RallyNorth.net

Tue, Apr 08, 2008 03:45 PM @ Rockport

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Final
Manchester Essex	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	2
Rockport	2	1	1	0	4	2	0	10

Powered by offensive explosion, Rockport starts season with win

Wednesday, April, 09 By Nick Curcuru
Correspondent

The Rockport baseball team came into yesterday's regular season opener against Manchester Essex looking to sure-up their offense. The Vikings had a tough time hitting in the preseason and were looking for a big game to get their confidence back.

With nine hits and 10 runs scored, the Vikings could not have asked for a better start to the season in their 10-2 win over the rival Hornets at Evans Field in Rockport.

"This was a great start," Vikings senior captain and catcher Eric Juncker said. "We weren't hitting much in the preseason so it was big for us to jump out and score some runs. It's good for our confidence."

The Vikings got their offense going right away when second baseman Matt Hendy hit a two-run home run to center field scoring Derek Osmond, who reached on a walk.

Rockport took a 4-0 lead after three when Hendy doubled in Osmond who reached on an error. Junior first baseman Dave Campbell also scored on a wild pitch after reaching base on a walk.

"It was good to get a few runs early," Rockport head coach John Parisi said. "Making them play from behind all game was key."

The Hornets, however, would not go away without a fight, making the game close in the middle innings. Hornets pitcher Ian Graham cut the Vikings lead to 4-1 in the fourth inning on a bases loaded walk. Center fielder Ryan Brewster drove in Greg Polley with a single an inning later to make it 4-2.

Manchester Essex looked to cut Rockport's lead down even more in the fifth, but right fielder Chris Trenti was able to throw Brewster out at the plate thanks to a perfect block from Juncker to thwart a Hornets rally.

The Vikings put the game away with a four-run bottom of the fifth inning. Campbell scored on a fielding error after reaching on a walk. Trenti scored on an Isaac Dann single and the knockout blow one batter later when Osmond smashed a two-run home run to right center field to make it 8-2. Rockport added two more runs in the sixth to make it 10-2.

Cory Emerson picked up the win for the Vikings. The senior left-hander threw five innings, allowing two runs on four hits and striking out five. Emerson's performance drew praise from Parisi.

"Cory pitched great," Parisi said. "He did a great job setting up the hitters and he pitched well to get out of a couple of jams."

Hendy led the offensive charge for the Vikings with three hits and three RBI. Osmond and Campbell added three runs each. Graham was the offensive star for the Hornets with three hits of his own.

Hornets first-year head coach Frank Morrissey was disappointed in the loss, but saw some improvement from a team that went 1-19 last season.

"We kept it close most of the game but we had one bad inning," Morrissey said. "We just need to learn how to win. When the game got close we laid back and made some mistakes instead of playing aggressively. But we are getting better with each day."

Meanwhile, Parisi hopes that his team keeps up the momentum they built in their season opener.

"This was a good way to start the season today," Parisi said. "We really came to play and it showed in our performance. We still have some things to work on but this was a good start."