MOUNT VERNON — The Mount Vernon High School baseball team was finally able to get the 2008 season under way on Tuesday following Monday’s rainout with Northridge. The Yellow Jackets were slated to travel to Marion Pleasant to face the Spartans, but the game was moved to Mount Vernon due to wet fields.
Despite falling temperatures and high winds, Mount Vernon was able to play nearly flawless for seven innings and handed the Spartans a 5-2 loss.
“We got a bunch of big hits right out to right-center field,” said Mount Vernon coach Doug Savage. “Overall, I thought we had clutch hits. We didn’t have a huge number of hits, but we hit the ball better than I expected us to.
“It is exciting to get the win. I like this team; I like its chemistry, not only on the field, but in the dugout. I think it is a team that has some potential.”
Junior Ben Severns led Mount Vernon with both his arm and his bat. Severns went the distance on the mound, allowing five hits and two walks. He struck out one and threw just 93 pitches. At the plate, Severns went 2-for-3 with an RBI double in the third inning.
“Ben pitched well today,” said Savage. “He only gave up two runs in seven innings, and anytime you do that, that’s a pretty good job.”
“I just wanted to go out there and throw strikes,” said Severns. “I knew my defense would make plays behind me. I knew they would get the job done. ... I knew if I could just get it in there where they could hit it, my defense would pick me up. I just tried to concentrate on getting it in there so the batters could hit it.”
Mount Vernon also saw big games by Brian Hoar and Zach Melton. Hoar went 2-for-3 with an RBI triple in the second inning, which plated the first Jacket run. He also scored twice. Melton went 2-for-4 with a run scored. In addition, Eric Benedetti had an RBI double and a run scored, and Kyle Shackle singled and scored.
“We came out with some first-game jitters, but we settled down,” said Melton. “We were a little bit nervous, but once we got up there a couple of times, we calmed down. We helped each out in the dugout, and got each other up.”
The Jackets struck first, scoring two runs off Pleasant starter Kyle Nielsen in the bottom of the second inning. Hoar had the big hit, knocking in Shackle. Tyler Benson then drove in Hoar with a fielder’s choice.
Pleasant threatened in the top of the third, but stranded a runner at third. Mount Vernon added a run in the bottom of the inning. Benedetti led off with a walk before Severn’s doubled to left-center field.
The Spartans finally got on the board in the top of the fourth. A leadoff walk turned into a run after an RBI double by Cory Snyder. Snyder moved to third on a fielder’s choice after beating a throw by Severns. Snyder then scored on a single by Brad Potts.
Mount Vernon added single runs in each of the next two innings to take the three-run advantage into the top of the seventh inning. Pleasant, however, wasn’t going easily.
Potts led off with a walk and moved to second on a single by Steve McKinney. Severns, already over the 75-pitch mark, looked tired as he worked a 3-1 count on the third batter. He was able to get an infield fly, however, and then got the next batter to fly out. Severns then finished the game by getting Nielsen to hit into a fielder’s choice. The ball ricocheted off Potts’ foot, and he was called out for interference.
“My arm was getting pretty tired; it was hard to get it up there at the end,” said Severns. “I was able to pull it out because of the defense behind me.”
Nielsen took the loss, allowing three earned runs in three innings of work. Taylor Braun replaced Nielsen and worked three innings. McKinney was the only Pleasant batter to pick up more than one hit.
“I think this was very important because the weather has been so bad,” said Savage. “We’ve been in the gym, and the kids are just anxious to play regular baseball. That’s the most important thing. They are tired of being in the gym. There is only to a certain point that you can do things in the gym. You need to see it on the field before you can really start learning from it. That’s why I think it was really important to get this game in.”
The win was a positive sign for the Jackets, who have several underclassmen in the lineup.
“We have great team chemistry and great team unity,” said Melton. “We are all good friends and like hanging out with each other. We have confidence in each other, too. ... I think our senior leadership this year is pretty good. The sophomores and juniors listen to us, and everyone knows what they are supposed to do.”
“We have great chemistry this year,” Severns said. “We’ve been working hard in practice in the gym. We have some good players out there that can make plays.
“Especially with the weather, it is great to get a win like this. If we can win in this weather, and then put us in weather where it is sunny and 70 degrees, we will definitely be hitting even better.”
The Jackets return to action today with a road trip to Newark Catholic. The game is scheduled to start at 5 p.m.
“They’ve won three out of the last four state championships in Division IV,” said Savage of the Green Wave. “We’re going to play a couple of sophomores on the mound — Robert Kane and Russell Doup will be our pitchers. They are in the same boat we’ve been in. They haven’t been able to get outside because of the rain and the cold weather. We’ve had our fair share of success against Newark Catholic, and it has always been an early season game. They are always very competitive.”
