Having played just one game so far in 2016, the Pirates baseball team was hoping they would catch a break in the bad weather and get a game in on Friday. The Pirates opened division play with a resounding 10-0 win over Patriot rival Bordentown for their first win.
Lefty Brandon Staub got the call on the mound for Cinnaminson, working around a one out walk to keep the Scotties scoreless in the first.
“He’s our most polished pitcher. His mechanics are superb,” head coach Kevin Merrill said. “He can throw three different pitches. Majority we went fastball-curveball today, but we did mix in his changeup a little bit. He can spot them when he needs to. He did a great job giving us consistency on the mound. He did a phenomenal job today.”
“The two-seamer was running a lot today,” Staub said. “Getting ahead in counts is huge and when you’ve got a zero in the ‘E’ column, it’s going to go well all the time. That was the mentality today.”
In the bottom half the Pirates began their scoring, picking up a run on an RBI double from first baseman Mike Bednarek.
“The first game against Northern (Burlington) we didn’t have any real firepower going for us,” center fielder Dominic Cicale said. “We thought to pick it up throughout the season we’ve got to pound teams with hits and keep getting runs until we mercy them.”
Cinnaminson added two more in the bottom of the second via a two-run home run from Cicale. A Joe Cody sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third made the score 4-0.
“It felt great,” Cicale said of his home run. “I saw it up in the air and halfway up the baseline I looked up and saw that it was gone.”
The bottom of the fourth saw the Pirates extend the lead to 8-0 off an error, a two-run double from Cody and an RBI double from Staub.
“When I’m pitching, that’s all I’m focused on, but when at the plate, I’m just trying to hit balls back up the middle,” Staub said. “When it happens, it’s always good.”
Cinnaminson ended the day in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI double from Christian Massara and a sacrifice fly from pinch hitter Tim Profy.
“The way you win games is by putting pressure on teams, good teams or bad teams,” Merrill said. “You put pressure on teams to make them make plays. We just put pressure on them all day long and we capitalized on a couple of mistakes, but we hit the ball hard in spots.”
Staub finished the day with a complete game, allowing just two hits. He struck out two and walked three. He allowed just three balls to leave the infield (one single and two flyouts). The other hit was an infield single.
The Pirates had six extra base hits, including the Cicale home run and five doubles.
“What I’ve always preached is being aggressive in counts and hitting zones,” Merrill said. “We focus on locking in on certain zones and good counts. If the pitch is there, we gotta attack it. Today we did a great job of that. Hopefully we learn from these first two games and keep getting better and better.”
Cinnaminson returns to the field on Monday, April 11 with a game at Haddonfield at 3:45pm.
“Whenever we play good defense, it’s hard to score,” Staub said. “If we have to give up three hits in an inning for the other team to score, it’s going to be a very good day. I tell the young guys to keep working hard. Everything will come.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E | |
| Bordentown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Cinnaminson | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
WP: Brandon Staub – Complete Game Shutout (1-0) – 5 innings, 2 hits, 2 K, 3 BB
LP: Austin Fraser
2B: C: Mike Bednarek, Mike McAndrews, Joe Cody, Brandon Staub, Christian Massara
HR: C: Dom Cicale
Dom Cicale 2-3, 2-run HR to left in bottom of 2nd
Brandon Staub 2-3, 2B, RBI
Mike Bednarek 2-2, 2B, RBI
Joe Cody 2-2, 2B, 3 RBI
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