Colts Split with Skylanders in Season Opener
EDISON, NJ (March 12, 2021) – Middlesex Baseball opened up its 2021 season with a doubleheader split against Division II Region XIX opponent, Sussex County Community College.
Game 1 (8-2 Win) – In game 1 of the doubleheader, Zachary Honimar (South Amboy, NJ/South Amboy) started on the mound and tossed 3.2 innings allowing only 2 hits, 1 earned run while striking out 4. Frank Shipman (Edison NJ/Edison) picked up the win in relief (1-0), throwing 1.1 hitless innings with 4 strikeouts. He worked out of a bases loaded (4th inning) and 1st and 3rd (5th inning) jam, aiding by a stellar defensive play at first base from Bryan Fernandez (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville) to end the 5th. Josh Hernandez (West Palm Beach, FL/Park Vista) came on to close out the final two innings without allowing a run to seal the victory for the Colts. The offense struck first, scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning. Christian Petrillo (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick) and Chris Born (South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield) led off the game with back to back singles. After a fly out advanced both runners, back to back base on balls allowed for the Colts to take a 1-0 lead. Josh Hernandez then followed with a hard single to center and Tyler Sharfetz (Fords, NJ/John F. Kennedy) drew a walk to cap off the 3 run first. In the 2nd, Jaden Ojeda (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) drove home Fernandez with a 2-out RBI single to left extending the lead to 4-0. After Sussex cut the lead to 4-2, Middlesex broke the game open in the 5th. Loading the bases with 1 away, TJ Massaro (South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield) executed a perfect suicide squeeze play to bring home Duarte from third. Three pitches later, Petrillo laced a 2-RBI double into the gap giving the Colts a 7-2 lead. In the 6th, Middlesex capped off their offensive attack when Dante Duarte (Union City, NJ/Union City) lined his 2nd hit of the day through the middle to drive home Born for a final score of 8-2. Petrillo, Duarte, and Hernandez all had a pair of hits, while Chris Born had 3.
Game 2 (6-2 Loss in 5 innings) – In the nightcap, Ryan Pozo (Woodbridge, NJ/Woodbridge) took the mound for his first collegiate start. Striking out the side in the top of the first, Pozo ran into a bit of trouble in the 2nd and 3rd innings. After a couple of hit batsman and base on balls, Sussex broke the game open in the 3rd scoring 4 runs to take a 5-0 lead. Jake Ferraro (Rahway, NJ/Rahway) came out of the bullpen to throw 2 innings allowing only 1 unearned run. The Colts offense was kept quiet all game until the bottom of the 5th. Louie Folgore (Monroe, NJ/Monroe) started the rally with a double to the fence. Luke Monsorno (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) followed with a line drive base hit into center putting runners at the corners. Christian Petrillo and Vincent Powers (Colonia, NJ/John F. Kennedy) followed with back to back hard singles up the middle to cut the lead to 6-2. Unfortunately, the game was called after the 5th inning due to darkness as Middlesex fell short in the nightcap.