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SCHENECTADY — Mohonasen pitcher Andrew Crux had a purpose on the mound on Monday afternoon, as the sophomore right-hander tossed a complete-game, one-hit shutout over Niskayuna.
“I actually didn’t think he had his best stuff today, but he competed really well,” Mohonasen coach Kevin Sheremeta said of Crux. “I thought he may have been done in the sixth inning, but it seemed like he had an adrenaline shot, came back to get out of a jam and really did a great job.”
Mohonasen scored a run early, in the top of the first inning, and Crux held that one-run lead intact until the top of the seventh, when his offense was able to tack on two more.
“These games are the best,” Crux said. “When it’s super tight, everyone’s really competitive and the energy is great.”
Mohonasen picked up a 3-0 non-league victory over Niskayuna.
Israhel Travis led off the game for Mohonasen with a walk, then stole second. After advancing to third on an error, he scored on a wild pitch for the first run of the game.
In the bottom of the second inning, Crux worked out of a bases-loaded-and-no-outs situation. He used a force-out at the plate, a strikeout and flyout to center to avoid any damage.
In the top of the seventh inning, Travis reached base on a dropped third strike, advancing to second on a throwing error. He came around to score on an infield single by Marvin Hill. Hill would also score on a passed ball, giving Mohonasen a 3-0 lead in the final inning.
“I don’t know if it was anything more than them giving us our runs, but we’ll take three runs any way we can,” Sheremeta said. “We took advantage on the basepath on passed balls, balls in the dirt and some defensive miscues.”
Once Mohonasen started to build up its lead, Crux knew he wanted to go back out to finish the job.
“Very badly,” Cruz said of wanting to pitch the seventh inning. “As soon as we got that cushion from scoring in the top of the seventh, I really wanted to finish the game and save some of our arms.”
“He wanted to keep the ball and I let him talk me into it,” Sheremeta added. “It’s just a gutty performance.”
Crux retired the side in order to complete the one-hit shutout in the bottom of the seventh. He walked three and struck out seven, throwing 100 pitches in the standout performance.
Hill went 2 for 4 with a double and RBI, while Dillon DePiero and Jimmy Wilson each had base hits.
Justin Sargent pitched very well in the start for Niskayuna, allowing just one unearned run over 5.2 innings. He allowed three hits and three walks, striking out five in the loss. Cam Grasso was charged with two unearned runs, in 1.1 innings of relief. He allowed one hit and three walks, while striking out four.
Tyler Toth had the lone hit of the game for the Silver Warriors.
Mohonasen (4-0 Overall, 3-0 Colonial Council) will have another non-league matchup at Schenectady next Thursday, while Niskayuna (2-2 Overall, 1-1 Suburban Council) returns to league action on Wednesday, as they host Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake.
Mohonasen 100 000 2 — 3 4 2
Niskayuna 000 000 0 — 0 1 2
Contact Kyle Adams at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @kasportsnews.
Categories: -Sports-, High School Sports
