On Saturday May 18th, the Colonia Patriots took on Bernards in baseball.
Overview
The starter for Colonia was senior Sean Ragan, In his last appearance vs. Bishop Apr, he pitched one inning. In that inning he gave up 1 hit, no runs gave up a walk and struck out 3 batters. The starter for Bernards was junior David Laione, In his last outing against Gill St. Bernards he pitched seven innings. Laione gave up 3 hits, 1 run, 3 walks and struck out 5 batters in seven innings but was given the lose.
One of Colonia’s best hitter as of late has been freshman Tyler Mendez, who has at least one hit in three of his last five games. Senior Lou Matten has had a couple good games recently. On 5/15 against Bishop Apr he had 3 hits in 3 at bats with 5 RBI’s. On 5/9 against Scotch-Plains Fanwood he had 2 hits in 3 at bats and an RBI. For Bernards, one of their best hitters has been senior Justin Fuls. He has a hit in 4 of his last 5 games, including a three night against Pingry. Another good hitter for Bernards is Eddie Gambelli. He has a hit in 3 of his last 5 games including a three hit game against Parsippany.
The game was scoreless until the top of the fourth inning. In that inning, Bernards was able to score three runs off of starter Sean Ragan. The relief pitching was senior Will Orak, who gave up four runs (three earned) in the fifth and sixth inning. In the fifth inning Colonia was able to score two runs off of sophomore reliever Gordon Brienza. Brienza pitched the sixth inning and gave up no runs. Sophomore Harrison Brindley pitched for Colonia in the seventh inning and didn’t give up a run. Tom Orlic came in for Bernards and got the final 3 outs. Final score was 8 to 2.
Reflection
Unfortunately, Colonia lost, however, they did have some bright spots. Sophomore Harrison Brindley pitched a scoreless seventh inning. Senior Ryan Balog was not swinging at any bad pitches as he had 3 walks. Lou Matten and Tyler Mendez kept up their good work as they had one RBI each. Bernards was able to win this game on excellent pitching from junior David Laione, who gave up no runs in four innings. Junior James Kessler had a good hitting game with three RBI’s.
Sophomore Harrison Brindley was interviewed about the game, He was asked “How did you feel about the way you pitched?” Brindley responded with “So, I think it went extremely well, It stinks that it was one of the few opportunities I got this season and that the game was out of reach, but it felt good.” Next, he was asked “What are some changes you think the team can make for the future strategy wise”. Brindley responded “I think we were a decent team strategy wise. A lot of our improvement is going to have to be in our team chemistry and confidence on the field. With that confidence, we will be more comfortable, playing more aggressive.”
