Krop Lightning Strike Early Against Hungry ATM Sharks

After putting up two early runs, the Dr. Krop Lightning held off multiple efforts by the Alonzo & Tracy Mourning High Sharks to win 9-3 on Monday.

Even after a seven-run fifth inning for the Lightning, the Sharks showed fight. For most teams, an inning like that would kill any hopes of a comeback, but not for this young squad.

For the Lighting, it was Ryan Heisler who set the tone. Though his arm was tender going into the game, he provided himself with a low pitch count, and his defense was staunch.

“I wanted to get a couple of guys in today because Ryan was coming off some arm issues, but he pitched a good game, so he stayed in,” Krop coach Jason Sullivan said.

Third baseman Carlos Debrunous made play after play for his pitcher. In the first two innings, he put out two batters at first. This defensive effort would spread throughout the rest of the team.

As Mourning made its run late in the game, the second baseman for Krop, Samari Garvin, dominated the right side of the infield. He also dominated at the plate, going 2 for 3 from the number nine spot in the order, with two RBI.

The rest of his team followed suit, led by designated hitter Moises Flores, who had a big single and would have had a double, too, if he weren’t gunned down in the base path by an errorless Sharks defense. Flores finished with two RBI.

ATM put up their offensive effort as well. They made a run at what seemed to be a Krop-controlled game.

Evan Cohen, the Sharks’ pitcher, put up two out of his team’s three runs on the offensive side and had a strong outing on the mound. Until his arm got the better of him in the fifth inning, Cohen had given up three hits.

In the fifth inning, the game took a nosedive. Cohen lost steam and Andrew Feldman came in to pitch. He had been riding high off a solid offensive outing, but the Lightning struck hard on him.

Krop went on a seven-run tear in the bottom of the fifth , breaking open the game. Jake Norman and Ronnie Williams contributed big hits to top off their enthusiasm throughout the course of the game.

Though ATM made another run, led by the base-stealing Cohen, it was stopped by closer Jack Leech, who came in throwing heat to end the game.

ATM coach Edwin Bonilla’s post-game chat had a jovial vibe though. He must have noticed the hoards of students and family that came to support his young squad.

“I always tell my guys to stay positive,” Bonilla said. “Our whole school supports us. We’re a young team so we’ve got to be positive always. The future here is bright.”

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