The Rye baseball team collected its second win of the season in its second league game, beating Rye Neck 14-4 on Wednesday.
What appears as a blowout was actually a comeback victory for Rye. Rye Neck sophomore Ben Gellman drove in two runs with a double in the second inning, and junior Chris Cervantes made it 4-1 with a third-inning single.
The Garnets responded with seven runs on three hits to take an 8-4 lead in the bottom of the third. Once Rye Neck lost the lead, it was unable to catch Rye’s momentum and get back into the game. The Garnets went on to score six additional runs on three hits in the bottom of the fifth to win by 10.
The team delivered seven hits total – three apiece for junior DH Jamie Morris and senior first baseman Charlie Rupp, plus one by junior shortstop Nolan Hutson. In his 3-for-4 performance, Rupp had singles in the first and third and a double in the fifth.
“Rupp has been a tremendous captain so far and has been off to a hot start,” said Rye coach Mike Bruno.
Junior third baseman Ryan Magill went 2-for-2 for Rye Neck, with senior Peter Apoldo and sophomore Ian Hofmann also picking up hits.
Peter Davies earned the win for Rye, giving up one hit and zero runs in 2 2/3 innings pitched. In 11 batters faced, the senior pitcher walked two and struck out two.
“We’re still not playing our best ball, sloppy at times,” said Bruno. “We’re fortunate to have two wins.”
MAMARONECK 7, RYE 4 – The Garnets’ hot offense carried over into the next day, when Morris drove in a run in the top of the first, but the Tigers scored all their runs in two big innings to win a back-and-forth game Thursday.
Mamaroneck scored three runs in the bottom of the third to go ahead 3-1. Rye reclaimed the lead with three runs of its own in the top of the fifth. Hutson grounded into a fielder’s choice, and Morris and junior Jackson Pineault both singled down the right field line to put the Garnets ahead 4-3.
Junior pitcher Harry Ellis held the Tigers scoreless in the bottom of the fifth, but four runs in the bottom of the sixth put Mamaroneck ahead for good.
Each team had six hits, with sophomore Luke Ontaneda, senior Vincent Sculti, and junior Ben Fineberg all logging hits for Rye.
The Garnets (2-3) will face Rye Neck once again at 4:30 p.m. Friday before a trip to Orlando next week. The team is scheduled to play Byram Hills at 8 a.m. Tuesday and Ketcham at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports complex.
