Rockets present Curtis with 250th career win
Jefferson-Morgan baseball coach John Curtis was in search of career win No. 250 on Monday.
Perhaps his team was attempting to celebrate the milestone by scoring 250 runs. The Rockets didn’t quite put together that much offense, but they did pound out 20 hits in hammering host Hundred, W. Va., 26-3, in a five-inning, non-section game to give their coach his milestone victory.
Winning pitcher Joe Culp and Ben Barbetta combined to throw a no-hitter to make the win even more special for Curtis, who is in his 23rd year at J-M. Culp struck out nine and walked six in 3 1-3 innings. Barbetta got the final five outs, walking three and striking out one.
Ironically, it was Culp’s tough catch of a sinking line drive in center field that preserved the no-hitter in the fifth.
Barbetta homered, doubled and singled twice. Culp and John Pochron both homered, doubled and singled.
While 250 wins is an impressive total, it wasn’t a goal Curtis sought to reach.
“When you start out, you never even think about numbers like that,” said Curtis, who has led the Rockets (2-0) into the WPIAL playoffs in 14 of his 22 seasons. “You’re there for the love of the game. In my case, I just loved being around the game and teaching the kids. I’ve always been blessed with good players who were very good kids from good families. It’s been a pleasure.”
Curtis coached his two sons, Tommy and A.J., in his stint at Jefferson-Morgan.
“My sons have been a big part of this,” Curtis said.
“I get to see them play on the weekends sometimes. A.J. just got his first college hit at Bethany this past weekend.”
Curtis, whose team has averaged 11.3 wins per year through his career, is happy with his program’s stability.
“I’ve had a good assistant coach, Tony Barbetta, whose been with me since 1986,” Curtis said.
“He’s my only assistant. We played a Class A team last week that had four assistants. A lot of others have two or three. But we’ve been fine with one and have kept some continuity. We’ve always had kids interested in baseball here. We have 16 to 33 kids every year, which is pretty good for a Class A.
“We’ve been pretty successful. We’ve been to the playoffs a lot and we’ve beaten some big-time programs like Beaver Falls and Ford City.”
Against Hundred, Curtis’s Rockets scored one run in the first before exploding for 12 in the second to all but put the game away.
Barbetta and Pochron each hit two-run homers in the inning.
Jefferson-Morgan put up six more in the third, one in the fourth and four more in a fifth inning that was highlighted by Culp’s three-run blast.
Jeff Coneybeer tripled, and John Moskola and Matt Fanase each added a double for the Rockets.
Josh Gump lasted only two innings in taking the loss for Hundred (0-1), which scored three runs without the benefit of a hit in the fourth.
Jefferson-Morgan hosts Clay-Battelle on Thursday at 4 p.m., then Curtis goes up against one of his former players in Carmichaels coach Dave Bates and the visiting Mikes on Friday, also at 4 p.m.
“It’s been a good ride,” Curtis said. “We’re off to a good start this year, so maybe we can keep it going.”