Big 2nd inning puts Dukes over the top

The Wellington Dukes took care of business on their home field on April 13, cruising past Clearview, 7-1, in a Patriot Athletic Conference matchup.

Wellington scored all seven of its runs in the first two innings, giving freshman pitcher Ben Bliss (2-0) a comfortable cushion to work with.

Bliss found himself in a jam in the top of the first with the bases loaded and two outs. Wellington catcher Everett Kropff helped his pitcher out, picking off a runner at first base to end the inning.

“That’s pretty big. Anytime you can get an out without throwing a pitch is always nice because you don’t have to worry about anything else happening,” Wellington coach Roger Sasack said.

“That’s a play that we run. It’s nothing original, but when we see

guys drifting on first with the bases loaded or just runners on first and second, sometimes that guy on first gets a little drift and he’s not hustling to get back. We kind of saw that and called for the play to throw down there. That kind of defused a potential rally on their part because if they get a base hit, get a couple runs, it’s a different ballgame. Playing with the lead is a heck of a lot easier than playing from behind.”

In the bottom of the first, Wellington’s top of the order capitalized, as leadoff man Mason Wright drew a walk and Matt Norton singled, setting the table for the cleanup man, Tristan Arno.

Arno mashed a double to the left field gap, giving the Dukes a two-run lead.

“I was just looking for a clean pitch that I could get a good swing on,” Arno said.

Clearview freshman Kuly Petrov escaped the inning with no further damage, but the second inning was another rough frame for the freshman.

All nine hitters came to bat in the bottom of the second, as Wellington scored five more runs to jump out to a 7-0 lead.

“The top of the lineup has been doing very well, getting on base and setting the table,” Sasack said.

“The bottom of the lineup has been doing a pretty good job, too, turning it over to get back to those guys.”

Arno echoed those sentiments.

“We’ve been hitting the ball well. We have a lot of competitors and we like to win and we’ve just really been getting after it.”

Bliss didn’t overpower Clearview’s hitters, but having that cushion to work with helped the freshman pitch with little stress.

“I just tried to throw strikes and I know if they put the ball in the play, somebody’s going to be there in the outfield chasing it down. We have great speed out there and I just trust my defense tremendously,” Bliss said.

Wellington’s fielders had a solid day all-around. The outfield made its fair share of plays, as Clearview put some hard hits on the ball, but the Dukes were right there to track them down.

Wright, in particular,

stood out with his impressive range and ability to read the ball on the fly in center field.

“He’s a gamer,” his coach said. “He made some really nice catches. He covers a lot of ground out there. He’s about as sure-handed as they come. He’s a good outfielder to have.”

Bliss worked five shutout innings, allowing three hits, issuing two walks and striking out three.

His coach was proud of the way he handled himself and let his team’s defense do its job.

“(Bliss) is a freshman, but he’s got a lot of poise. He was a little nervous last week, being a freshman playing varsity, but he had like a week off and we thought ‘OK, now’s the time.’

“We’re trying to pick spots for him to not put him in too much pressure situations. He moves the ball around, changes speeds pretty well. He’ll just hit some bats. He’s not going to overpower them, but he can fool them and he’s sneaky fast. We are big on efficiency. I don’t care if you’re striking out 12. It looks great for the newspaper, but I’d rather you have 50 pitches instead of the 80 it’s going to take you to get that many K’s. So if he hits some bats, the defense plays behind him and if everybody’s picking it up, throwing to the right spots, we’re going to be all right.”

Bliss exited the game after five innings, as Max Carevic took the mound in relief, and Clearview’s offense started to get something going for the first time since the top of the first.

Senior Andrai Wright led the inning off with a single and the Clippers were able to load the base, thanks to two errors in the infield.

Jordan Tiller flew out to left field, scoring Wright. It was Clearview’s lone run.

Norton worked the top of the seventh, setting down the side quickly.

Wellington improves to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in PAC play, near the top of the Stars Division in a conference that could be up for grabs in 2017.

“I don’t think anyone’s going to run away with it,” Sasack said.

“We’re all going to be piled up and it’ll be close. It’s as close as it’s been for quite a few years actually. It makes it more fun because every game means something.”