Chirping and chattering and the cardinal rules of baseball
Cardiac yak yak - The cyber wireless updates transmitted a certain chirpiness from the Cape at Polytech hardball game May 7. Poly fans were throwing rocks at third-base coach Drew Johnson was one of the claims, and a Poly Panthers pitcher carpet bombing the Cape dugout with colorful advice when Cape scored three in the top of the seventh to tie the game was another Cape side report. Here’s what we know. Cape got up off the deck trailing 7-4 into the last at bat and pushed a couple of runs across. Kai Boy Vitella was on second with two outs when he and that “Rock Dodger” coach Drew Johnson on the suggestion of first-base coach Dave Vitella (a conspiracy) decided to break a cardinal rule of baseball and steal third with two outs and down a run with only one out left to go in the ball game. Kai broke and the catcher reacted instinctively, inspired, no doubt, by the unrelenting noise from the Cape dugout and threw the ball down to third. But the throw went into left field, allowing Vitella to score and tie the game, and it was on like Donkey Kong. Cape had Zack Gelof available to pitch, an efficient, tightly compacted technician who can throw the heat and the bender for strikes. Cape scored two in the top of the ninth to take a 9-7 lead, then Gelof shut the door in the home half, striking out the side to preserve Cape’s sixth straight win and raise the season record to 10-6 with games left to play at Smyrna Tuesday, May 12, and Saint Mark’s Saturday, May 16. The next morning Cape Athletic Director Bob Cilento fielded two phones calls from Polytech parents complaining about Cape's behavior at the game. A Cape parent who shall remain nameless (Jay Elliot) told me, "The problem was the home plate umpire lost control of the game." Now that's funny.
Got off the bus - Upon hearing that the Cape boys' lacrosse team lost at Tower Hill Friday night 18-7, someone back home in the Champions Stadium parking lot following the girls' hard-earned 12-7 win over those same Hillers said, "Sounds like the boys never got off the bus.” My response was, "Sounds like they did. Perhaps they should have stayed on board.” Tower Hill is a lacrosse school with a tradition of success. You go up to their campus, you have a chance to get beaten. The Vikings lost all four quarters - a dollar short for the game - but only trailed 8-5 at the half. But the second half was a 10-2 Tower advantage which can happen in lacrosse, a sport filled with crazy, unexplainable power surges. Cape goals were scored by Hank Coveleski 4, Kyle Orton, Erik Stancofski and Jake Brown. Tower outshot Cape 37-20. Tower Hill goals were scored by Adam Mengden 5, Connor Hattersley 4, Russell Applegate 3, Douglas McCoy 2 and 5 assists, Andrew Pettit 2, James Spruance 2. The ACC is the best men’s conference in the collegiate ranks, but in the first round of the NCAA tournament, home teams Duke lost to Ohio State 16-11 and Virginia was humbled by Hopkins 19-7. The final weekend of college lacrosse is May 23 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philly.
Cape softball - The Vikings grabbed a big win at home May 6, beating Easton 4-1 powered by a home run by Jordyn Virden and the pitching of Riley Shields. Jessica Evans had a pair of RBIs. Riley Shields went the distance for the win. On May 7, Cape lost at Polytech 10-1, as the Panthers improved to 13-1. Cape is facing four games in five days, playing at Smyrna (8-6) Tuesday, May 12, home versus Sussex Central (7-7) Wednesday, May 13, at Hodgson (8-7) Friday, May 15 and at Saint Mark's (8-6) Saturday, May 16. The tournament starts now; the formula is simple: win and get in.
Snippets - LeBron James rolled his ankle in the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bulls; you could see it on replay. He not only stayed in the game but ended up hitting the winning shot. I like the guy; he’s a good teammate and good person. It's not his fault that media squawkers won’t shut up about him. Mike Conley of the Grizzlies is another great player. His dad was a gold medal-winning triple jumper. Conley is playing with a mask after he suffered a fractured face; the dude is money. College men’s lacrosse players have gotten freakishly good. There are shots in slow motion that are hard to see.
Beacon girls' soccer finished the season 9-0-1, and the girls' track team was 13-0. Both these teams have front-line girls who play lacrosse. Soccer should be a fall sport; it's totally political why it is not. And it works both ways upstate at smaller schools; some of their best kids choose soccer over lacrosse, but not so much at Cape. Go on now, git!
