Nichols Pitches HV to Win in First Career Start
ADAMS, Mass — It's safe to say that Justin Nichols surpassed expectations in his first career varsity start for the Hoosac Valley baseball team on Monday.The sophomore pitcher stood toe to toe with one of Berkshire County's best hurlers, outdueling Taconic's Peter Gregory to lead the Hurricanes to a 4-3 win at Renfrew Field. Nichols struck out four batters, allowing two earned runs and zero walks through five innings of work. He threw four scoreless frames to start the game before the Braves (1-2) broke out for three runs in the top of the fifth.
The Hoosac offense responded with three runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning, however, and senior Mike Koperniak slammed the door after that, pitching two scoreless frames to earn the save. Koperniak finished with three strikeouts and two walks while combining with Nichols to hold Taconic to just three hits total on the day.
"Justin did an outstanding job in his first varsity start, keeping the Taconic hitters off balance," Hurricanes head coach Bob Rivard said. "We had some timely hits, including one from Zach Lancia in the bottom of the fifth. Our defense played well to limit Taconic's chances to score, and Mike did a good job to get the save."
Lancia ended up going 1 for 2 with two RBI and a walk. Sophomore Matt Braman was a terror on the base paths for Hoosac (3-0), reaching base twice, recording two steals and scoring a pair of runs.
Gregory went the distance for the Braves, allowing one earned run and two walks while striking out seven. The Hurricanes next play Lenox at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.