Team Effort Lifts Wahconah in Shadow of Hall of Fame
COOPERSTOWN, Mass. -- The best part of Tuesday for Wahconah baseball coach Rob Cowdrey was watching his team score four runs in the top of the second inning.
Not only did it put Wahconah in a good position to win its game at Doubleday Field -- which it did.
But that rally also allowed Wahconah to build a big early lead on its way to an eventual 8-0 win over Drury in the Berkshire County Cooperstown Classic.
"The best part of today was we were able to get everybody in the game," Cowdrey said. "You don't get to do this too often, so you always hope to be in the position where you can get everybody in, and it worked out for us today.
"We talked about this game beforehand knowing that you don't get here that often, wanting to get everyone in the game. And that meant we had to play the perfect game and put ourselves in the position where we could get everyone in. It's nice to see our starters stepped up to that challenge and were able to deliver that opportunity to use everyone today."
Dane Campbell went 2-for-3 with three runs batted in, and seven of Wahconah's nine starters had at least a hit in the victory.
Starter Will Genaway did not need quite that much offensive help. He struck out six and allowed just two hits over five innings before turning the ball over to Ethan Forfa, who retired the side in order in the sixth and seventh.
Wahconah got one in the first thanks to an error that allowed Genaway to come home after stealing third.
In the second inning, Pat Butler got things started with a single, and Anthony Don Diego was hit by a pitch. Austin Cancilla bunted both men over, and Campbell delivered a two-run single up the middle to make it 3-0.
Bob Archambault reached on an infield single and stole second before Ty Codrewy laced a singled down the third base line to bring in two more runs and make it 5-0.
Wahconah tacked on a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth. In all, it mananged 11 hits and four unearned runs against Drury starter Ryan Dubie.
Like much of the Drury team, Dubie is still a work in progress, but Blue Devils coach Pat Boulger likes the progress he has seen this spring despite Drury's 2-15 record.
"We weren't sure what our level of ability was going to be this year," Boulger said. "We had a lot of guys in new positions. We had some guys in positions maybe a little too early in their careers. But, you know what? They've gone out there, and they've competed, and they've battled.
"I think we have six or seven one- or two-run losses, games that are very competitive."
And he has players that are competitive as well. Boulger has seen no quit in his team, even after a rugged 48 hours that saw Drury lose three games by a combined 47-0.
"We're 2-15, and they're still rallying around everyone, and they're still helping each other out with their swing and certain mechanics," he said. "That says to me, as a coach, that we're doing something right as a program. That's going to pay off in dividends maybe next year and the year after and the year after that."
Drury finishes the regular season Wednesday against Taconic at Joe Wolfe Field.
Wahconah (12-6) plays McCann Tech at Joe Wolfe on Wednesday evening.