Left fielder Gordon Fisher laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to score Cole Penders from third and give Brockport a 6-5 win over division foe Greece Athena in boys’ baseball.
The Trojans took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, but Brockport exploded for five runs in their half. First baseman Quinlan Ignaszak stroked a one-out double to left and, after Dominic Frosini was hit by a pitch, scored on Sam Velletri’s RBI single. Frosini and Velletri moved up a base on the throw home and both scored on Penders single down the left field line.
Penders stole second and Michael Jamele walked before Fisher plated Penders with a single and Noah Schultz drove Jamele in with another single to stake Brockport to a 5-1 lead.
Athena chipped away with James Sciortino pounding a two-run home run over the left field wall in the third to close to within 5-3.
In the seventh, an RBI single cut the lead to one, but the Trojans scored the tying run with two outs.
That led to the final inning with Penders drawing a lead-off walk. Jamele sacrificed him to second, but the throw to first got away with the runners advancing to third and second. Fisher then bunted the first pitch he saw with Penders racing down the third base line with the winning run.
“I straight-up asked him and he said that if that’s what I wanted to do, then he would get it (the bunt) down,” Brockport head coach Matt Davis said.
“We switched leagues this year and every game will look like this – a one-run close affair. We’re a young team and these types of games and situations are huge for their learning curve looking ahead to the end of the year.”
Brockport starting pitcher Ignaszak allowed seven hits and three earned runs over six-plus innings of work. He benefitted from five double-plays; many turned by the second base-shortstop combo of Velletri and Jamele, who came on in relief in the seventh to earn the win.
