Liberty Pizza Slices Up Short-Handed Pro Tek Auto

On a hot and humid night, the Liberty Pizza softball squad continued to light the softball diamond on fire. Dana Sharry delivered a two-run double and Matt St. Jean added three hits as Liberty Pizza sliced up Pro Tek Auto with an 11-6 victory in Friday night’s WayCo Softball League match-up at Bradford Street Field.

With the win, Liberty Pizza improves to 9-1 overall while Tek Auto dipped to 7-3. Tek Auto, who started the contest with just seven available players, was down to just six by game’s end as a result of a thumb injury to Issac Austin.

Even in victory, Sharry acknowledged the strong efforts of Tek Auto despite playing shorthanded.

“You have to give them a lot of credit for hanging in there and playing as hard as they did despite not having the guys,’’ said Sharry. “They have a lot of great athletes and they played very well defensively, considering the amount of ground they had to cover out in the field. We didn’t play our best game, but we played well enough to win and a win is a win.”

Backed by five hits, Liberty Pizza engineered to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first. Wade Critides lined a leadoff single to right before Robby Barnes drew a walk. Mike Kennedy lined to center, as both runners advanced to scoring position followed by Sharry’s clutch two-run double to left. After Adam Lewin and St. Jean lined consecutive two-out singles to increase the lead to 3-0, Bobby Gaglini followed with a two-run bloop single to short right for the five run edge.

“We came out and hit the ball well, but give them credit for sticking around,’’ said Sharry. “It could’ve been a 14 or 15 run game, but they fought hard and battled to the last pitch.”

It stayed that way until the top of the third as Liberty Pizza added a pair of runs, increasing the lead to 7-0.

With one out, Sharry reached on a fielding error before Tommy Carmichael drew a walk. After Lewin’s fielder’s choice, St. Jean lined an RBI double to left center and later scored on an RBI single by Gaglini.

Clawing back, Pro Tek Auto trimmed the lead to 7-1 in the bottom of the fourth. Austin lined a double to deep left and later scored as Matt Picard lined an RBI double to right center.

Capitalizing on a single and an error, Liberty Pizza increased the lead to 8-1 in the top of the fifth. With one out, Barnes reached on an infield hit before moving to second on Kennedy’s fielder’s choice to short. Sharry followed, reaching on an infield scoring error as Barnes raced around third and crossed the plate with no throw.

During the inning, Austin, playing shortstop, took a line drove off of his throwing thumb and was forced to leave the game. With a forfeit hanging in the balance, Pro Tek elected to finish the game with just six players.

Despite the obstacles, Pro Tek Auto erupted for a five run surge in the bottom of the fifth. Henry Hastings reached on a leadoff single and advanced to third as Ryan Tuckerman reached on a throwing error. Sam Karp followed, lining an RBI single to left and reaching scoring position on a fielding error. The rally ensued as Joe Cerrone lined a two-run double to deep left and later scored as Picard reached on a throwing error, trimming the lead to 8-6.

Securing the win, Liberty Pizza increased the lead to 10-6 in the top of the sixth on an RBI fielder’s choice by Jamie Mordas and an RBI single by Tucker Bridgeo.

Capping the scoring, the Liberty Pizza added another run in the top of the seventh as Barnes smacked an RBI triple to left.