By Rich Fisher
Fish4scores.com
June 28: What started as a good night ended as a frustrating one for Broad Street Park.
Post 313 scored two runs in the top of the first and appeared ready to shake off Tuesday’s shutout loss to Hightstown. But BSP would not score again and Hopewell Post 339 tallied five in the fifth to take a 5-2 victory in a Mercer County American Legion League game in Pennington Wednesday night.
This marks the first time all season BSP (11-3) has dropped two straight games, but Post 313 still holds a one-game lead over HoVal for the division lead.
Jose Rodriguez opened the game with a walk. One out later, Kyle Harrington drilled one into the right-centerfield gap for an RBI double, and he moved to third on an outfield error. Harrington then scored on a wild pitch.
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Alex Venutolo got a two-out single and stole second. Although he died there, BSP appeared to be out of its offensive doldrums.
But Hopewell right-hander Dominick Gambino, who beat Steinert in the MCT semifinal with three innings of shutout ball, toughened up from that point. Gambino retired seven straight and 11 of the next 12.
The last true threat he faced was in the fifth when singles by Thomas Cramer and Rodriguez put runners on first and second with one out in the fifth. But Shane Hoffman was victimized by an outstanding diving catch on a bunt attempt and Gambino got a strikeout to end it.
Hopewell responded with five in the bottom of the inning, as Thomas Pecora’s RBI single through a drawn-in infield plated the go-ahead run. Gambino allowed a leadoff double to Cameron Bruschini in the sixth but set down the final six BSP batters to improve to 3-0.
Aside from the fifth, in which he allowed four hits and Broad Street committed two errors, Tim McKenzie pitched a solid game for Broad Street, allowing seven hits and striking out four.
BSP will try to end its mini-slide Thursday night at South Brunswick.
