The Salmon River varsity baseball team moved one step closer to defending its 2022 Northern Athletic Conference Central Division regular-season title, and earned a measure of revenge in the process.
The Shamrocks improved to 6-1 on the season and moved one full game in front of the Franklin Academy Huskies (6-3) after recording a 12-5 win in Malone on Wednesday. Salmon River also got a little payback versus the Huskies after FA handed the Shamrocks their lone loss of the season, 11-8 under the lights in Fort Covington on Sunday.
The two Franklin County rivals were virtually tied atop the division, and were separated only by a few percentage points entering Wednesday’s contest.
“We were prepared after Sunday’s game,” said Salmon River head coach Tim Cook, Sr. “We have to stay calm when we face adversity and we did that today.
“This was a good win over a quality team and we are hoping to have a shot at the league championship,” Cook said.
It didn’t begin that way for Salmon River, although the Shamrocks did threaten to score in their first inning. The Huskies took the initial lead with two runs in the bottom of the first.
After posting goose-eggs on the scoreboard over the first three innings, the Shamrocks’ came alive offensively in the fourth and worked their way to a 3-2 lead. Salmon River took firm control of the contest with seven runs in the fifth inning, then added to that advantage with singletons over the final two frames.
The Huskies attempted to counter the Shamrocks’ big inning, but could only manage one run in the fifth and then were able to tack on two runs in the seventh on the strength of Jordan Perry’s home run – a two-run shot that cleared the fence in right field – for the 12-5 final.
Coach Cook called upon Caiden Cartier to toe the slab in the attempt to keep the FA bats in check. The senior right-hander didn’t disappoint, earning the win with a complete-game effort, limiting the Huskies to eight hits. He walked four, struck out nine and outlasted Perry, FA’s hard throwing junior right-hander who started on the hill and was tagged with the loss. Perry lasted into the fifth and was relieved by Trent Carriero. The FA duo combined to allow 13 hits and seven walks, hit one batter and struck out four, all by Perry.
Offensively, Salmon River had four players cap the victory with multiple hits. Luke Miller led the charge with a 3-for-3 game at the dish, which included a run-producing double in the fifth, while Chase Lewis, Rick Chatland and Dylan Johnson rapped two each.
Lewis had RBI singles in both the fourth and fifth innings, while Chatland legged out a pair of triples, drove in a run and scored three times. Chatland stroked an RBI three-bagger to left-center in the Shamrocks’ three-run fourth and followed that with his second triple in the fifth, a blast that one-hopped off the fence in right field. Johnson singled, doubled in the fifth and scored, while Cartier helped his own cause with an infield hit to go along with three stolen bases and two runs scored.
SRC senior Jared Rollins doubled home a run in the sixth, while Bronson Bero singled in a run in the fourth and plated another run on a groundout in the fifth. Evan Collette laid down a perfectly-placed bunt in the Shamrocks’ big inning to drive in a run, while Kade Cook and pinch runner Rhylen Wood crossed the plate once each.
Perry paced the Huskies at the plate with three hits. He doubled and scored in the first, reached base with an infield hit in the third, then completed his 3-for-3 game with his two-run dinger. Cameron Perras drove in two runs with a base hit and an RBI groundout, while Keegan McArdle plated a run with a first inning single. Carriero, Logan Peck (2 runs) and Logan Spaulding each collected a single in the losing effort.
Both teams are scheduled to play on Friday. Malone travels to Ogdensburg, while Salmon River hosts Gouverneur and both games are slated to begin at 4:30 p.m.
In the other Central Division games on Wednesday, Massena topped Potsdam 8-3 and Canton thumped Gouverneur 16-5.
East Division action saw Madrid-Waddington sweep St. Regis Falls in a doubleheader, winning 13-4 and 20-10. Norwood-Norfolk bested host Chateaugay 16-6 and Tupper Lake pounded St. Lawrence Central 24-5, while in the lone West Division contest, Harrisville rocked Morristown 13-2.
Salmon River 12, Malone 5
Salmon River 000 371 1 – 12 13 1
Cartier (W) and Lewis. Perry (L), Carriero (5) and Deuyour, White (6). 2B- Miller (S), Rollins (S), Johnson (S), Perry (M). 3B- Chatland 2 (S). HR- Perry (M).
Records: Salmon River (6-1), Malone (6-3).
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