Rye High won the Faust baseball tournament at Port Chester Saturday for a third consecutive year.

 

By Melanie Cane

 

Rye High won the Faust baseball tournament at Port Chester Saturday April 21 for a third consecutive year.

 

Senior pitcher Willis Robbins was awarded the Most Valuable Player trophy for a second consecutive year. Senior pitcher Jeff Dempsey was named All-Tournament player for a second straight year. Junior Ryan Ackert was named All-Tournament for the first time.

 

In the first game, Rye beat Rye Neck 10-0. Willis Robbins pitched all seven innings, striking out 13 batters and allowing only two hits.

 

“I went out and threw strikes and gave my team a chance to win,’’ Robbins said. “Our bats gave us an early lead and I just went with the momentum.” Rye scored two runs in the first and fifth innings, one in the sixth, and five in the seventh for the victory.

 

At bat, freshman Tim DeGraw went three for four with one run batted in and scored once. Senior Jeff Dempsey had two hits in four at-bats, slamming two RBIs.

 

In the championship game, pitcher Jeff Dempsey led Rye High to a 7-0 victory over Blind Brook. He pitched all seven innings, allowing only five hits while throwing nine strikeouts. Rye scored four runs in the fourth and three in the fifth.

 

At bat, Dempsey accounted for one of Rye’s runs. Dempsey was glad the team won and called it “extra special” that it was their third Faust tournament championship in a row.

 

In the championship win, junior Ryan Ackert got two hits in three at-bats, scoring twice. Senior Jake Meyerson batted two-for-four, slamming a double and one RBI. Freshman Tim DeGraw drove in two runners.

 

Coach Mike Bruno was thrilled by the way his baseball team played in both games.

 

RHS brought its season record to 3-2.

 

Rye Neck, which beat RHS by a score of 8-2 in the season opener April 4, shut out Port Chester, 16-0, in the tournament’s consolation round.

 

Rye Neck has two wins and six losses this season.