Walton, Bole key Wolves win their Saladino debut

By Jarrett Guthrie, Editor

RUSKIN – The Saladino Tournament schedule of four, possibly five games, in the span of six days tests the depth of every team involved. Add to that a four-game week leading into things and it can be a lot of pressure for a head coach.

First-year Newsome skipper Kevin Ohme probably slept like a baby Saturday night after his Wolves took the field behind junior Blaine Bole making his first-ever varsity start, as the righty gave his team three strong innings and rode some early support to a 5-2 victory over host Lennard to open the 45th edition of the Saladino Baseball Tournament.

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Newsome junior RHP Blaine Bole made his first varsity start on the mound, working 3-plus innings. He allowed two unearned runs on one hit and one walk, earning the win while striking out four.

After Bole retired the Longhorns in order in the first, the Wolves offense struck quickly as senior Alec Chin lined a leadoff double to leftfield. Lennard senior Christian Skaggs would then pick up two quick outs, but couldn’t escape unscathed as Ocean Cozart and Jacob Swartzlander got Newsome on the board with back-to-back RBI singles.

Alec Chin celebrates his leadoff double to start the game.

“The offense jumped off right from the start,” Bole said. “Two-zero right from the start – the mood was to attack the team. We started off swinging and didn’t watch a lot of pitches.”

Bole would retire the next six he’d face before Newsome (5-7) padded the lead with a run in the third as Trey Bosso doubled and Cozart traded places with his second RBI of the game.

Lennard SP Christian Skaggs

Lennard (4-7) finally got to Bole in the fourth as a walk allowed a base runner and the pitcher couldn’t get a handle on a bunted ball to his right. The Longhorns made the error sting when freshman Jacob Gonzalez lined a two-run single into leftfield to shave the lead to a run.

Jacob Gonzalez drove in a pair with a line drive single to leftfield. 

That would chase Bole from the mound after three-plus innings, just one hit and a walk and four strikeouts.

After the game, Bole was pleased with his first start after four previous relief appearances this year.

“It was a great experience with my team behind me,” Bole said. “I had Coach (Kevin) Ohme supporting me and giving me this opportunity, so I came in ready to attack.

“I knew what to throw, we had a game plan and everything went really well.”

Wolves 1B Tray Bosso catches a ball in foul territory.

Taking the ball for the Wolves, senior Joe Calabria allowed the Wolves defense to back him and retired the next three batters and held the lead.

Nick Bradner collects one of his two hits in the Wolves win, starting off a two-run fourth inning with a ground ball chopped into left.

The Wolves answered back with a leadoff single by Nick Bradner (2-for-3), another hit from Chin and then a line drive into centerfield from Cole Walton that got those two runs right back.

“My first couple of AB’s I wasn’t getting any fastballs, so I knew I wasn’t going to get one there,” Walton said. “I’d been early on everything all day, so I was sitting off-speed and he gave me one right over the plate and I was able to come through for my team.”

Alec Chin slides his hand across the plate scoring the second of his two runs in Newsome’s win.

“The minute we (answered) those runs the whole team changed,” Bole said of Walton’s two-run single. “He came back to the dugout, hyped everyone up and from there we were good – we knew it.”

Calabria worked around a walk and a hit over a three-inning hold; while Lennard got a steadying relief appearance from JV Brennick (1 1/3 innings, one hit, one strikeout) to keep the game within reach.

Newsome reliever Joe Calabria pitched three scoreless innings.

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Lennard RHP JV Brennick recorded four outs in a scoreless relief outing.

Newsome would turn to senior Robbie DiPietro in the seventh and Lennard made a go of it when two errors allowed the first two runners aboard, but DiPietro was unfazed finishing things off with three-straight strikeouts to put the Wolves in the win column to start the tournament.

“He really showed his mound presence out there (with runners on),” Bole said. “He knew what he had to do and he went out and did it. He had total confidence in himself.”

Newsome senior Robbie DiPietro shook off a pair of errors allowing two bases runners in seventh and struck out the final three batters of the game to pick up a save.

Next up for Newsome will be a Monday showdown with the site’s other 1-0 team, Bloomingdale (12-1 winners against Durant) at 4pm from Lennard, while the Longhorns will face the Cougars at 7pm.

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Newsome 5
Lennard 2

Check back later for our coverage of this game.

L 000|000|0 – |2|3|0
N 201|300|x – |5|11|2
W – Bole; L – Skaggs; S – DiPietro
2B – Locke (L); Chin, Cozart, Bosso (N). Records – L (4-7); N (5-7).

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After a lot of rain Friday night, Lennard coaches and players spent four-plus hours making the field playable for a pushed-back noon start. Shout out to Coach Victor Martinez and his staff and players. 

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Newsome senior Alec Chin squares up his first-inning double.

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Ocean Cozart brings in the game’s first run with a ground ball through the left side.

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Jacob Swartzlander follows right behind with an RBI single the other way to put the Wolves up two early.

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Ocean Cozart slides in safely as the throw in gets away from Longhorns C Mikie Locke.

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Newsome SS Cole Walton fires for an out in the third.

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Newsome SP Blaine Bole

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Christian Skaggs for the Longhorns

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Lennard’s Julian Ware (who walked to start off the fourth) slides in safely to third base on a double-steal. 

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Wolves CF JJ Shotwell made a tremendous over-the-shoulder catch in the fourth and here fires the ball back into the infield.

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One of two hits for Wolves senior Nick Bradner.

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 A single to center from Trey Bosso started the home-fifth.

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Lennard head coach Victor Martinez takes the ball from starting pitcher Christian Skaggs.

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Longhorns senior captain Mikie Locke led off the sixth with a double lined to centerfield.

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Newsome C Graham Bromley throws a dart to third base to catch a stealing runner in the sixth …

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… and Wolves 3B Ocean Cozart drops down a tag for the out.

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Longhorns RF Eli Selvey gets under a pop fly in the sixth.

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Sophomore Jaxon Murphy got in on the Wolves hit-show with a single to right in the sixth.