Pitchers’ Duel Goes to Garnets, 1-0

Rye Neck met Rye High at Disbrow Park May 8 having won seven of their previous eight games. They sent to the mound their best starting pitcher, last year’s All-Section choice George Katsaros. Opposing him for the Garnets, coming off wins against Ardsley and Sleepy Hollow, was their hard-throwing starter, Tyler Winderman. It shaped up to be a low-scoring game, and it didn’t disappoint.

The score was 0-0 in the bottom of the third when Rye hit back-to-back singles to left field. The rally died on a pop-out to short and a Katsaros strikeout. The Panthers returned the favor in the top of the fourth with a pair of one-out singles of their own, but Winderman retired the next two.

Garnets sophomore A.J. Miller stroked a two-out single to right-center in the fourth, but he was picked off to end the threat.

The fifth inning saw drama of a different kind. After a lead-off single, Rye Neck DH Matthew Ryan bounced a ball to the second baseman. After a force at second, Ryan, a freshman, hustled to beat the relay back to first. In doing so, he injured his hip and lay on the ground beyond the bag while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. When play resumed, Winderman struck out Evan Janowitz, looking, for the second out. Davey Ryan was safe on an error and stole second, but the rally ended on another strikeout. The Garnets went down 1-2-3.

In the top of the sixth, Janowitz stroked a one-out single and stole second. A pop-out to second was followed by a walk and a Kimichika Irie single to right. Janowitz tried to score, but RHS sophomore Shep Griffiths made a great throw to cut him down at the plate.

Both sides were retired pretty quickly over the next three half-innings. Panther Davey Ryan led off the eighth with a single, but Winderman got the next three. The Garnets were unable to produce against Katsaros in their half of the eighth. The Panthers threatened in the ninth, but after a foul-out to the catcher, Janowitz lined into a double-play.

After Garnet Tommy Broderick grounded out to lead off the ninth inning, Dillon Schmidt beat out a hit to short. He took off on a steal of second, and when the throw bounced into the outfield, he raced to third. That throw, too, was off-target, and when Davey Ryan went after it, the umpires ruled it had gone out of play and Schmidt was awarded with Rye’s winning run.

Schmidt, Cole Bartlett, Charlie Margiloff, and A.J. Miller all got hits, and Winderman threw a nine-inning shutout, giving up eight hits and striking out five. 

After the game, Rye Neck coach George Travis said he was happy with his team’s effort. “We have our season-ending game against Briarcliff, and we’re looking pretty good except for Matt’s injury.” As it turned out, the Panthers were held to a 5-5 tie by the Bears, a team they’d defeated 13-0 earlier in the season.

The Garnets also had a game 24 hours later, this one against Harrison, a team they’d lost to by 2-1 earlier in the schedule. Rye won this time, 2-0.