Douglas Cruises To 10-1 Victory Over Monarch

Douglas starter Jon Lipinski felt really good with his pitches on Monday evening. And that was even before the game began.

The senior right-hander stymied the Monarch hitters, and the Eagles offense provided timely hitting as it cruised to a 10-1 victory in the District Five opener of the 2011 HSBN/Perfect Recruits Fall Classic, played at Davis Field at Northeast High.

Through nearly four innings of work, Lipinski recorded eight strikeouts on 59 pitches while limiting the Knights to three walks and one hit batsman.

“My curveball was sharp and it had a great break on it tonight,” Lipinski said after the game. “I felt good. I really had my stuff working, and I just knew I was on tonight.”

The Knights were limited to a pair of singles and scored their only run on an RBI single from Nick Ritornato in the bottom of the fourth inning after Lipinski was replaced on the mound.

“You can’t win when you strike out as many times as we did tonight,” Monarch coach Joe Franco said. “Douglas is a great team, and they are really tough to beat. They did a great job of attacking the ball, and our pitchers did a good job of keeping us in the game as long as they did.”

After holding a 3-0 lead through the first three innings, the Eagles pounded out seven runs over the next two innings to open a large lead. Leading the way for the offense was senior Brandon Dreichler, who was 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, three runs and four RBI on the night.

“He’s had a quiet fall, so I guess now we have to keep him in the lineup,” joked first-year Douglas coach Todd Fitz-Gerald.

Dreichler also reached on a two-out error in the third inning that put him on third base and extended the inning, allowing Douglas to tack on a pair of runs.

“I was relaxed up there and was jumping on the fastballs,” said Dreichler, who admitted he also enjoyed the new BBCOR-regulation baseball bats. “The new bat doesn’t feel any different and it’s a lot better then using wood.”

Derek Fritz was 2-for-2 with an RBI, a run and a stolen base, and Colton Bottomley went 2-for-3 with a double and a run for Douglas.

“This was a good way to start for us,” Fitz-Gerald said. “I’m proud that we were able to get all our guys into the game and see what they can do.”

Monarch senior starter Andrew Pierson was equally impressive on the mound, throwing 48 of his 76 pitches for strikes while recording five strikeouts through nearly three full innings of work.

Senior pinch-hitter Nick Sposa recorded the Knights’ only other hit, as both teams managed to find playing time for nearly every player.

“This tournament is a great idea,” Franco said. “This is a nice site for baseball, and I like that we have to play using high school rules. It helps us coaches get used to the spring rules again, and it gets the kids ready to play in the spring.”

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