It’s been a tough start to the season for Rye’s boys of summer. They lost their home opener, April 4, to Rye Neck 8-2. The next day they lost to Nanuet, 5-4 in extra innings.

 

By Melanie Cane

 

It’s been a tough start to the season for Rye’s boys of summer. They lost their home opener, April 4, to Rye Neck 8-2. The next day they lost to Nanuet, 5-4 in extra innings.

 

In the Nanuet game, the Garnets quickly found themselves in a 0-3 hole in the second inning, due to some egregious errors on the part of the umpires. But Rye maintained its composure and battled back, scoring one run in the third inning and a second in the fourth.

 

By the bottom of the fifth Rye was up 4-3.^. Nanuet tied the game in the top of the seventh, at which point pitcher Tim DeGraw relieved Willis Robbins on the mound and got the final out.

 

Rye failed to score in the bottom of the seventh, sending the game to extra innings. Nanuet scored in the top of the eighth, and freshman Ryan Popp relieved DeGraw with one out. The first batter reached on an error. He struck out the next batter. The last batter grounded out. Rye failed to score in the bottom of the eighth

 

RHS Coach Mike Bruno was thrilled with the performance of his starting pitcher. “Willis showed great mental toughness and was unhittable after the second inning.” Robbins finished with 11 strikeouts and only one earned run. DeGraw, a freshman, had one hit and an RBI to go along with three stolen bases. Seniors Jeff Dempsey and Jake Meyerson each tallied one RBI.

 

After the game, Coach Bruno said, “These types of games will only make the team stronger down the road. I liked how the boys came back from an early 3-0 hole and some terrible calls by the umpires.”