Try as he might, Kenmore East coach Les Simon couldn’t rally his Bulldogs’ bats until it was too late Thursday afternoon.
East fell behind early and was never able to rally, as visiting Niagara Falls scored a 5-1 Niagara Frontier League victory at the Dick “Sparky” Adams complex.
The Wolverines opened the scoring in the second inning. Adam Grace reached after being hit by a pitch, then advanced on a single by Mike Bright. Stosh Kajfasz continued swinging a good stick, lacing an RBI double to score Grace. NFHS got another in the third on an RBI groundout by Matt Paonessa that plated junior John Lysiak.
“We’ve been working hard and the kids are starting to see the results,” Wolverines coach Joe Contento said.
Niagara Falls gave sophomore pitcher Jake Lysiak a 4-0 lead in the fourth inning, as Bright and Tom Martino reached on walks, then advanced on a wild pitch. Kajfasz followed with a sacrifice fly to plate Bright. John Lysiak then had an RBI double to score Martino.
“They made all the plays,” Kenmore East coach Les Simon said. “We didn’t put a lot of pressure on their defense.”
Kenmore East plated its only run in the bottom of the sixth, as Rick Cumbo reached on an error and Kevin Whitehead walked. Scott Whitehead followed with an RBI single. The Bulldogs, though, couldn’t manage any more runs off Niagara Falls pitcher Jake Lysiak. The sophomore went 6 1/3 innings, allowing just four hits and one walk while striking out four.
“He did a great job against a good team,” Contento said of his pitcher. “He kept them off-stride.”
East (7-7 overall, 5-6 NFL) managed to load the bases in the seventh inning on a walk and a pair of singles, but the Wolverines turned to Mike Bright to close out the game. The senior struck out the final two batters to seal the win.
“We had a little bit of a rally there, but that’s too little, too late. We had our chances. We had good hitters up, we just didn’t convert,” Simon said. “They deserved to win.”
The Falls (12-7, 6-6) had added an insurance run in the top of the seventh, as David Tighe doubled and Jeff Conklin finished with an RBI single, the second of his two hits on the day.
Jacob Kirbis took the loss for East, pitching four innings. Kevin Whitehead pitched the final three innings for the Bulldogs.
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