By The TimesLedger
The Midville Dodgers college team maintained their first-place position in the Interstate Collegiate Baseball League by defeating the New York Giants 12-5 and 6-1 at Fordham University.
The Dodgers are 9-0 overall and 7-0 in league this season. Pitching was again the strong point for Midville.
In the opener Ridgewood’s Ken Ward went the first four innings allowing four hits, two of them in the infield. Both runs scored by the Giants were unearned. Ward left with a 12-2 lead. Fireballer Ramon Valenzuela followed with two scoreless innings. Rich Merslich hurled the final inning.
In the second game, former Cardozo standout Chad Harris, who attends the University of Las Vegas-Nevada, picked up his first win, hurling four shutout innings while fanning eight Giants. He left with a 6-0 lead.
In the opener Midville pounded 13 hits and scored in five of the seven innings. The middle of the lineup was especially outstanding, going 7-for-9, driving in six runs and scoring five.
First baseman Mike Giampilis went 3-for-3 with a single, double and triple, driving in three runs. Catcher Jefferson Infante had a pair of run
scoring singles and shortstop Mike Cannone had two singles, an RBI, and two runs scored.
Centerfielder Eric Zinke also had two hits and scored twice.
The game was essentially decided in the top of the first inning as the first six Dodgers reached base and five of them scored before a single batter was retired. Zinke singled, moved to second when Tommy Maroon walked and scored on Robert Benjamin’s single. Infante singled Maroon home. Giampilis’ double plated two more runs and he scored on Cannone’s single.
Infante singled in a run in the second and Maroon singled in a run in the fourth for a 7-2 lead. In the fifth three more runs scored with Giampilis’ triple and David Spinner’s run scoring double.
In the second game Midville went on top 2-0 in the first inning. Rick Mundy walked and scored when Giampilis’ 400-foot drive to center was dropped by Chris Paterson. Infante’s grounder to shortstop was then thrown away allowing Giampilis to score.
That was the only scoring the four innings. The Giants did threaten when they loaded the bases with one out in the home fourth but Harris fanned the next two batters to end the threat.
Midville broke the game open in the fifth, scoring four times. Rudy Mejia singled, stole second and scored on two ground balls. Maroon walked, Mundy singled and Giampilis delivered a 2-run single.
The Giants got their only run with two-out with four straight walks. Cornell’s Devin Corr got the final out on a strikeout.
The Dodgers traveled to Cooperstown this week a three-game series at historic Doubleday Field. They resume Interstate League play Sunday, traveling to meet the New Canaan Rebels for a twin bill in Connecticut.
