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Thursday, March 30, 2017 | BataviasBest.org
It was a cold, wet, blustery day at the Field of Dreams in Alexander on Thursday afternoon, but that didn’t stop the Trojans 2017 Baseball team from picking up an Opening Day victory over non-league opponent Perry. Alexander dropped the Yellow Jackets by the final score of 6-3, as the Trojans were able to preserve to an early-lead, and fend off a late Perry rally in order to secure the win.
The Trojan offense provided starting pitcher Brett Nichols (2 IP) with an early cushion, scoring 2 first inning runs. The early tallies came after a leadoff triple from Dane Heberlein was followed by an RBI single for Derrick Busch two batters later – and then Busch was quickly scored on an RBI single from freshman Tyrone Woods.
That was all for the home team in the first, and the Trojans wouldn’t score again until the third when Heberlein again came through with a leadoff extra base hit (double), which was followed up by singles from Ryan Mileham and Busch – which drove in Heberlein. Mileham also scored during the offensive flurry, and going into the fourth the score was 4-0 Trojans.
Neither side would score during their next at bat, but during the fifth Perry was finally able to break through after watching a few early-inning threats continuously fall
short.
The first run of the game for the Yellow Jackets came on three singles, as Jeff Uvenio led things off in the fifth with a base hit, which was then followed by Tyler Cowie, and then the same from John Hulbert – who picked up the RBI, scoring Uvenio. With the score now 4-1 Trojans, that was enough for Perry – until the seventh, at least.
Now behind 6-1 heading into the final inning after two more runs crossed the plate for Alexander in the sixth, the Yellow Jackets managed to forge a rally and come within three runs of tying the score before it was all said and done.
However, despite the late charge, with the score 6-3 and the bases loaded Trojans’ freshman Dylan Busch came on and stifled the momentum which Perry had built so suddenly – as the Alexander youngster recorded three-straight outs in order to earn a big-time save.
Throughout the three-run win, Alexander used four pitchers – Nichols, Woods, Heberlein, and Dy. Busch. None pitched more than three innings, while Woods led the staff with 6 strikeouts.
“It was a good win, especially considering the first game is always tough, and the cold weather today,” said Alexander head coach Ben Whitmore following the game. “We had two great offensive performances from seniors Heberlein and De. Busch, and underclassmen Tyrone Woods and Dy. Busch had great debuts on the mound which led us tonight.”
With the win, Alexander moves to 1-0 to begin the year, while Perry falls to 0-1. Next up for the Trojans, will be a road matchup with Avon tomorrow night.
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