Hopwood rings up two wins over Mill Run
Deuces were wild in Hopwood Village Plaza’s 8-3 Fayette County Baseball League win over visiting Mill Run on Sunday.
Hopwood scored two runs in each the first, fourth, fifth and six inning and got two hits apiece from Santino Marra, Tate Musko, Matthew Firestone and Andino Vecchiolla.
It was one of two victories Hopwood picked up on the day over the Millers, including a 17-0 triumph in the completion of a suspended game earlier in the day.
“The second game was a little closer,” said Hopwood manager Buddy Marra, whose team has now won four in a row after a 1-3 start and sits at 5-3 and in second place.
The key has been Hopwood’s sizzling bats. As Marra pointed out, Hopwood has eight players hitting over .300 with Vecchiolla leading the way at .615. He’s followed by Firestone (.476), Musko (.444), Chad Petrush (.417), Santino Marra (.393), Justin Brestensky (.333), Ryan Covelens (.321) and Anthony Piasecki (.318).
Hopwood pounded out 12 hits in the second game, including doubles by Santino Marra, Vecchiolla and Jake Lee. Sankovich added three RBIs.
Buddy Marra used four different pitchers in the second game with
“Matt Firestone started and went three innings, then Mason Miller went one, Robbie Andrews two innings and Andino Vecchiolla finished the seventh,” Marra said.
Hopwood combined singles by Musko and Marra, walks by Chase Sankovich and Firestone and a pair of errors into two runs in the first inning.
Firestone held the Millers off the scoreboard until running into trouble in the fourth inning when he hit both Hunter Smiley and Cade Warrick.
Mason Miller relieved and Mill Run’s Marc Prinkey was safe on a fielder’s choice sacrifice bunt to load the bases. Miller looked like he would escape any damage when second baseman Piasecki flagged down a pop up and turned it into a double play, but Alex Wagor followed with an RBI single to center and Warrick scored on an error to tie the game at 2-2.
Hopwood went back ahead in the bottom of the frame when Sankovich’s RBI single capped a two-run rally. Santino Marra doubled and Firestone and Vecchiolla singled in the two-run fifth to make it 6-2.
Lane Smiley drew a bases-loaded walk to get the Millers within 6-3 in the top of the sixth but Hopwood pushed across two more in the bottom of the inning when Piasecki singled, Lee doubled and both runners scored on Sankovich’s sacrifice fly to center.
Firestone got a no-decision after being charged with the two runs (one earned) in the fourth inning. Miller was credited with one scoreless inning to earn the win. Andrews gave up one unearned run in two innings and Vecchiolla tossed a scoreless seventh.
Veteran left-hander Bill Bendis went the distance for Mill Run.
The first game began on June 9.
“It was a suspended rain game that was in the fourth inning,” Buddy Marra explained. “We were up 10-0 with two outs, Santino was on second and Matt Firestone was up.”
Zach Uhazie’s RBI ground out, Musko’s two-run triple and Santino Marra’s RBI double preceded Firestone, who walked when the game picked back up on Sunday. Petrush and Vecchiolla followed with consecutive RBI singles and Brestensky drew a bases-loaded walk to cap the seven-run outburst.
Hopwood added four runs in the fifth that included a double by Sankovich, an RBI single by Musko and a two-run single by Vecchiolla.
Petrush had two hits, including a three-run homer, in a four-run first inning, and five RBIs. Santino Marra was 3 for 4 with a double and three RBIs, and Musko contributed a triple, single and two RBIs for Hopwood.
Winning pitcher Uhazie pitched three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk with two strikeouts.
“Zach was not there Sunday so Santino finished the game,” Buddy Marra pointed out.
Santino Marra tossed two shutout innings to wrap up the victory.
Hopwood also got two hits and three RBIs from Vecchiolla and a double and a single from both Sankovich and Piasecki. Sankovich, Marra, Firestone and Covelens each scored three runs.
The Millers were limited to two hits with a single apiece from Lane Smiley and Colby Simmons. Kole Koontz took the loss.