Panakos’ Arm, Cusenza’s Bat Help Wellington Move To 4-1

Michael Cusenza had three RBIs for the Wolverines Thursday night.

Wellington Manager Scott Riddle admitted before Thursday’s game with John I. Leonard that the Wolverines had a down season last year, and that he hoped they would get back on track this season. Jeremy Panakos and Michael Cusenza made sure that at least early on this year, Wellington appears to be back.

Panakos threw five innings, giving up only one earned run, and Cusenza had three RBIs, lifting the Wolverines to a 5-1 non-district win over the Lancers. The win moves Wellington to 4-1 on the young season, but Riddle knows it will take more than a strong start to be back where he wants the team to be.

“Ask me after next week,” said Riddle, when asked whether he was pleased with where his team was at. “Our next three games are district games against Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Beach Central and Dwyer. Once we come through that stretch, I’ll have a better idea of where we stack up against the best.”

Despite Riddle’s downplaying of the strong start, the team has developed a formula for winning in 2013, strong pitching and timely hitting. Panakos was in control right from the start against the Lancers, and after escaping a few jams in the early innings, he settled in and allowed only three baserunners in his final three innings of work.

“I felt good out there tonight,” said Panakos. “I was just trying to pound the strike zone, get ahead in the count, and let my defense do the work.”

Cusenza was the offensive hero for the Wolverines, driving in Wellington’s first run with a double, and then driving in runs two and three on a most bizarre out. Cusenza came up in the fifth inning with the score tied 1-1 and runners on second and third. He drove what appeared to be a base hit to left, scoring both runners. In the process, however, Cusenza’s shoulder popped out, and he fell to the ground. The Lancers were able to get the ball in from the outfield and force out Cusenza at first base.

“I’ve never seen that before,” said Riddle. “I was waving my runner around third, and I turned around to give a sign, and I noticed Michael was not on first. That’s when I saw him at home plate. Not a bad looking two-RBI force out.”

Juan Yambo receives a throw at second on a steal attempt.

Cusenza, who has been the leader of the Wolverines this season according to Riddle, was relieved to find out that his injury was not serious.

“I’m fine,” said Cusenza after the game. “I’ll be back in there tomorrow. This has happened to me before, but I’ll be fine.”

The Lancers were dealt their first loss of the season, despite a strong pitching performance from starter Jared Johnson. The senior went four innings, leaving with a 1-1 score. Even with the tight game, Lancers Manager Roger Vazquez knew this early in the year that he had to pull Johnson at his pitch count limit.

“It’s very hard to pull him out of the game when he’s pitching that well,” said Vazquez. “But it’s not a district game, and it’s not a conference game. So at this point, our focus is on winning those games, and we need to have momentum going into the playoffs. If I burn him early now, and then can’t use him later at crunch time, what good is that?”

Vazquez also understood where his team needed to improve moving forward.

“We had our chances early tonight, and left some runners on base. If we are going to beat good teams, we’re going to have to execute in those positions. We’ve played well, so we just need to make a few adjustments on the offensive side and we’ll be right where we want to be.”

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