Somers Breaks Early with 8-1 Win Over Carmel

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On Monday April 6, spring break wasn’t quite over, and Gavin Kelly came out like vacation left a little bit of rust. “I couldn’t find it at first,” he admitted, and a base loaded one out jam was the result. But a wild pitch actually allowed the starter to punch in and cruise home form there.

“I knew Justin (Thomas) would make a perfect throw,” he said of the tag play, and with only one run scoring on the inning, Kelly settled down to lead Somers to an 8-1 victory.

A strikeout ended the Carmel threat, and Somers regrouped at the plate. After Ryan McAuley walked and Tyler Venturini was hit by a pitch, Kelly got the chance to undo the first.

Striking out looking, he didn’t let the hesitation knock him off the hill. A ground out, a strike out and a fly out and the stage was set for the bats to pull even for Somers

With one out in the second inning, James Radding didn’t shrink in the face of Carmel’s tall righty. “Nothing really crazy, he’s just coming out you a little higher,” the senior said of Casey Lowndes.

So there was no big adjustment for Radding. “I was just looking for a fastball, and I got it,” the senior said.

A drive to deep left center put the leftfielder at second base, and Radding was off to the races next. He stole third, and a wild pitch tied the score.

Onto the top of the third, the battery mates continued to put their heads together. “We got everything sorted out,” said Kelly, and other than a bunt base hit, Carmel went quietly.

Kelly wasn’t any more obliging with the bat either. He had a little help, though. “We actually had their signs,” the senior revealed.

A team effort, the pitcher was left to track a curveball. “I put a good swing on it,” said Kelly, and two RBIs were added to his stat line.

Up 3-1, Kelly was soon faced with a lead off double. No problem, the elephant stomped out the next three batters, and his day was almost done.

After a lead off single in the fifth, the winning pitcher registered two more strikeouts. But a walk put Lowndes’ dangerous bat in the crosshairs. “He’s a great hitter,” Kelly conceded.

The showdown didn’t play out, though. Jack Noreika got the call and didn’t complicate matters. “Fastball up, slider down, you got to go get ‘em,” said the reliever.

The senior punched a swinging strike out, and the bats took the cue in the bottom. Jake Hopper and Venturini set the table with singles, and Lorenzo D’Ambrosio opened wide.

Telling his teammates, he was going to hit the ball hard somewhere, the boast was more about being positive. “If you get in the right mindset, that’s the only way it’s going to happen,” D’Ambrosio clarified.

The first baseman was hoping for a fastball and got one low and in. “That’s my favorite pitch,” said the senior, and his double to deep right made it 5-1.

Somers was not done either. Thomas singled to left to bring in D’Ambrosio, and after Radding walked, the catcher scored on a double steal.

The rest was easy with Radding on the mound, but Kelly still did the closing. “Today was great,” he concluded. “We all did a great job.”

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