The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Stockbridge, DeRuyter split in double feature
The Stockbridge Valley Cougars and the DeRuyter Rockets each walked away with a win in their twin bill contest, the Cougars won the first 3-1 and the Rockets won the second 6-0Tuesday, May 1.
STOCKBRIDGE, N.Y. » In each of half of Tuesday’s doubleheader against DeRuyter, Stockbridge Valley grabbed a 1-0 lead over its Central Counties League foe.
In the first game, Stockbridge was unable to preserve its lead, allowing three unanswered runs to fall 3-1.
The second game was a different story as head coach Sanders Shanks’ Cougars rallied to split the day with DeRuyter courtesy of a 6-0 shutout.
Zach Marshall earned the first win of the afternoon, allowing one run in four innings of work while striking out five. Josh Wagner took a tough loss for the Cougars, surrendering three unearned runs while striking out eight.
Marshall aided his own cause at the plate, batting 1-of-3 with a double and a run scored.
Jared Couture picked up a win in the second contest of the evening, tossing a complete-game shutout and striking out eight. Zach Best was hit with the loss.
Wagner helped pace the Cougars at the plate, batting 2- of-3 with an RBI. Couture added a two-RBI single.
Game 1
Wagner breezed through the first inning, setting down the Rockets in order.
Chad Masker turned a one- out walk into a run in the bottom half of the frame, taking advantage of a series of wild pitches and passed balls to advance around the diamond for a 1-0 Cougar lead.
DeRuyter cleanup batter HaydenBush led offthe second inning by reaching first on an error, but Stockbridge Valley catcher Beau Burke threw him out attempting to steal second before Wagner retired the next two batters to close the inning.
The Cougars appeared poised for a big bottomhalf of the second inning when they loaded the bases with no outs, but Zach Marshall got Austin Nolley to ground into a 1-2-3 double play before striking out Andrew Renner to escape the jam unscathed.
Wagner continued to deal in the third. He struck out Cameron Judson to open the frame, and after Cameron Brown singled, bared down to strike out Justin Bort and Best to preserve Stockbridge’s 1-0 lead.
Marshall matched his counterpart in the bottom half of the inning. After striking out Chad Masker, Marshall got Burke to ground out to third for two quick outs. Wagner collected a two-out single, followed by a two-out walk to Wyatt Becker to put two aboard. The DeRuyter pitcher shook off the two base-runners however, inducing a grounder back to the mound fromJared Couture to get out of the jam.
Leading off the fourth, DeRuyter’s Hunter Way singled and took second base on an error to immediately put a runner in scoring position. Mar- shall followed with a double to put runners on second and third with no outs. Wagner nearly escaped the inning without a blemish, catching Bush looking at a third strike and getting Kyle Barnes to line out to shortstop Tyler Dager, but the Cougars’ second error of the inning allowed Way and Marshall to score the game-tying and go-ahead run for a 2-1 DeRuyter lead. Judson tacked on another Rocket run with an RBI single to score Barnes but was nabbed for the third out of the inning on a nice pick-off move from Wagner to end the inning.
DeRuyter allowed the first Stockbridge batter in the fourth and fifth to reach base, but each time, the visitors were able to settle down to record three consecutive outs to close out the 3-1 win.
Game 2
The second game between the two CCL foes began much like the first. Masker reached base with one out, this time on a single. Once again, he took ad- vantage of miscues by the visitors to plate the first run of the ball game for a 1-0 Cougar lead in the top of the first.
Stockbridge Valley starter Jared Couture worked a scoreless 1-2-3 inning in bottom half of the frame, and continued to stifle the DeRuyter lineup in the second and third, but Best was up to the challenge, retiring six of the seven Cougar batters he faced to keep DeRuyter close.
The Cougars added a run in the top of the fourth after Becker doubled to lead off the inning and then took third and home on two balks for a 2-0 Stockbridge advantage.
Couture continued to deal in the bottom of the fourth, spoiling Bush’s oneout double by striking out Barnes and inducing a flyout to center field to preserve the shutout.
“He had great control of his fastball. He was getting ahead [of the batter], which we preach here. He was executing very well, staying with the game plan,” Shanks said of Couture.
The Cougars strung together their best offensive series of the night in the top of the fifth to give Couture a 6-0 lead. With one out, Masker and Burke singled in consecutive at-bats to set the table for Wagner, who singled home Masker. Becker followed by drawing a walk before Couture roped a two-RBI single. Becker crossed home on an error before DeRuyter could escape the inning for a 6-0 Cougar lead.
After coming up with the big hit in the top of final inning, Couture returned to the mound, striking out the side to close the ball game for the Cougar win.
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