Early runs, Lind’s arm lead Leps over U’town
Belle Vernon scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning to help grab an 11-2 win over the Red Raiders.
Belle Vernon scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning to help grab an 11-2 win over the Red Raiders.
The Belle Vernon baseball team opened up section play Tuesday with a matchup against Uniontown, and it was all Leopards in an 11-2 victory.
Belle Vernon (3-0, 1-0) earned strong performances all around as its offense was opportunistic and its defense was strong. On the mound, Parker Lind pitched a gem, giving up two hits and two unearned runs while striking out 12 in five innings of work.
“I thought we played pretty well today,” Belle Vernon coach Tony Watson said. “I thought getting out to an early lead helped our pitchers be able to pitch with the lead and build up that confidence early in the game. Other than the one inning where we had one or two miscues, I thought the guys stuck with it for the most part.
“We only go as far as Parker’s gonna take us this year. He’s our guy.”
Kole Doppelheuer went 3-4 in the leadoff spot, Lucas Judy went 2 for 3 with three RBIs, and Cole Matusik also had two hits. The Leopards tallied 13 hits against the Red Raiders (1-2, 0-1) as Brayden Hinzy was charged with the loss after giving up eight hits and seven runs in two innings on the mound.
For Uniontown’s offense, only Gary Smitley and Shane Kelly managed hits as Smitley’s single drove in a run.
Lind was dialed in right from the start, racking up two strikeouts in the top of the first as Uniontown managed one runner via walk. In the bottom of the frame, the Leopards wasted no time opening up the scoring.
Kole Doppelheuer singled to lead off the frame before stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch from Hinzy. Lucas Judy was up next, and he singled to short to bring Doppelheuer home and make it 1-0.
Just as Lind struck out Hinzy in the top of the inning, Hinzy got the better of his counterpart next to tally the first out.
But the Red Raiders continued to make mistakes and allow the Leopards to steal several bases. Judy stole second and advanced to third on a single from Cole Matusik before Matusik stole second and a wayward throw from catcher Lucas Peyton allowed Judy to touch home plate as well.
Connor Bergman drew a walk and Matusik and Bergman each stole third and second, respectively, before Alonzo Wade hit a hard ground ball to left. Wade’s RBI single made it 3-0 in favor of the Leopards.
Bergman scored on a balk from Hinzy and Wade made it home on a single from Chace Petrosky that brought the score to 5-0 in favor of Belle Vernon after the opening frame.
Lind struck out two more Red Raiders before Kelly earned the first hit for his team, but Ethan White ended the half inning by grounding into a fielder’s choice at second.
Doppelheuer and Judy each drew walks to open the bottom of the second before Lind drove a run in to make it 6-0. After that, Uniontown had a stroke of luck when Matusik lined out to Kelly at second and flipped it to Martin for an easy double play.
Bergman hit a single to score Zach Plymire, who was courtesy running for Lind, before the inning ended at 7-0 in favor of BVA.
The Red Raiders took advantage of some mistakes from Belle Vernon in the top of the third to score two runs. Adam Cramer drew a free pass before a balk moved him to second. Then Lane Smiley struck out, but the third strike was dropped and the throw to first couldn’t be corralled by Wade at first. That allowed Cramer to score and make it 7-1.
Lind then struck out two, but a nice at-bat from Smitley saw him line a single to center and bring Smiley home to make the score 7-2 heading into the bottom of the third frame.
Jaden Johnson opened that up with a double and Doppelheuer dropped a bunt for a single and stole second to set Judy up with two runners in scoring position. He stepped into the batter’s box and chopped a double that hit the ground and bounced over the glove of Luke Gresh at first.
That double made it 9-2, and Matusik made it 10-2 on a fielder’s choice that went home and failed to tag Plymire who again was courtesy running for Lind.
The Leopards posted their 11th and final run in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice fly from Johnson that scored Petrosky.
After five innings, freshman Cam Matusik stepped on the rubber in place of Lind, and he was similarly dominant for the rest of the contest. He struck out four without allowing a single baserunner to end it at 11-2.
“Cam showed great composure for a freshman,” Watson said. “That’s kind of what we expect from him this year. He did a great job tonight.”
Belle Vernon is back in action today at 6 p.m. in Uniontown.