Winning pitcher Declan Cumming on his outing pic.twitter.com/3qXMv5B0s1
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 6, 2019
Tri State Arsenal came away with a 4-0 victory against the Long Island Titans (Brennan), behind a spectacular day from their pitching staff, notably starting pitcher, Declan Cumming.
Although it was a relatively low-scoring affair altogether, each team had several opportunities to push some runs across.
Arsenal threatened early, with three runners reaching base in the top of the first, two via walk, and one by fielder’s choice. However, the starting pitcher for the Titans, Thomas Walsh, was able to prevent a runner from crossing the plate.
In the top of the second, Arsenal once again had two runners on, but Walsh was able to induce a fly out to left to escape trouble. In the bottom of the second, James Gruenfelder hit a double, and advanced to third on a passed ball. Cumming was able to bear down, and induced a groundout to keep the game in a scoreless tie.
The Titans threatened once more in the third inning. After Will Park led off with a single, he was thrown out at second trying to steal. After a hit and a walk resulted in a pair of runners on base, Cumming settled down a bit, recording a strikeout for the second out. He then walked Louis Ross to load the bases for three-hitter, Domingo Rodriguez, who lined out sharply to the right fielder to end the inning.
Cumming’s team gave him some run support in the top of the 4th inning. After Jared Rago reached on an error, Zach Cronk worked a walk. Cohen then smoked a single, just past the third baseman to drive in the first two runs of the game.
Working with his first lead of the game, Cumming allowed a leadoff double to Matthew Rahl. However, Rahl was overly aggressive, and was thrown out at third base trying to stretch his hit to a triple. That would ultimately be the last hit of the day for the Titans.
After issuing back to back walks in the sixth inning, Cumming’s day on the mound was done. Ken Lavoie came in, and proceeded to get out of the inning, getting the first batter he faced to fly out to right field.
Arsenal tacked on two more runs in the top of the 7th inning, padding their lead a bit. However, no additional runs were needed, as Lavoie set down the side in order in the bottom half of the frame, to secure the victory for his team.
Winning pitcher, Declan Cumming said, “I had a great team behind my back, great defense. Everything worked for us today.”
With the victory, Tri State Arsenal improves to 3-0 on the young season, while the Titans fall to 1-2.
