Phantoms pitcher Eric Hihn following through on his delivery. (Photo by Tim Brennan)
Following a 3-0 loss, the DCCC Phantoms baseball team responded on March 16, with an impressive 8-2 home victory against Adirondack Community College.
The Phantoms dominated from the mound, in the field, and from the plate.
While the Phantoms did find themselves in bases loaded jams during the first two innings, they managed to battle their way out unscathed as freshman starting pitcher Eric Hihn began to settle down and the defense found their form.
They followed in the third by getting the first three batters out at the plate and only facing three in the fourth following a strike and a heads up double play, catching a runner away from first base.
The fifth was the only blemished inning for the Phantoms pitching staff. Hihn surrendered two runs in what would be his final inning of a strong performance. In the end, Hihn surrendered only two runs on six hits with four strikeouts and two walks.
But the bats and cleats also came out to play, as the Phantoms took the lead in the first inning off an RBI single from No. 5, Joseph Rawlings, that was set up by one of three stolen bases in the inning.
Following a very quiet second inning, the Phantoms bats exploded, adding one run in the third, three in the fourth, and three more in the fifth.
Rawlings led the way going 2-3 with three RBI’s. Leadoff man Eric McAnally also had a solid game going 1-1, drawing a walk, scoring two runs, and stealing two bases.
The most eye popping hit, though, came from center fielder Travis Wrambel in the fifth inning. Wrambel blasted one to left center field that fell just short of homerun territory and went for a triple.
Wrambel is a player that team Coach Paul Motta is very excited about and fully expects to receive an athletic scholarship to a four-year school after this season. “He’ll have more scholarships than he can handle,” Motta said.
Motta coached the Phantoms for 38 years, making them a main-stay in postseason play.
“Mr. Motta is like baseball God around here,” said Andrew Johnson, director of Wellness Athletics and Recreation. Johnson had nothing but praise for the team describing them as “the one team that consistently makes the playoffs.”
Johnson also noted that the team is playing more than half of their games out of conference because they want to face better competition.
The team is loaded with position players, he added, but doesn’t have many pitchers.
The lack of pitching depth however, didn’t present itself on this day. After Hihn exited the game, the bullpen took over and shut the game down.
Andrew Grafstrom came in and pitched well, going three innings surrendering no runs or hits with one walk and one strikeout. Chad Sample then came in to close it out, surrendering no runs, one hit and one walk.
With 11 freshmen on the team, Motta is still searching for “the right combination of infielders and outfielders,” with the hope and expectation of making the playoffs this season.
