Ram's Baseball Falls to Suffern in Hard-Fought Game

The Clarkstown North baseball Rams lost to the Suffern Mounties on Tuesday with a final score of 6-4. 

Present with the large crowd on the windy afternoon were also a camera crew and scouts from major league baseball.  They had come out to see Suffern's pitcher, pro prospect Rob Aviles.  With him on the mound, the Rams knew they had their work cut out for them.  Though they had a 90 mile per hour fastball to deal with, the Rams didn't panic and drove in four runs.  Coach Pisano was enthusiastic about their performance, saying, "We executed our game plan and hit well against a tough pro prospect who is the best pitcher in the league and possibly in the state."

Pitcher Joe Aquilina started the game strong for the Rams, supported by a series of good plays from his teammates.  He got the first batter with a pop out to left fielder Monroe Perkins and the second with a pop foul ball that was caught by the catcher, James Hodgens.  The final batter of the inning hit a line drive to third, which was caught by third baseman Aaron Lebron.

Rob Aviles started off the game for the Mounties against the Rams lead off hitter, Anthony Barbetto.  He brought the count to 2-2, yet after fighting off the next strike with a foul ball, Aviles ended up walking Barbetto with two more balls.  Brandon Pochter was up next, who grounded to third.  He was safe at first, but Barbetto was out at second.  Up next was Stephen Shileile, who got ahead early in the count.  Aviles battled back, yet finally gave up another walk.  With runners on first and second, Aaron Lebron slugged a double into left field, which both runners scored on.  James Hodgens got on base after that, yet Aviles buckled down and struck out the next two batters.

The Mounties fought back in the second.  With an initial pop fly out to left field, their next hit fell in over the third baseman's head for a single.  After a controversial hit by the pitch call on their next batter, they scored one run with a hit to center field.  With runners at second and third, they hit a triple to score two more runs.  They then hit a line drive single to bring the score to 4-2 in favor of the Mounties.  They scored one more run, but the Rams then rallied to close out the inning without letting up any more.

After getting men on first and second, Stephen Shileile hit a single to send Spencer Cohen home.  This closed the gap to 5-3.  With two outs, it was Aaron Lebron's turn at bat.  Unfortunately for the Rams, he was unable to repeat his monster double in the first.  After getting ahead early in the count, he was struck out looking to close the inning.

Though Clarkstown North battled back from an early deficit, Suffern was able to hold on to their lead.  Strong defense on both sides finished off the rest of the game, with each team scoring only one more run,   The now 7-6 Rams kept the game close against a tough team with a superstar pitcher, which is a testament to their hard work and skill.  This performance against the 11-1 Suffern proved that they can play with any team in the league.  It also gave them confidence for their upcoming game on Saturday against North Rockland.