New Powers Pittsfield Past Drury

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — For Pittsfield High southpaw Bobby New on Friday, it was a matter of no strikeouts but plenty of strikes.

 

New picked up nary a "K" in pitching a complete-game, 8-2 win over Drury at the Alcombright Complex.

 

But he also issued just two free passes -- one hit batter and one walk -- in pitching the Generals to their seventh win in 11 tries this spring.

 

Kevin Donati went 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI, and Anthony Jones was 2-for-4 with a sacrifice and a key bunt single. And all the Generals backed up New with strong defense, particularly second baseman Shane Tierney.

 

"The thing is, throwing strikes, if you're on the plate all day, the defense is ready to play," Pittsfield coach Bob Moynihan said. "If you're walking guys, they get disinterested.

 

"He pitched great today. He had a little trouble in the middle innings. That one inning they had bases loaded against him, and he only gave up one run. That was huge, the defense did the job."

 

Pittsfield jumped on Drury starter Tyler Cote for two unearned runs in the top of the first.

 

After leadoff man Chad Shade reached on an error, he stole second and moved up on Ryan Grande's groundout. Donati was hit by a pitch and stole second to put two runners in scoring position for New, who drove a single up the middle to give himself a two-run lead before he took the mound.

 

Drury got one run back in the second on Kirby Bryce's RBI single to plate Joe Liporace, who reached on a beanball.

 

And it was a tight game from there before Pittsfield broke out for six in the sixth inning.

 

Dominic Traversa and New singled to get the rally going, and Jones had the key hit — a perfectly placed bunt to the third-base side that allowed him to reach and load the bases with nobody out.

 

Austin O'Neill drove in a run with an infield single, and Kyle Shade's drive up the middle made it 6-1. An error and Donati's triple to right brought in two more runs, and it was 8-1.

 

Cote ended up allowing just five earned runs before departing after the sixth.

 

In the bottom of the sixth, Liporace drove in Schuyler Robinson, but it was too little too late against New, who left runners on in each inning and nine for the game.

 

"We played flat," Drury coach Patrick Boulger said. "I don't know why we did. I hadn't seen that from them in a long time -- maybe forever. We have to come in with a little chip on their shoulders. We had that chip [in a 9-2 win] against Mount Greylock.

 

"When we play with a chip on our shoulders, we're a tough team to beat. Hopefully we can come out tomorrow and make it a winning weak, which is our goal."

 

The Blue Devils (6-3) host Lenox on Saturday at 4 p.m. at either Alcombright or Joe Wolfe Field.