keith Sutton Memorial Field.

On the Attack
Tusten’s strategy was obvious from the outset on this hot, humid evening. Indian batters would do whatever it took to get on base and then sprint their way into scoring position.

That approach worked early & often in the opening two frames.

Mike O’Reilly delivered a one-out single in the bottom of the first. Tusten’s speedy centerfielder then promptly stole second and third. One pitch later, Gillette balked and O’Reilly trotted home with the game’s first run.

“That was the whole idea coming in,” said Coach Curreri. “We have a lot of fast kids on this team and we want to take advantage of that speed. We try to put as much pressure as we can on the defense and hope they’ll make some mistakes.”

After Tusten starter Pat Ripa worked his way out of trouble in the first, the Chiefs went right back on the warpath in the second.

Peter Kelly opened the frame with a clean single, then immediately swiped second. Moments later, Kelly scampered home courtesy of Lucas Bauer’s RBI base knock.

After yet another stolen base, Ripa helped his own cause with an opposite field single. Bauer came all the way around to score and suddenly the visiting Indians had a 3-0 bulge.

Ripa continued his solid pitching performance in the next two frames. He would eventually leave the game after three and earn the decision. Pat worked three innings and allowed just two hits. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter.

Pierce also pitched three scoreless innings before handing the ball off to Ryan Alsdorf who closed things out. Alsdorf struck out the side in the seventh, killing off any dreams Waymart fans had of a rally.

Tusten’s gameplan with regard to pitching was straight forward: Coach Curreri hopedto escape Waymart without having to use Cody Fredo. The Chiefs’ ace rested on Monday and now is ready for tonight’s showdown against Honesdale.

For the year, Fredo leads his team in innings pitched (27) and strikeouts (38). Cody has issued only 10 walks and boasts an ERA of 1.52.

“We throw strikes, plain and simple,” said Coach Curreri. “We want our pitchers to put the ball over the plate and trust their defense. So far, that formula has worked really well.”

Gillette rebounded from his early struggles to work five brilliant frames and log a complete game. All told, Billy went seven innings and surrendered three earned runs. He walked three and fanned nine.

Gillette led the league in strikeouts this summer with 76 in just 42 innings. He ended the campaign with a sparkling 1.17 ERA and a record of 6-2.

Over & Out
Tusten used a combination of solid pitching, stellar defense and timely hitting to build a 12-2 regular season record this year.

The Chiefs finished third in the Southern Division behind perennial powerhouse Re-Max and the upstart Hawley A’s. Coach Curreri’s lads dealt the Renegades one of their losses, a 3-2 upset in Beach Lake.

“I have a lot of confidence in this team,” said Coach Curreri. “We pitch well and we play good defense. We run the bases aggressively and try not to make any mental mistakes.”

Bauer was the game’s lone two-time hitter. Lucas went 2-for-3 with and RBI and run scored.

Adam Gillis and Cody Osif scratched out Waymart’s two singles.

Score by Innings...
TUS   1  2  0  0  0  0  0 - 3
WAY  0  0  0  0  0  0  0 - 0