Defense Leads Bombers in Season Opener, 13-5

BY SPARKY CHALMERS

PARK RIDGE, NJ - Puzzled fans thumbed through their programs, connecting numbers to faces, and faces to new Bombers. These weren’t your father’s Bombers, but like most great franchises, it’s the name on the front of the jersey that matters. Even after the Boombox was systematically removed from the Scarlet and Grey dugout, BPIT found a way to maintain their winning culture.

Even with new gloves, BPIT dominated defensively in a 13-5 victory over SSA yesterday in Park Ridge—avenging the blatant pregame attack on the Bombers’ fun-loving musical culture.

“Before the first pitch, I walked out and saw Steve Sartori playing first and Kim Lovato playing second, and I thought, well this is familiar,” pitcher Ian Gold said. “Then I turned over my left shoulder and saw (Brian) Mickelson and (Michael) Barbara at third and short, and had the first of my six nervous breakdowns. It was different, but they played great.”

The defensive tone was set immediately—in dead silence—when the first pitch was grounded to shortstop Barbara, who rocketed the ball to Sartori at first, getting the first out of the game. In a matter of seconds, the next out was made on a long fly ball to right-center field, where Ashlee Bradbury broke the gender barrier and made a great catch. The Bombers made the final out of the inning on a pop-up, posted a goose egg, and jogged in at the top of the first with good spirits.

Although the crowd was robbed of watching Mickelson strut to the plate with a Led Zeppelin narration, Bombers young and old love offense.

“Usually we get a little pep from our musical accompaniment,” catcher Janine Lucas said. “Instead we let our play do the talking, and I think that first inning in the field really got us going.”

Offensively the Bombers had a different look. Instead of sending balls into the left-field forest, they used timely hitting and effective base running to their advantage. SSA Captain Craig Campanella even joked, “Do the Bombers of 2011 play small ball?”

Again BPIT forced momentum in the first to roll downhill. With two outs in the bottom of the inning, the Bombers started a rally. Runners were on second and third when the big hit came from newbie Bradbury, the Boombox-necklace recipient. She lined a ball into centerfield and drove in two of her team high threes RBIs.

BPIT left the first inning with a 3-0 lead and didn’t look back. A two-run homer over the center-field fence by Gold in the third and a two-run triple by newcomer Sarah Timmins in the fifth were plenty of insurance.

“It’s big to start the season 1-0,” third baseman Brian Mickelson said. “It was disappointing I didn’t get to rock out to the sweet tunes, but it’s a long season. There is still plenty of time to rock.”