CENTRAL NEW YORK – Not until the middle of April was the Christian Brothers Academy baseball team able to take the field, ready to build upon the Section III Class AAA championship it won a season ago.
And the Brothers’ debut Monday was quite impressive as, facing an undefeated Bishop Ludden side off to a 3-0 start, it claimed this diamond version of the “Holy War” by a score of 8-3.
CBA tagged Gaelic Knights pitcher Jack Ruddy for single runs in the second and third innings and two more runs in the fifth.
But not until it put up four runs in the top of the seventh could the Brothers get clear, David Curry’s solo home run part of an offense where Jimmy Kennedy, Riley Clemons-Butenko, Tim Scholl and Luke Becker also had RBIs.
Tom Menar pitched and, over the course of five innings, struck out nine and limited the Gaelic Knights to two hits before Owen Harris worked the last two innings in relief.
Far more lopsided was the Brothers’ 20-2 win over Bishop Grimes a day later. The Brothers netted four runs in the first inning and seven runs in the second and third to quickly put the Cobras away.
Clemons-Butenko and Mike Giamartino both blasted home runs, Giamartino adding two other hits on his way to four RBIs. Jameson Walker drove in three runs and Scholl added two RBIs, which Noah Monsour matched. Kennedy, Walker and Noah Monsour each scored twice.
In a Thursday doubleheader at Gutchess Park CBA would have a rematch with Ludden after first taking on Section V’s Canandaigua, ultimately splitting those two games.
The Brothers lost 5-4 to the Gray Wolves as it saw a 3-0 lead disappear when Canandaigua struck for five runs in the bottom of the sixth off pitcher Owen Harris.
Despite a run in the top of the seventh CBA could not quite tie it, this despite Giamartino getting a triple, double and single. Clemons-Butenko had two hits and scored twice, with RBIs going to Kennedy and Lorenzo LaFace.
Yet just like it did the first time the Brothers were able to beat Ludden, doing so by a score of 8-1 largely built upon a three-run third inning and four-run fourth inning off Gaelic Knights ace Joe Dunham.
Giamartino and Clemons-Butenko both belted home runs, combining for five RBIs. They both went two-for-three at the plate, as did Kennedy, while Scholl and Rocco Grotto drove in single runs. Combined, pitchers Hector Gonzalez (4 2/3 innings) and Ben Kaulback (2 1/3 innings) held Ludden to just two hits while striking out eight.
