SHAWN KULA SHUTS DOWN LITTLE FALLS POST WITH 2 HITTER AS POST 1290 ROLLS
# 5 JT Ross motors across the bag and arrives safely # 14 Joe Winsman awaits the throw.
MHTS SUMMER FUN TOUR VISITS DELUTIS FOR D5 BASEBAL
Story : Pete Pagliaro-MHTS
Photos: Will Michaels-MHTS
Fort Schuyler Post 1290 (10-4-9-3) and Little Falls Post 31 met for an American Legion D 5 ballgame at Delutis Field in Rome on Wednesday on a picturesque evening for baseball.
Shawn Kula took the mound for Fort Schuyler Post and was locked in from the first inning.
Kula quickly forced two ground balls off of the bats of Little Falls Post shortstop Zach Bowerman and second baseman Joshua Keeler and then gave up a single to centerfielder Dylan Pechtel but was able to get leftfielder Zach McLaughlin to pop up to end the inning.
Little Falls Post 31(4-11-3-11) sent Billy Winsman to the mound and was greeted with a single from second baseman Jonathan Ross, a groundout by shortstop Dante Rose and a pop out by rightfielder Tyler Raux.
Little Falls hurler # 23 William Winsman winds and deals at DeLutis.
Catcher Justin Stevener then stepped up to the plate and took a ball to the helmet and then followed with a stolen base attempt and was caught in a run down which allowed Ross to score and Stevener to pickup the stolen base.
The inning ended when first baseman Jeff Albright popped up and Fort Schuyler went ahead 1-0.
Kula got back to work in the top of the second and worked a quick and efficient inning when he picked up two pop flies from catcher Kevin Chrisman and Billy Winsman and then struck out first baseman Joseph Winsman.
Fort Schuyler picked up where they left off in the bottom of the second after a Kula single followed by third baeman Aaron Macchia’s strikeout and leftfielder Nicholas Springer’s groundout.
Ross then roped a double over the centerfielder who was playing shallow and emptied the bases and Fort Schuyler jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead.
In the top of the third, Kula worked another magnificent inning sending three up and three down with pop outs from third baseman Lucas Godlewski and Zach Bowerman and striking out rightfielder Corey Fierro.
In the bottom of the third, Billy Winsman of Little Falls was able to work his first scoreless inning when Tyler Raux reached on an error and Albright singled.
#32 Justin Stevener gets around on one for Fort Schuyler Post.
The fourth inning proved to be scoreless for both teams. Kula again breezed through the inning when Keeler grounded out and Pechtel singled but the inning came to an abrupt end on a stellar play by the Fort Schuyler shortstop Dante Rose when he plucked a ball out of the air and threw back to first for the double play.
Winsman also had help getting out of the fourth when Nicholas Springer grounded out and centerfielder Ryan Lupia singled and was caught in a run down after Jonathan Ross singled.
Kula’s dominance continued in the fifth when just one runner reached base by way of an error on the third baseman, otherwise Kula faced a pop out, groundout and a strikeout.
The bottom of the fifth brought two more runs to the Fort Schuyler side when Dante Rose was hit by a pitch, Tyler Raux struck out and Justin Stevener singled.
However, after Rose was stuck in a run down as he attempted to steal second, Stevener was able to make his way home and take a 4-0 lead.
Jeff Albright then followed with a shot to right field for a double which scored the final run of the night for Fort Schuyler and a 5-0 lead.
Kula came back out for the sixth and quickly disposed of the side by striking out Fierro, and getting Bowerman and Keeler to ground and pop out.
Fort Schuyler Post bench has plenty to smile about as Post 1290 picks up another big win!
Winsman was back out on the mound for Little Falls and he picked up a strikeout in the inning by fanning Lupia and hit Rose but no runs scored in the inning.
Kula was handed the ball for the final inning and he did not disappoint as he again disposed of all three men that came to the plate for Little Falls as Pechtel hit a hard liner into Kula’s glove, McLaughlin grounded out and the game ended on a strikeout to Kevin Chrisman.
Kula picked up the complete game shutout win and finished with a two hitter with five strikeouts and no walks.
Jonathan Ross was 2 for 4 with a double and two RBI and Jeff Albright and Ryan Lupia both had two hits.
Billy Winsman gave up five runs on eight hits and picked up five strikeouts in the loss.
Fort Schuyler Post 5 Little Falls 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Little Falls 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1
Fort Schuyler 1 2 0 0 2 0 X 5 8 1
