Mercy, mercy me! (Watervliet vs. Mohonasen, 5/4/19)

After some early morning drizzle, the sun finally shined on Joe Bruno Stadium Saturday afternoon, as the 2019 Coaches vs. Cancer baseball series finally got underway.

In the opener, a Suburban Council matchup, CBA defeated Guilderland, 6-3.

The second game, advertised for a 4 pm start, was delayed by 20 minutes for unknown reasons, even though the first game had finished in plenty of time for the field to be freshened up for the nightcap.

The Colonial Council took over the spotlight for the second game, with Mohonasen, in its first season in the league, designated the home team over Watervliet, which was actually closer to Bruno Stadium than Mohonasen is (Mohonasen is based in Rotterdam).

Nick Howard started for Mohonasen, and was just brilliant on the mound. Due to pitch limits, Howard went 4 1/3 innings of shutout ball, walking one and striking out ten. The Mighty Warriors opted to use the designated hitter, while Watervliet did not, and, as it turned out, it was all the difference in the world.

In contrast to Howard, Watervliet starter James Strock just didn't have it. Yet, coach Nick Tambolleo kept Strock in the game for four innings before lifting him for a pinch hitter in the top of the 5th. Strock gave up seven runs, while walking four and striking out two. Mohonasen scored their first run without the benefit of a hit in the home half of the 1st. Dominick DePiero walked, stole second, moved to third on an error by catcher Tyler Beauregard, and scored on a ground out. So major league.

What really did Strock in was a wild second inning, in which he walked three, threw two wild pitches, and gave up two hits, as Mohonasen tacked on two more runs. At that point, Tambolleo should've considered lifting his starter, but, in fairness, he was hoping Strock could pitch his way out of trouble.

Funny thing. The Tri-City Valleycats must've hired one of Mr. Magoo's grandchildren to be an official scorer, as no errors were posted on the scoreboard, but it was clear that Beauregard should've been charged with one.

In the fifth, Watervliet outfielder Ihsan Khan was moved to the mound in relief, but was not effective, as he matched Strock's wildness with three walks of his own, plus a hit batsman. In the sixth, with the Warriors up, 9-0, infielder Joe Brown was moved to the mound, but failed to record an out, as a base hit by Jacob DeGuire plated Luke Pusz with the 10th & final run of the afternoon. The Colonial Council, after a zillion lopsided games last year, added the mercy rule this year. The umpires called the game after the DeGuire single, and Mohonasen completed the shutout, 10-0.

Kameron Canavally, who relieved Howard in the fifth, rang up four strikeouts of his own in 1 2/3 innings of work.