The Grand Valley Mustangs and Berkshire Badgers had possibly the best day to play baseball so far in this young season — and the perfect chance for both young teams to put their skills to work in solid competition
Game photos click here.
The Grand Valley Mustangs and Berkshire Badgers had possibly the best day to play baseball so far in this young season — and the perfect chance for both young teams to put their skills to work in solid competition
The Badgers had a slight edge, having had a successful trip to Myrtle Beach behind them, and the level of competition gave them the confidence to attack from the first batter of the game. That strategy worked well for them, too, as two walks, two singles and five stolen bases in the bottom of the first inning plated three runs, and that would be all it took.
Berkshire claimed a 5-0 CVC win over the Mustangs.
Jack Jacobs led off the Badgers’ half of the first frame with a walk. One pitch into the second hitter, he slid safely into second base with a steal, moved to third on a wild pitch from Grand Valley starter Justin Hagan.
A successful delayed double steal saw Jacobs score the first run of the game. Then a sharp single to left scored the next runner from second, and Joey Czekaj capped the inning with another liner to left.
That was enough for Berkshire starting right-hander Ethan Martin, although he had some shaky moment in the last two innings before a liner to right center with two out in the seventh fell softly into the glove of the second baseman to end the game.
Czekaj sees the trip to Myrtle Beach as a blessing for his team.
“We have a solid core of experienced players on the team this year,” the senior said.
Czekaj’s three-hit day led the offense for Berkshire. He also had a trio of stolen bases as the Badgers used the skill sets they have learned together as a team to read pitchers’ moves.
“We have studied pitchers as a group, our coaches have worked with us a lot, and when we were in Myrtle Beach, we saw some really good pitchers that we watch a lot to learn about their moves,” he said. “When we see something we can take advantage of, we have the confidence to go, and today we did.”
Jacobs agreed.
“We have worked a lot to get out of the gate quickly when we get on base,” he said. “Using our speed is a big weapon for us, so we’ll use it any time we get a chance.”
Coach Nick Burzanko also credited their trip south with inspiring his players to strive for higher levels of play, and as they improve to 5-4 on the season, he said their 1-3 record in that warmer climate does not really indicate where the team is at.
“The kids learned a lot in the trip to Myrtle Beach,” he said. “We played against two top teams from this area in Padua Franciscan and Medina, plus really solid teams from Baldwin and Lincoln Park, from other states, and we played them well. That has helped us to raise our level of competition … and we feel we have learned so much, we can play with just about anybody now, if we execute.
“Today that first inning got us going, Ethan did a nice job pitching for us, and we basically made the plays we had to when we had to. This was a good win for us.”
Czekaj paced the eight-hit offense for Berkshire. He also had three of his team’s seven steals. Martin added a pair of hits while fanning nine in his two-hit effort on the mound.
Five first-inning steals set a tone that the Mustangs (2-4) had no response for until it was too late. A liner to right center in the sixth by Payton Plizga was the first Mustang hit. The other was a pinch double from Casey Turner in the seventh, but Martin hunkered in for a strikeout for the second out of the seventh, and a soft liner, which the second baseman leaped for, ended the contest.
