Published: April 25, 2008 09:11 am         

CV-S baseball gets key T-V victory over Milford, 10-4

By ERIC AHLQVIST
Cooperstown Crier

CHERRY VALLEY — Senior Anthony Brant homered for the second straight day to help Cherry Valley-Springfield defeat previously undefeated Milford, 10-4, on Tuesday.

``It was just two good team going at it,’’ said CV-S baseball coach Ed Dubben. ``We just happened to get the key hits when we needed them.’’

The Patriots also got another strong pitching performance, this time from David Adams, who hurled a complete game, striking out 10 and walking two.

CV-S took a 2-0 lead to the top of the third, but the Wildcats, 4-1, scored three runs in the frame to take a 3-2 lead. In the bottom of the third, Mike Fassett doubled in two runs to give the Patriots back the lead for good. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Nate Herringshaw doubled in two runs and Adam Halay added an RBI single for a 7-3 lead.

Brant capped the scoring with a long, three-run home run over the centerfield fence in the bottom of the fifth. Logan Griffiths and Trevor Kosturock each had two hits for Milford.

Herringshaw, Fassett, Halay and Spencer Staley all had two hits for CV-S, who improved to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in Tri-Valley play. The Patriots have won the last two Tri- Valley Championships, but have tough road games at Gilbertsville- Mt. Upton Friday and Worcester Monday.

Last Monday, the Patriots beat up on T-V rival Schenevus, scoring eight runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on the way to a 19-7 home win.

Adam Halay pitched the first three innings, and left with a 10-1 lead. After a relief pitcher walked in five runs, Halay re-entered the game and allowed one unearned run, which cut the lead to 10-7. Brant had four hits, including a long, two-run home run over the centerfield fence in the first inning, scored five runs and drove in three. Zach Pecenak also homered over the centerfield fence for one of his three hits.

``We hit their starter (Jesse Ward) pretty hard and he’s a pretty good pitcher,’’ Dubben said. ``All of their runs were unearned.’’ Spencer Staley also had three hits, and Sam Dubben and Nate Herringshaw each had two hits. On Saturday, CV-S bounced back from its first loss of the season with a 3-2 win over Sharon Springs in the annual Adam Yerdon Memorial game. Adams pitched six innings, allowing just one hit while striking out six and walking two. ``All but two of the outs were ground ball outs,’’ Dubben said. Halay pitched a scoreless seventh inning to pick up the save. The Patriots lost a 9-6 decision at St. Johnsville last Wednesday, a game in which they committed eight errors and allowed nine unearned runs.

``To top it off, we had the worst home plate umpire I’ve ever seen,’’ Dubben said. ``If I had to do it over again, I would have taken my kids off the field and protested.’’

The Milford softball team, which won just three games all of last season, improved to 5-0 this season with a 16-6 win at CV-S Tuesday. The Wildcats scored 13 runs in the fourth inning to take control. Emily Brigham and Kayla Thorn combined for six of the Wildcats’ 14 hits, and Chynna Pitlock doubled.