Big Innings Lead To Bigger Win For Spanish River

Fenway Parks doubled, tripled and scored twice for the Sharks.

The Spanish River Sharks just seem to have Olympic Heights’ number.

Earlier this winter, they kicked off the 2014 season by beating the Lions 10-0. On Monday, the two met again for the Dave Manzo Spring Tournament at Forest Hills High School and the Sharks once again pounced, winning 22-0. The win improves Spanish River’s record to 8-6, while Olympic Heights drops to 3-9.

On a blustery day, the Sharks got to work right away. They brought 11 batters to the plate in the first inning. Eight of them reached safely and of those eight, six came around to score.

It all started when Ryan Berger worked the count full before being walked by Lion’s starter Jared Spector, who came into the game with a respectable 3.39 ERA. Fenway Parks and Anthony Acino followed that with back to back doubles for a 2-0 lead. Acino made it 3-0 by scoring on Spencer Diaz’s ground out to shortstop. Spector induced a pop out to the next batter and with two outs and the bases empty, it looked as if he had avoided the big inning.

But the Sharks kept rolling.

Boomer Saraga singled and then scored when Austin Hurwitz followed him up with a double on a high fly ball that drifted in the wind and landed just inside the left field foul line. A walk by Eric Fagerli and an RBI single for John O’Connor flipped the order and brought Berger to the plate for the second time in the inning. This time, he reached on an error that also allowed Fagerli to score the sixth run.

The Lions got off to a good start when they sought to close the gap in the bottom of the frame. Gerry Meyers and Robert Black led off with back-to-back singles but Berger, who pitched the complete game shut-out for Spanish River, struck out the next three batters to strand them.

Damian Gonzalez took the mound in relief of Spector in the second and pitched two scoreless innings before the Sharks figured him out in the fourth. Parks kicked off the inning with a triple that bounced off the right field fence and Spanish River never looked back. They brought 21 batters to the plate, 14 with two out, and scored 16 runs.

Said Berger of the big inning: “We just tried to stay relaxed and keep hitting the ball, do what we could do and score more runs.”

He scored two of those runs while singling and drawing a walk in two plate appearances in the inning.

After the first time through the lineup, Spanish River manager William Harvey used his bench liberally, replacing seven of his starters during the inning.

“The great thing is, obviously, a lot of guys got to play,” he said. “We got an opportunity to let everybody get out there. A couple seniors got at-bats late.”

Vinny Scambone tripled in the second inning but never made it home.

Of those seniors, he was particularly pleased with Josh Cohen, who went 2-for-2, slapping a pitch back up the box for a two-run single in the fourth and leading off the fifth with a single past the shortstop.

Mike Meyers also had a good day filling in for Parks, reaching on an error and hitting a two-run double in two at-bats during the marathon fourth inning.

Parks himself was a tough act to follow, having gone 2-for-3 with two runs scored before taking a seat.

It was a complete effort for Spanish River though, as Berger also had a stellar day on the mound. He allowed just four hits and struck out nine. Of those hits, the only one for extra-bases was a triple by Vinny Scambone in the second inning. The effort was even more impressive given the fact that Berger didn’t know he would be getting the start until just before game time. Harvey had originally intended to start Chui Slootsky but turned to Berger when Slootsky turned out to be unavailable. He wasn’t disappointed.

“I thought Ryan pitched pretty well,” he said in praise of his starter after the game.

Berger agreed. “Nibbling on the outside corner with fastballs,” he answered when asked for the secret to his success. “And change-ups. Kids were way out in front.”

Harvey has known Sam Howell, the manager for Olympic Heights, for over 40 years and the two used to play against each other when they were in high school. With such a long history, Harvey conceded that the big win was a little bittersweet.

“We’ve all been there before,” Harvey said after the game. “I hate for that to happen to him. I hate for that to happen to anybody, but certainly not the guy who’s put in the time and effort Sam has.”

On the other hand, Howell wonders if the fact that the members of the two teams are friends off the field hasn’t incurred some sort of mental block on his kids when they play the Sharks.

“We haven’t played very well against them,” Howell admitted. “They can’t get over the hump because they know them.”

He also recognizes that his team missed some chances. “We had our opportunities,” Howell recalled. “Even when it was 6-0. We got guys second and third, get a clutch hit and it’s 5-2 and we’re in it.”

The Sharks continue tournament play on Tuesday against the Atlantic Eagles. When asked about the importance of the tournament, Berger was direct and to the point.

“We want to win.” he stated. “Any tournament, any game; We want to win. We want to build some momentum going into the second half of our season.”

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