Falcons endure tough loss in season opener at La Salle

Matt Metcalf, Sports Editor
Posted 4/8/15

The Falcons knew that they would be facing an uphill battle going into their first game of the season last Thursday at La Salle, but were hoping for a much better result.

The Rams, who have had …

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Falcons endure tough loss in season opener at La Salle

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The Falcons knew that they would be facing an uphill battle going into their first game of the season last Thursday at La Salle, but were hoping for a much better result.

The Rams, who have had the best practicing and playing conditions of any team in the state in recent weeks with their turf field, looked to be a step ahead of West.

While La Salle has been preparing for the season properly, the Falcons have been stuck practicing in their gym and have been limited as to what they can and cannot work on, and that showed.

Going into the game having not seen live pitching was costly for West, as it was going up against one of the top pitchers in the state in Tyler Shemick.

The Falcons mustered just one hit off of Shemick and reliever Brody Santilli in a 10-0 loss that ended in the bottom of the sixth inning due to the mercy rule.

West’s inability to command the strike zone on the mound really hurt it, in addition to its troubles at the plate.

Four Falcon pitchers combined for 10 walks and a hit batsman in the loss.

Head coach Rob Malo acknowledged that it’s tough to win when the other team gets that many free passes. If the Falcons cut that number down, it would’ve been a much closer game, as La Salle didn’t exactly tear the cover off the ball – registering seven hits, with two of those being extra base hits.

“Our pitchers were working from behind all day and, in one inning, we gave them five or six outs,” Malo said. “Our goal today was to execute in all three phases of the game – and that didn’t happen. We only had the one hit and made three or four errors. All of that put us behind the eight ball to start, and we didn’t recover from it.”

Shemick, who had an outstanding junior season a year ago, picked up right where he left off last spring.

Gersham Rainone hit a leadoff double off of Shemick in the top of the second, but the burly right-hander was able to escape unscathed.

And, in the bottom half of the inning, La Salle was able to manufacture two runs to take a 2-0 lead on one hit, one error and two walks.

Ed Jackson drew a leadoff walk and came around to score on a double off the bat of Ryan Ramos. Rich Mancini then scored later in the inning when West starter Dan Smith threw a pickoff attempt by first baseman Matt Shapiro.

In the bottom of the third, La Salle broke the game wide open, scoring five runs on three hits, three walks and one error.

Tyler Walsh scored on a fielding error to make it 3-0, before a Frank Caprio single scored Chris Perez and Jackson.

Mancini also singled home a run, while Santilli brought home the last run of the inning on a sacrifice fly to centerfield that made it 7-0.

While Shemick continued to keep the Falcons off the board, West’s Travis Collins came on in relief and kept the game where it was – tossing 2.2 innings of scoreless ball.

Malo acknowledged that Collins’ performance was one of the few bright spots for West in the lopsided loss.

“Travis threw great for us,” Malo said. “He may have to be a guy that we use more now. We were hoping to keep him at second, but if he’s going to pitch like that, he may have just forced himself into the starting rotation.”

Shemick was pulled after five scoreless innings, earning him the win, as he allowed just one hit and struck out five.

“He’s probably one of the top two or three kids in the state,” Malo said of Shemick. “They’re used to seeing me throwing batting practice, so it’s tough.”

The Rams forced the mercy rule in the bottom of the sixth, with Caprio registering his third RBI of the game on a groundout, before an error allowed two more to score to make it 10-0.

It was a rough first outing for the Falcons, but they’re hoping that there will be better things to come in the near future.

“We know what we have and we know that we’re going to get better,” Malo said. “Now we’re going to see what we’re made of.”

Unfortunately for the Falcons, they may have their toughest test of the season up next, as they’ll play at defending state champion Bishop Hendricken at 4 p.m. on Friday.

Despite the tough first loss, the Falcons remain optimistic about this season.

“We’re going to battle back and get better,” Malo said. “It’s a long season.”

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