Junior Hellcats fall back to earth, suffer first loss
VESTAL – When a team goes from undefeated – granted it is early in the season – to suffering through a blowout, one wonders what might have changed.
“I think the guys were still living off the Maine-Endwell win last week. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great hard fought win,” said Norwich Junior Hellcat head coach Nick McCullough. “But you’ve got to move on to the next game. And we hadn’t yet. I told them you can’t take them lightly, which they definitely did.”
Notably, the Junior Hellcats were playing their first away game on Thursday, June 15, a game where Vestal would rip into the Hellcats, defending their home for a 14-1 win.
“We just got completely outplayed in every aspect of the game. Their pitchers were great, threw strikes, defense made all the plays they had to. And they hit the ball,” said coach McCullough.
Norwich was coming off a big walk-off win over a Maine-Endwell squad that notably featured former Little League World Champion star – Michael Mancini. JT Vinal smacked a triple off a Mancini, driving in three runs for the walk-off win at 6-5, and some bragging rights.
That win, that moment, those bragging rights – they must not have worn off for the Junior Hellcats, who secured just two total hits in their loss to Vestal on Thursday.
Brayden Supensky would finish the game 1-1, while JT Vinal finished 1-2 with an RBI.
The Junior Hellcats found themselves buried deep in a hole following the first inning – as Vestal snagged a 4-1 lead after the first, then added three more runs in the second inning to take the 7-1 lead.
“Our pitching wasn’t good tonight, we fell behind their hitters and they capitalized. And our hitters were just on another planet tonight,” said coach McCullough. “Looking at strikes, going down 0-2. We had the bases load twice and only scored once. We had a bad night.”
The Junior Hellcat pitchers – Nick Shoemaker (loss, 3.2 innings), Cameron Birtch (1.1 inning), Kegan Wright (one inning), Kai Scheer (.2 of an inning), and Eli Rodriguez (.1 of an inning) – allowed a combined 10 hits, 14 RBI, and 14 runs out of 31 at bats for Vestal.
In the loss, Vestal added two runs in the fifth inning, before closing the door on the Junior Hellcats in the seventh inning with five run’s in the top of said inning.
“The positive of this loss was I think this brought them (Junior Hellcats) down to earth. They now see what can happen when you take a team lightly. I think they’ll be more prepared next time. And we can go play our brand of Hellcat Baseball,” said coach McCullough.
The Junior Hellcats (3-1 overall), travel to Middletown, NY on Friday, June 16, for a four-game tournament.
“I think the guys were still living off the Maine-Endwell win last week. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great hard fought win,” said Norwich Junior Hellcat head coach Nick McCullough. “But you’ve got to move on to the next game. And we hadn’t yet. I told them you can’t take them lightly, which they definitely did.”
Notably, the Junior Hellcats were playing their first away game on Thursday, June 15, a game where Vestal would rip into the Hellcats, defending their home for a 14-1 win.
“We just got completely outplayed in every aspect of the game. Their pitchers were great, threw strikes, defense made all the plays they had to. And they hit the ball,” said coach McCullough.
Norwich was coming off a big walk-off win over a Maine-Endwell squad that notably featured former Little League World Champion star – Michael Mancini. JT Vinal smacked a triple off a Mancini, driving in three runs for the walk-off win at 6-5, and some bragging rights.
That win, that moment, those bragging rights – they must not have worn off for the Junior Hellcats, who secured just two total hits in their loss to Vestal on Thursday.
Brayden Supensky would finish the game 1-1, while JT Vinal finished 1-2 with an RBI.
The Junior Hellcats found themselves buried deep in a hole following the first inning – as Vestal snagged a 4-1 lead after the first, then added three more runs in the second inning to take the 7-1 lead.
“Our pitching wasn’t good tonight, we fell behind their hitters and they capitalized. And our hitters were just on another planet tonight,” said coach McCullough. “Looking at strikes, going down 0-2. We had the bases load twice and only scored once. We had a bad night.”
The Junior Hellcat pitchers – Nick Shoemaker (loss, 3.2 innings), Cameron Birtch (1.1 inning), Kegan Wright (one inning), Kai Scheer (.2 of an inning), and Eli Rodriguez (.1 of an inning) – allowed a combined 10 hits, 14 RBI, and 14 runs out of 31 at bats for Vestal.
In the loss, Vestal added two runs in the fifth inning, before closing the door on the Junior Hellcats in the seventh inning with five run’s in the top of said inning.
“The positive of this loss was I think this brought them (Junior Hellcats) down to earth. They now see what can happen when you take a team lightly. I think they’ll be more prepared next time. And we can go play our brand of Hellcat Baseball,” said coach McCullough.
The Junior Hellcats (3-1 overall), travel to Middletown, NY on Friday, June 16, for a four-game tournament.
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