Sports
Five Run First Inning Leads Bears Over Horsemen
Briarcliff Bears defeat Sleepy Hollow Horsemen, 11-1.
Five runs in the first inning helped the Briarcliff Bears to their first victory of the young 2011 campaign over the Sleepy Hollow Horsmen, 11-1, Thursday.
The Bears came into the afternoon following a 6-2 defeat at Fox Lane while the Horsemen were also thirsty for their first win after falling to 0-5 at Byram Hills March 31, 0-10 against Rye April 4, two contests against Ossining 10-14 April 6, and 6-7 on the road April 8.
Sleepy Hollow Head Coach Ray Farrell said his youthful team is still finding its confidence and needs to play more effectively.
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“We had physical errors,” Farrell said, which included overthrown pitches at home plate where runs could have been scored.
Rainouts and indoor practices have also hindered the Horsemen’s ability to perform at their best. Practice during school vacation next week should help the squad prepare for an April 23 road matchup with Ardsley.
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Briarcliff Head Coach John Consorti was pleased with his player’s production at the plate.
"It was a good game," Consorti said. "All facets were pretty good. We hit the ball pretty well."
Consorti also mentioned the great defensive play the Bears showed, along with the need to build on the momentum from Thursday's victory for the rest of the season; especially since the squad made it all the way to the section one finals last year, though coming up short 6-7 to Kennedy.
Paul Henshaw stuckout nine, walked two, and gave up one run in seven innings pitched for the Bears Thursday.
The Horsemen’s efforts to catch up from an 8-0 deficit in the fourth would be succumbed by two more Bears hits in the bottom half of the inning, despite Aydan Ellman’s RBI to bring in Ronnie Rodriguez for the 8-1 score at the top.
Consorti’s Bears finished the evening with two more runs in the bottom half of the inning on a John Fussell single which was followed by a Joey Karlik hit to bring in Louis Carrafiello for the 10-1 score heading into the fifth.
One last run by the Bears put the eventual final at 11-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning with an inning and a half left.
Briarcliff hosts the Briarcliff Club Diamond Classic where they will first face off against Ossining at 2 p.m. Saturday.
