(Pomona, NY) – After being on the road, Boulder bats made a big debut back at home Friday night on the same day that former Boulder, Stephen Cardullo, made his for the Colorado Rockies.
Rockland gave starting pitcher, David Fischer, an early lead in the bottom of the first inning. Jared Schlehuber hit a high sacrifice fly out to right field that brought in the shortstop, Junior Arrojo. The score was 1-0.
The Boulders added to their lead in the third. Marcus Nidiffer drove in Mike Fransoso with a sac fly of his own to center field, making it 2-0. Schlehuber drove in Arrojo for the second time and Leandro Castro hit his first home run, a two-run shot to left field. He and Devin Harris came across home plate to advance Rockland to 5-0.
Sussex got on the board in the top of the fifth. Chris Chiaradio hit an RBI single that brought in Dominique Taylor. The score was 5-1. Shortly after, Nidiffer caught Chiaradio trying to steal second base. The defensive play was Nidiffer’s second on the night, throwing out Carl Thomore in another failed attempt earlier.
Rockland quickly got the run back and then some. In the bottom of the inning, Harris and Mike Montville each hit big two-run home runs. Harris’ brought in Schlehuber and Montville’s drove in Castro. Halfway through and the new score was 9-1.
Ryan Kulik’s night was over after going for five innings. He battled his way through 26 batters, giving up nine runs on 11 hits and only striking out one. Darren Fischer took over the bump.
In the sixth Schlehuber hit his third sac fly, this time to left field. The at-bat allowed for the DH, Quinnton Mack, to come in and score. After six, the Boulders made it an even 10-1.
Mack got aboard the RBI train in the bottom of the seventh. He hit a single that brought in Montville, making it 11-1. A couple batters later and Nidiffer was at it again. He hit a three-run bullet deep to right field. Aaron Wilson and Mack also came in to score, increasing Rockland’s already crushing lead to 14-1.
The righty, Matt Kostalos, relieved Fischer after seven innings of hard work. He allowed just one run on five hits, walking three and striking out nine. He moves to 8-3 on the season while Kulik picks up his first loss, now 4-1.
The Miners put up a run in the eighth when Chris Jacobs drove in Jay Austin. However, it was far from enough to close the gap. The final score was 14-2.
The Boulders (51-39) and the Miners (37-53) will face off again tomorrow night at 7:00pm in Sussex for Game 3.