Astro loses NABF opener
Release Baseball holds defending
champs hitless through four innings
By Greg Gulas
STRUTHERS
When Astro Falcons won the NABF senior division World Series championship last year, they had to do so by winning six straight games after an opening round, pool-play loss to Maryland Crab University, a team that they would eventually defeat for the title.
If they expect to repeat as champions this year, they’ll have to do the exact same thing.
Nick Smith went the distance, scattering four hits while Nate Birtley had two hits and scored a run to lead Release Baseball to a 3-1 victory over Astros on Friday at Cene Park.
It has become an all too familiar scenario for Astro Falcons manager Andy Timko, who would rather his team start tournament play just as strong as it finishes.
The game marked the second time this week — the other time was on Monday during the Class B championship — that Astro Falcons failed to produce a hit until the fifth inning of action.
“We crushed the ball on Monday against a pitcher going to the University of North Carolina and today were shut down as well, but we’re an excellent hitting team and it just comes down to playing the game between the lines,” Timko said. “It’s the same scenario as last year in that we lost our first game and then had to win six in a row to win it all.
“We’ll need to win three in a row, however, in order to get out of pool play and then move on from there.”
Release Baseball (2-0, a 9-1 winner over Troy American Legion in their opening game on Thursday) took a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Quinn Lavelle’s single plated Chad Szydlowksi with the first run of the game, doubling their lead a batter later after Birtley scored on Austin Levan’s ground out.
Birtley’s double earlier in the frame was Release Baseball’s first hit of the game.
Release Baseball threatened to add to their lead in the fourth inning after Szydlowski and Birtley led off the frame with singles.
Timko then replaced starter Dom Michaels with Noah Laster, whose free pass to Nick Smith then loaded the bases.
Laster settled in though, as he got Lavelle to fly-out and proceeded to strike out both Levan and Luke Razzante to end the inning.
In the fifth inning, Astro Falcons cut the deficit in half when Craig Palidon sent Vinny Mastrangelo across the plate with his infield single.
Mastrangelo had gotten on earlier in the inning with a one-out single, the team’s first of the game and his first of two hits in the game.
“We need to stay aggressive and maintain our charisma in the dugout. Everyone needs to pick everyone else up,” Mastrangelo said. “It’s all about team leadership and being able to assist your teammate. When one is down, someone has to step up and pick-up the slack.”
Release Baseball added an insurance marker in the seventh inning when Eric Wentz’s single up the middle plated Levan