A Quick 60
The Challenge
MSGVarsity.com Sports Talk
High School SportsDesk
Marlboro tops Highland, improves to 12-0
Follow baseball in the Hudson Valley on Twitter: @MSGVarsityKDJ
FISHKILL, N.Y. – Sacrifice bunt with the cleanup hitter and nobody out?
Sacrifice bunt with the cleanup hitter and nobody out.
That’s how the Marlboro High School baseball team rolls, and the Iron Dukes rolled to their 12th consecutive victory without a loss on Monday by beating archrival Highland, 6-0, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League game played at Dutchess Stadium, the minor league ballpark of the Class A Hudson Valley Renegades.
“If the situation sets itself up that way, we’ll do it with anybody in the lineup,” Marlboro coach Dave Onusko said about having No. 4 hitter Brett Gemmell lay down a sac bunt in a scoreless game in the fourth inning. “Sometimes, it’s a way to get things started and everybody is on board with it.”
And that’s the way it played out. After Tyler Curtis was hit by a pitch to start the top of the fourth inning, Gemmell squared and dropped a bunt down the third base line that was thrown away. After both runners moved up on a wild pitch, Matt Winkler singled in one run and Gemmell scored on an error, and just like that it was 2-0 Marlboro.
And that was all that right-hander Tyler Choate needed. Choate went the distance for the shutout, scattering five hits. He got stronger as he went along, setting down the side in the third, fourth and seventh innings.
“My curve felt really good today, and the cutter started to come in at the end of the game,” Choate said. “The more I go through the game, the more accurate I get.”
Marlboro put it out of reach in the fifth inning, scoring four times on four hits, yet another sacrifice bunt, and an error. Gemmell, Anthony Petralia and Mike Schoonmaker. Schoonmaker, in fact, was 4-for-4.
“Our goal was to win every game this year after going 9-9 last year. We did not like that at all. We did not want to be 9-9 again,” said Schoonmaker, one of several Marlboro athletes going for the trifecta this season after already having won Section 9 championships in football and basketball. Marlboro last won a sectional title in baseball in 2010.
“It’s one of the hardest-working, most fun to be around groups that I’ve had,” Onusko said. “They come out, they got to work and they know what they have to do. I’m having a blast.”
Tri-State lacrosse Top 20: Week 7
HV/WE power rankings: Spring sports
All-Metro boys and girls basketball: 2012-13
All-HV/WE teams: Winter 2012-13
