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By Kyle Craig | For lehighvalleylive.com
Photo courtesy of Tim Wynkoop | For lehighvalleylive.com
The coaching staff wanted to see Easton Area High School’s baseball team be proactive at the plate on Tuesday afternoon.
After three batters, the Red Rovers had their first run. After three innings, Easton had posted nine runs and was well on its way to victory.
"Let’s be aggressive at the plate and put balls in play," Rovers coach Carm LaDuca recited the pregame message. "Try to hit the ball the other way, which we did well. We moved runners; we executed bunts. We did all the little things right offensively today and then got the big hits on top of that. I’m very proud of the way the boys came out and played."
Easton leadoff hitter Anthony Suffness, a sophomore, reached second base when his popup was dropped in the outfield. Senior Braydon Hubbard bunted Suffness to third, and junior Spencer Brooking plated the game’s first run with a well-struck sacrifice fly.
"We really came out with the bats swinging," junior third baseman Stephen Ricicki said. "... Spencer Brooking hit that very long fly ball, which scored (Suffness), and that did the job and started off the game really well."
Cleanup hitter Alex Laquintano, a junior, followed with Easton’s first base hit. Ricicki then cracked an RBI double to deep right-center field, pushing the lead to 2-0.
"As a team, I think we came out great," said Laquintano, the second baseman. "We attacked early like Coach said. We’ve been working on it. Practices have been strong ... We came out, scored some runs and played a great game offensively."
The Rovers broke the contest open with seven runs in the bottom of the third inning. Suffness got things started with a single and raced home when Hubbard shot a triple into the gap in left-center.
Brooking followed with an RBI knock, making it 4-1. Laquintano and Ricicki each singled to load the bases.
Freshman Kurtis Crossman blasted a two-run double off the wall in right field, chasing Freedom starter Ryan Hoffman. Sophomore Nolan Fuller slapped a run-scoring single past a drawn-in infield, and Khamryn Singto added a sac fly to push the score to 8-1.
Scratching the scoreboard in the first inning gave the Easton lineup momentum, according to Ricicki.
"It helps us a lot," he said about having a fast start. "... We always say, ‘pass the torch.’ That is very much a thing in baseball ... If we can get our bats started early, our confidence is going to go up like crazy."
Rovers starting pitcher Colin Jackson, a senior, pitched 4-plus innings, surrendering two hits and two unearned runs, while striking out four and walking one.
"Colin Jackson did an amazing job," Ricicki said. "He struggled with his curveball early, which I saw. But he was able to really work back with his fastball. It’s his best pitch, I believe. He was able to control the game."
It’s the second effective start in a row for Jackson.
"Colin has really had two nice performances," LaDuca said. "He just threw a 76-pitch, 1-0 shutout against East Stroudsburg South last week. Coming back today against Freedom, he attacked the zone. He might not have been as sharp as he was up there (at E.S. South), but he did a good job."
Easton (4-4 overall, 4-3 EPC) added two more runs in the fourth to bring the 10-run rule into consideration. An RBI single by Freedom senior Kyle Kullman in the fifth inning avoided an early ending.
LaDuca ultimately didn’t mind an opportunity to get more players on the field.
"We had enough arms," he said. "We have a lot of boys on our team, and they all deserve to be here. If we can get them an opportunity to play, we try."
Sophomore Rowan Galiotto, senior Ryan Holmes, Brooking and senior Nicholas Barone combined to pitch the final three innings in relief for Easton.
"Everybody who came out of the bullpen did their job," Laquintano said.
The offensive performance was encouraging for Easton. LaDuca, however, would like to see cleaner defensive displays. The Rovers had four errors on Tuesday.
"We feel like, over the last week or so, we’ve really progressed. We’ve played better baseball," he said. "… We have to cut (defensive miscues) back if we’re going to beat good teams, especially the Nazareths, Libertys and Parklands ... We’re going to have to keep working on that. We’re working our tails off trying to become better defensive players."
Sophomore Michael Horvath pitched four innings of two-hit ball in relief for Freedom (4-5, 4-3), allowing two hits and two runs (one earned), while striking out three and walking two. He also had an RBI single.
Freedom will return to action 3 p.m. Thursday at Coca-Cola Park vs. rival Liberty.
Easton’s next game is also a rivalry tilt at the home of the IronPigs. The Rovers meet Nazareth 4 p.m. Friday.
"We really have to keep going, keep the momentum," Ricicki said.
"I hope we take it and turn it into a winning streak," Laquintano said. "We just need to continue to play our game."
Kyle Craig may be reached at kcraig@lehighvalleylive.com.