Reyling Dazzles In Debut, Strikes Out Nine

Colin Hoelzl, Staff Writer

The Junior Varsity baseball team won their first game of the season 13-1 against Lindenhurst High School on Friday. The game was packed with offense from the Patriots during the game. However, the most impressive performance came from the pitching staff. The two pitchers for Melville gave up a combined four hits and one run scattered across seven innings with the charge being led by the right-hander Brady Reyling. 

When Reyling started the game for the Patriots, he gave up a hit and a walk in the first. He then ended the inning by striking out a batter and giving up no runs. The Patriot’s batters tacked on five runs in the first inning from a combination of singles and a throwing error. That five-run advantage gave Reyling a comfortable cushion to work with throughout the game who then proceeded to strike out the side in the second inning. Reyling continued to cruise throughout the next two innings, striking out two in the third, and striking out one in the fourth while giving up no hits in both frames. In the fifth inning, Reyling laced a double over the head of the Center fielder Danny DiGennaro. It appeared to be trouble as it looked like the runner was going to at least reach third base. However, DiGennaro fired an incredible throw to third which resulted in the runner being called out. Reyling struck out the final two batters and ended his day after pitching five scoreless innings, punching out nine batters.

The Patriot’s offense rallied for five runs after the first two batters walked in the fifth inning, one runner scored on an RBI double, while the other runner advanced to third. After another walk loaded the bases, Derek Savicki plated a run with a single, which also scored another run on a fielding error, making the score 8-0. Jason Stiles came through with a two-run single, which increased the score to 10-0. The Patriots added three more runs in the sixth, while Lindenhurst scored one run on an RBI single to center in the top of the seventh inning. The Patriots won the game 13-1, and their record stands at 1-1.