The big moment for Bishop Grimes’ baseball team arrived Tuesday afternoon as it went to face Fabius-Pompey, sporting a 10-0 record and state Class C top-10 ranking.
And the Cobras were more than ready for the moment. Fueled by a desire for payback, and riding the strong pitching of ace Ryan Martin, Grimes shut out the Falcons 6-0.
Ever since F-P beat the Cobras in last May’s Section III Class C-2 final, Grimes had waited for another shot at the Falcons. Martin, in particular, was itching for another turn, and when he took to the mound (sporting a 3-0 record this spring), he was masterful.
Not until the fourth inning did Martin give up a hit. While far from overpowering, he kept coaxing the Falcons’ hitters into making contact – and then watching as his defense continued to make the routine plays as the outs piled up.
Grimes went up 1-0 in the top of the first as Billy Blasland and Tom Steinberg both singled and Chris Schad drove Blasland home with a third hit, chasing F-P starter Lucas Volo early.
Matt Perry took over for Volo, and kept the Cobras in check until the top of the fourth, which proved decisive. Batting around, the Cobras got four hits, drew a pair of walks and exploited all kinds of Falcon mistakes, from two fielding errors to a wild pitch, to put up five runs.
Alex Chapman’s two-run single was the key blow in that rally as Chris Hendrick also drove in a run, the bottom of the Grimes order stepping up. Martin also singled and scored a run to help his own cause.
Even with that six-run cushion, Martin did not let up, escaping trouble in both the fifth and sixth innings and retiring F-P in order in the bottom of the seventh to close it out.
Just before this, the Cobras faced Cato-Meridian, a game that turned on timely hits and strong pitching as Grimes beat the Blue Devils 3-1.
An early 1-0 lead from Schad’s RBI single disappeared when Cato scored in the top of the third. From that point on, though, Steinberg and Ryan Gosson shut the Blue Devils down, Steinberg going four innings before Gosson recorded three innings of no-hit relief, the pair getting seven strikeouts.
Still, it took the Cobras poking across two runs in the bottom of the fourth to grab the lead for good as Chapman and Matt Needham drove in those runs. Needham and Joe Arrigo led Grimes with two hits apiece.
Grimes has another high-profile game Friday night when it goes to NBT Bank Stadium to face Bishop Ludden at 7 p.m.
