Bats Lead Way For Vikings Baseball on Opening Day

The Schreiber Vikings varsity baseball team didn't waste any time getting on the scoreboard in its 13-7 Opening Day win on the road against the Roslyn Bulldogs.

In his first at-bat of the season, shortstop and team captain David Podlofsky blasted a 1-1 fastball from Bulldogs pitcher Corey Hight over the centerfield fence, giving Screiber a 2-0 first-inning lead that was never overcome on Friday afternoon. The Schreiber senior went 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and four runs scored.

Podlofsky said that even though his team won the game, he feels there is a long road ahead of the Vikings.

"It's the first non-league game of the season and we have a long way to go," he said. "We played very well today, but I know we can play better. This sport is a marathon, not a sprint, but we want to get on the fast track to the playoffs again this season."

It sure looked like a sprint on this afternoon, which was spearheaded not only by the stud infielder, but also by Hofstra-bound pitcher Everett Keller, who got the nod for the Vikings on Opening Day. Keller started the day with a one-two-three first inning, but hiccupped over the next two, giving up a home run to Roslyn first baseman Andrew Wolfe to lead off the second inning and two runs in the third (one unearned) on an Ethan Peck double.

"I need to spot my pitches," Keller said. "I threw a fastball on that [home run]. I was trying to get that four to six inches off the corner [of the plate] and it just ran back in. I was trying to throw way too hard. The accuracy wasn't there but in the fourth inning I calmed it down and pinpointed what I was doing wrong, which was overthrowing. After that, I was throwing a lot more strikes."

More strikes indeed. After a shaky third inning Keller followed it up by striking out the side in the fourth on 13 pitches — nine for strikes. The senior finished the day with six innings pitched, nine strikeouts and five runs (two earned) on 82 pitches for his first win of the season.

"I think that was the inning I figured out my control," Keller said of the fourth frame. "I really grabbed hold of my pitches. In that inning I could pretty much put it where I wanted to."

Vikings designated hitter Danny Kaminsky paced the offense on Friday going 2-for-3 with a walk and three RBIs, two of which came on a two-strike count. Kaminsky's two-strike hit in the fifth put the game away for the Vikings when he punched a single just beyond the reach of Roslyn's first baseman to drive in two runs and extend Schreiber's lead to five, at 9-4.

"That was where our breathing room began to grow," said first-year coach Matt Holzer, who added that his team compiled four two-strike hits against the Bulldogs on the afternoon. "I was very impressed with our two-strike hitting and a lot of clutch hitting by guys like Kaminsky and Podlofsky. We were able to drive them in today."