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Season Standings:

Name

W

L

GB

PCT

y-Cougars

17

4

-

.810

x-Bums

14

7

3.0 .667

Irish

2

12

11.5 .143

Sea Bass

2

12

11.5 .143


Team Sites:
Colehamer Cougars
Poestenkill Bums
Brunswick Fighting Irish

Averill Park Sea Bass

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An Ugly Opener for Cougars, but a Victory Nonetheless

       On a windy afternoon at Triscari Field, on April 17th, the Gamerskey Wiffleball League held their season opener.  The matchup was the Brunswick Fighting Irish going head to head with the World Champion Colehamer Cougars.  Dylan Sprague took the hill for the Irish and Mark Fitzpatrick got the nod for Colehamer.

      From the start the game was ugly.  The wind had a big effect on the ball, and home runs were jumping out of the park.  Mark Fitzpatrick led off with an opposite field shot that  gave the Cougars the lead heading into the bottom of the first.  As he began to pitch though, he struggled.  Alex Blizinski followed up a deep fly out from rookie Thomas Heritage with his first career round tripper that was gone the second it left the bat (he was tested after the game, no sign of steroid use).  By the time the first inning shelling was through, the score was 3-1 Irish.  Dylan Sprague continued to pitch well, but when he ran into Scott Fitzpatrick and Mike Triscari, within seconds the game was tied.  Back to back homers tied the game going into the bottom of the second.  But Mark continued to struggle.  The Irish reached the run limit and carried an 8-3 lead into the third.  Mark left the mound with a groin injury.  Still down 8-3 in the bottom of the third, Cougar ace Scott Fitzpatrick was called upon to fill in for the injured Mark who moved to second with a nagging groin.  He stopped the bleeding for the most part, surrendering only two runs over the next two innings.  Though he slowed the Irish down, the deficit stayed the same.  Thanks to another opposite field shot that clanked off of the pole by Mark Fitzpatrick, the Cougars remained down six into the fifth, 10-4.  Then, the Colehamer offense showed signs of life in the fifth, stringing together a rally of hits and a fielder's choice to tighten the noose at 10-6.  The bottom half could be considered the turning point, as the Irish did not score for the first time all game.  To make it 10-7, Mike Triscari went yard on a solo blast that cleared the left field fence by a mile.  Things changed though, quickly.  The bottom half presented problems for Colehamer pitching.  Three runs were surrendered and suddenly they found themselves down 13-7 with only three frames left.  But then there was a slight change in the winds.  The ghosts were coming out for the Colehamer faithful.  Dylan Sprague took himself out after six, claiming his arm was sore, and Josh Sprague was inserted into the game.  The Cougars stayed patient and brought in five runs on mostly walks and singles.  But the story of the inning was a grand slam blast by Scott Fitzpatrick.  The shot was sent soaring over the screen monster.  The deficit was closed to one.  13-12.  The Irish loaded the bases and what happened next was possibly the most unbelievable play in wiffleball history.  A throw over to first brought home three runs.  Throwing errors and pickoff attempts brought Thomas Heritage all the way home from first.  Four runs scored that inning.  17-12.  Josh took the mound again for the eighth.  Patience was key and Matt Tozzi executed better than anyone who has ever seen a wiffleball.  A slew of walks and singles along with an RBI single by Mark Fitzpatrick tied the game.  Certainly, the ghosts were present at Triscari field.  Strikeout after strikeout, Scott kept Colehamer in the game and opened up an opportunity for them to win it in the ninth.  Kyle Keegan took the hill.  He had no control.  Walks and a hit batsmen loaded the bases for Scott Fitzpatrick.  With two outs and strikes on Scott, Keegan served up a lollipop.  The ball may still be in the air, we're not sure.  Scott Fitzpatrick's second grand slam of the game tied a GKWL record.  21-17 was the score as Mike Triscari stepped in to pad the lead.  His third home run solidified the game, and a game ending double play in the ninth finished the job for the Cougars. 

    Opening day was ugly, that's for sure.  Scott Fitzpatrick pitched seven solid innings for Colehamer giving up nine runs and striking out nine also.  Matt Tozzi contributed to the effort with great defense and a good job at the dish, drawing four walks with his unreal patience.  It was released that Mark Fitzpatrick will not spend any time on the disabled list for his pulled groin.  More games will be scheduled over spring break, most likely beginning on Friday, so stay tuned for more news and more wiffleball action.

                1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    R    H    E   

Cougars    1    2    0    1    2    1    5    5    5    22    21    2

Irish          3    5    1    1    0    3    4    0    0    17    24    2

W- M Fitzpatrick (1-0)

L- D Sprague (0-1)

S- S Fitzpatrick (1)

 

By: Mark