By HUNTER O. LYLE
SMETHPORT, PA – Restocked and reloaded, the Bradford Legion Post 108 baseball team kicked off their campaign with a familiarity in the dugout, power at the plate and staunch defense in the field as they downed Crosby Post 976 10-5..
Taking over the helm for his third year as head coach, Jim Henry didn’t have a whole lot of introductions to do during the opening week of practice. Welcoming back the vast majority of last year’s lineup, including a handful of collegiate athletes such as Talan Reese – who plays quarterback at Wheeler University – and Evan Whitmore – who plays baseball at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford– , Henry optimism for the weeks ahead is built on the team’s combination of youth and experience.
“We have a bunch of athletes,” said Henry. “They’re working hard and they haven’t missed a step.”
That athleticism initially showed up in the field. Despite being dispatched early in the first, Post 108 quickly returned the favor, turning a double-play in the bottom of the same frame before Drayden Norton racked up three strikeouts during their next time out. Then, after holding Crosby at bay, Bradford’s bats came alive.
Jay Parisella and Ben Woodhouse opened the action, recording Post 108’s first hits of the season with back-to-back singles before a subsequent walk loaded the bases. Returning to the top of the card, Lucas Wallace rattled off a line drive double past third, bringing in two and although they suffered two quick outs immediately after, Bradford capped off their initial scoring burst with one more run via RBI-single from Reese.
However, Crosby refused to hesitate in their response.
In his second appearance at the plate, lead-off batter Kellen Veilleux found his second hit of the day, tacking on a single before being joined on base by Mason Roessner with a full-count walk. A sac-fly moved the pair into scoring position while a perfectly placed bunt gave Veilleux enough time to close the distance to home plate. An overthrown pick-off attempt at third allowed a second runner in, followed by an RBI-single from Gavin Moses which brought the game back to even at 3-3.
With their bats still recharging, Bradford’s retaliation came once again from their defense, coming through with another double-play to stunt Post 976 once again.
“We just play heads up baseball,” said Henry on the team’s effectiveness in the field. “Heads up baseball and just listening to everything that’s going on.”
In the top of the fifth, Post 108 pulled away for good. Following a lead-off single from Woodhouse, four consecutive Crosby walks allowed Bradford to rebuild a two-run lead. Despite seeing two outs in the next two batters, Braylon Austin put an exclamation point on the inning with a crushed double to center field, driving in three runs to push the deficit to 8-3. Retiring Crosby in four in the bottom of the frame, Post 108 tacked on a final pair of runs during their next trip to the plate with another RBI-single from Reese and a bases-loaded walk.
Although they found runners on base in the final two frames, Post 976’s bats refused to warm up. Their lone runs in the seventh came from Bradford’s waning men on the mound, yet failed to bring Crosby back within reach.
Reese and Wallace shouldered the weight of Bradford’s season opening win, both going 2-for-3 on the night. Reese finished with two RBIs and one run scored while Wallace came away with a pair of each. Woodhouse ended a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, followed by Tarren Reeses’ one run and two RBIs during his 1-for-3 day.
For Crosby, Veilleux ended 2-for-3 with one run while Derek Smith scored twice and finished 1-for-2.
“We executed signs well. We executed just heads up baseball,” said Henry. “The main thing we need to work on is defending small ball.”
AT SMETHPORT
Bradford Post 108 003 052 0 R:10 H:13 E:2
Crosby Post 976 003 000 2 R:5 H:6 E:0
Bradford: Norton (4 SO, 5 BB), Parisella (4) (3 SO, 6 BB), Schenfield (7) (0 SO, 2 BB) and Iantorno
Crosby: Roessner (4 SO, 2 BB), Smith (5) (3 SO, 3 BB), Veilleux (7) (2 SO, 1 BB) and Hungiville
