NORWICH – The Junior Hellcats defended their home to the tune of an 8-7 walk-off win, thanks to the clutch hitting from Eli Rodriguez.
Rodriguez – who finished the night 4-5 with two RBI and a run – smashed a single in the bottom of the seventh inning. With the game tied at 7-7, Rodriguez’s single allowed Kai Scheer to make it home from third base – give the Junior Hellcats their win.
“Our offense was really good tonight, Eli (Rodriguez) and Cash (Marcus Cashman) hit the ball really well. Brad (Beckwith) was our savior tonight coming up clutch several times,” said Junior Hellcat head coach Nick McCullough. “I’m proud of them not giving in, they’ve made that extremely clear all season. Our clutch hitting is one our strengths and they did a great job working the count and hitting strikes. This was our third come from behind win this year and second walk-off.”
Cashman finished 3-4 with two runs, while Brad Beckwith finished 2-4 with a run and an RBI – the trio accounting for 90 percent of the Junior Hellcat’s hits on the night. JT Vinal would close out the hitting, going 1-1 at the plate.
An unknown, non-league game – that is what the Junior Hellcats had at home, when Johnson Rodgers Post 1492 came to play on Thursday, July 6. Johnson Rodgers took the 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. A mid-game push from the Junior Hellcats allowed for the home to team to take the 2-1 lead in the third, before tacking on a run in the fourth for the 3-1 game.
That is when Johnson Rodgers buckled down and went to work – putting up back-to-back innings of three runs, to close out the game – tying the game at 7-7. The Junior Hellcats attempted to keep pace, scoring twice in the sixth and three times in the third.
The Eli Rodriguez stepped to the plate, the rest is history as the Junior Hellcats squeaked out of another close, hard-fought game.
“We had a hard time finding the strike zone, we fell behind hitters and they took advantage. Gotta tip your hat to them (Johnson Rodgers) for not giving in,” said coach McCullough. “Was a hard-fought game. Both teams played really well, for the most part. A lot of mistakes, but we made less than them tonight.”
Taking the win on the mound for the Junior Hellcats was Mike Trevisani, who pitched the first four innings, earning five strikeouts, allowing no walks and just two hits. Nick Shoemaker (two innings) and Eli Rodriguez (one inning), would clean up the game. Shoemaker earned five strikeouts and one walk with two hits, while Rodriguez secured two strikeouts with no walks, but allowed three hits.
“It’s tough to get a read on a opponent that you’ve never seen before. We had no idea who they were. So we couldn’t take them for granted. I went with Mike (Trevisani) on the mound. He’s my go-to. He pitched like he always does, very well. Mixed his locations and speeds,” said coach McCullough. “We went to the bullpen early. Was a non-league game, so we wanted to get some more arms loose for playoffs. Went with Nick (Shoemaker) first, he pitched amazing (in his) first inning, striking out the side. Ran into some trouble his second inning of relief, however we had tough luck in the field.”
The Junior Hellcats committed three errors in the win, something coach McCullough has said needs to be fixed as the team readies itself for playoff baseball.
Next up for the Junior Hellcats (7-7 overall, 3-3 division), the team was scheduled to play Whitestown on Thursday – due to the game being cancelled due to makeup games on Whitestown’s end – the Junior Hellcats will be facing off against their older counterparts, the Chenango Hellcats.
The game featuring the junior and senior squads of The Hellcats is set to be played in Norwich at the Norwich High School baseball field on Thursday, July 13, at 6 p.m.
“Should be fun,” said coach McCullough with regard to the upcoming game.
 
J: 0 1 0 0 0 3 3– 7 7 2
H: 0 0 2 1 0 2 3– 8 10 3