Scarsdale Splits Doubleheader with Yorktown in Men's Baseball

For the Scarsdale Mets and Yorktown Pirates Westchester Putnam Men's Senior Baseball League squads, there were two games and two pitching duels Sunday morning and afternoon at Lakeland High School.

Scarsdale (11-5) took the nightcap 3-2 after Yorktown (5-10) won the first game 1-0 on the strength of a no-hitter by Jim Webb.

Dan Hughes won the second game for the Mets in a complete-game effort.

"I tried to start everybody off with a curveball, something off-speed," Hughes said. "I tried to keep the ball down but sometimes I got it up. I tried to go off-speed because these guys are looking fastball on the first pitch."

Scarsdale got the jump in the second contest when it scored the game's first run in the third inning. With one out, the Mets loaded the bases.

They accomplished that on the strength of back-to-back walks from Felix Devito and Doc Schwartz, which was followed by a single from Paul Colucci.

Mike McCarthy then drove in the game's first run on a ground out to shortstop.

Yorktown though proved it pays to be aggressive on the bases when it tied the game in the top of the fourth frame. Dale Hughes hit a lead-off double before stealing third base.

On the play, there was an over-throw which allowed a hustling Dale Hughes to score which tied the game at 1-1.

Yorktown threatened to take the lead in the top of the fifth. With one out, Billy Demersky hit a double to left field.

However Mets pitcher Dan Hughes picked-off Demersky for the second out of the inning.

"You have to try and keep the runners close," Dan Hughes said. "Our regular shortstop wasn't here today. We usually run that play. The second baseman was playing short but he was still able to get the throw."

The pick-off turned out to be a huge play because the next batter, pitcher Andy DiNardo, singled to left field and stole second. He was stranded though when Dan Hughes struck out Steve Dinucci to end the inning.

Yorktown took the lead in the top of the seventh when a double by Paul Gornie and a single from Dale Hughes put runners on first and third.  Dale Hughes got to second on a failed pick-off attempt and an error on the play allowed Gornie to score.

Dale Hughes though was stranded, which turned out to be costly.

"The last inning we needed to plate another run," DiNardo said. "We had a runner on second base with less than two outs but we didn't do it. We got the go-ahead run but we left the last one out there and that's the one that hurt us."

It hurt Yorktown because Scarsdale rallied in thrilling fashion with two runs in the bottom of the inning to win the game.

Dan Hughes started the winning rally with a one-out single before scoring on a base hit by Colluci, who came home to win the game on a base hit to left by Ed Volpe.

"I was just trying to see the ball and swing," Dan Hughes said. "The first game their guy was throwing really good. He was throwing hard. I didn't get good wood on the ball the first game."

Yorktown's Webb not only threw a no-hitter in the opening game, he nearly pitched a perfect game. The perfect game was foiled when Webb allowed a lead-off walk after going 0-2 on him.

However, Webb bounced back to record a strike out and induce a double play to get the no-hitter and preserve the victory.

"Jimmy pitches for us this year but we have played against him for years," DiNardo said. "He's one of the top three or four pitchers we have seen the last 20, 25 years. He is still going strong."

Scarsdale's Santiago Morrillo also pitched a gem of a game in the opener, throwing a four-hitter.

The Pirates scored the game's only run in the bottom of the fifth. Dale Hughes got on by an error and eventually scored on a single by John Boro.