Coming off of an injury, Josh Sprague got the nod in just the second game of the young Fighting Irish season. He was set to face off against undefeated Cougars pitcher, Mark Fitzpatrick. Though his Runs Against Average was through the roof, Fitzpatrick

Coming off of an injury, Josh Sprague got the nod in just the second game of the young Fighting Irish season. He was set to face off against undefeated Cougars pitcher, Mark Fitzpatrick. Though his Runs Against Average was through the roof, Fitzpatrick took the hill with full confidence.
The game got off to a slow start for the Cougars, as Josh Sprague took the second pitch of the game into the upper deck with a one handed swing. Things seemed to be going as usual for Fitzpatrick. But things calmed down quickly. He shut them down in the first and got right to work at the plate. Mike Triscari immediately tied the ballgame on the first pitch he saw, sending that one to another area code. The Cougars didn’t stop there, as they pounded Josh for four more runs before the inning ended. In the second, Fitzpatrick mowed the Irish hitters down, snagging a frozen rope that nearly took Fitzpatrick‘s head off by Kyle Keegan in the process. The Colehamer offense did not let up there. Mark Fitzpatrick helped his own cause by slugging two home runs, creating a 9-1 lead by the time the Irish recorded out number three. In the third, Dylan Sprague tried to keep his ball club in it as he called a home run that landed in the right field bleachers. Mark rebounded though, once again preventing the big inning, only giving up that home run. Josh blanked the Cougars in the third, only giving up one hit to the Cougar offense. In the top of the fourth, the Irish saw their first chance to turn the tide of the game, but instead Mark silenced the Brunswick squad, striking out Josh to pick up his second K of the game.
Meanwhile, Mike Triscari was in pursuit of the cycle. After hitting a triple to max out in the fifth, it became clear that with only a double, he would hit for the cycle. Later in the game, he would stretch a hit that looked to be gone, but hit the centerfield wall, and he went into second with a double that clinched the cycle for him. He ended up with six home runs and fourteen RBIs.
With the score lopsided going into the late innings, Cougars pitcher Mark Fitzpatrick had himself a gem of a game, heading into the eighth with four shutout innings in a row, and a comfortable 21-2 lead. Despite a hit from the bat of Dylan Sprague, Fitzpatrick held on to his string of consecutive innings of shutout work, as they piled three more on in the bottom eighth to make the score 24-2. Fitzpatrick stepped onto the hill in the ninth and gave up two hits. Though he was fatigued, Triscari had confidence in his young pitcher, and he got the job done thanks to a beautiful catch in right field to end the game by Scott Fitzpatrick.
The Irish have now played for the first time since April, and dusted off the cobwebs. Next time, they will be more ready and will likely put up a better fight. As for the Cougars, they played great. Mark Fitzpatrick pitched nine innings, struck out three, and only allowed two runs. At the plate, he smacked two home runs and ten RBIs. Another game is to be scheduled soon, possibly on June 30th. We will keep you posted as the home runs and RBIs reset on July 1st.