Arison leads Belmont Inn to 3-0 win
Pasta Lorenzo's Ed Dutkewycz swings at a pitch thrown by Belmont Inn's Bob Madison during Thursday's Fayette County Baseball game at Gmutza Field in Republic.
Pasta Lorenzo's Ken Musko tags Belmont Inn's Sam Beucher out at second base during Thursday's Fayette County Baseball League game at Gmutza Field in Republic.
Belmont Inn pitcher Bob Madison reaches to catch a bouncing ground ball hit by a Pasta Lorenzo batter during Thursday's game. Madison was able to throw the ball to first in time to get the out.
The ball falls to the ground as Pasta Lorenzo's Eric Palmer (12) and Brent Baker almost collide in the outfield during Thursday's Fayette County Baseball League Game against Belmont Inn at Gmutza Field in Republic.
Pasta Lorenzo starting pitcher Sam Bashioum throws a pitch to a Belmont Inn batter during Thursday's game in Republic.
?REPUBLIC — Evan Arison broke open a scoreless game with a run in the fifth inning and tacked on a solo home run in the seventh to help Belmont Inn defeat Pasta Lorenzo, 3-0, at Paul Gmutza Field on Thursday night.
Arison reached base in the fifth inning on a single, and advanced to second on Bob Madison’s bunt. He moved to third on a fielder’s choice, and gave Belmont Inn a 1-0 lead when he scored on Nate Fike’s single.
Leading off in the top of the seventh, Arison belted a 2-0 pitch from Sam Bashioum over the fence, Belmont Inn’s first homer of the season, clearing the 330-foot mark over centerfield fence to make the score 2-0.
Belmont Inn added an insurance run in the inning when Bashioum walked Carmen Congelio. Congelio stole second and later scored on an Eric Fudala single to put Belmont Inn ahead, 3-0.
The win evens Belmont Inn’s record at 5-5, improving to 3-0 against Pasta Lorenzo.
Belmont Inn manager Steven Kezmarsky felt his team is moving in the right direction.
“We are playing better as a team now that I have all my guys,” said Kezmarsky. “At one point this season we were 1-4, and now we have everyone here and we are playing better.”
Madison went the distance for Belmont Inn, improving to 2-1 with his second complete game against Pasta Lorenzo. He allowed seven hits, walked four and struck out two.
Kezmarsky was pleased with Madison’s performance.
“Madison called me up last night and said that he wanted to pitch against these guys,” said Kezmarsky. “He pitched a complete game against them last Tuesday and earned the win. Tonight, had he entered the seventh with just one run for support, I feel he could have still finished the job.”
Bashioum fell to 0-3 (0-2 against Belmont Inn) as he allowed seven hits for three runs (all earned), walked one and struck out two.
Citing the fact his team left 10 men on base, including runners on third base in three innings, Pasta Lorenzo manager Dan Kupets felt his team had their chances.
“In a close game like this when you don’t score with opportunities you’ll lose,” said Kupets. “They scored on the chances they had, and we didn’t. That’s how games like these are decided.”
Jojo Maldonado led Pasta Lorenzo (5-8) in batting as he went 3-for-3 with a walk.
Pasta Lorenzo will next see action at Bud Murphy’s on Tuesday.