AUBURN - Playing four games in four days will put strain on any pitching staff, but tired arms weren't a problem for the Auburn High School baseball team on Thursday. Nolan Mahaney and Greg Feocco combined to pitch the Maroons past visiting Fulton 8-2 at Falcon Park.
Auburn's Zach Prentice digs for a stand-up triple as Fulton second baseman Tim Farfaglia (5) awaits the cutoff throw from the outfield in the fourth inning of the Maroons' 8-2 win over the Raiders at Falcon Park Thursday. Reid Silverman / The Citizen
Auburn was playing for the fourth consecutive day, and also played a doubleheader on Saturday. Six games in six days? No problem.
Mahaney took the ball to open the game after mopping up the last three innings on Wednesday, a 15-2 loss to Cicero-North Syracuse. Auburn coach Ed Gremli had no trouble trusting the righthander.
"He said he wanted the ball to at least start," Gremli said. "He had it in his mind that he wanted to go all seven, but when he got to third or the fourth he was honest and said his arm was getting a little tired. I said, 'You got the lead for us, that's all we needed.' That's huge, the way he stepped up for us."
Mahaney yielded two runs and four hits to the Raiders in the top of the first, but followed with three scoreless innings. He finished the day allowing six hits and three walks, with three strikeouts and those two earned runs. He left with a 5-2 lead and picked up the victory.
"At first I was a little sore from the day before, but I settled down a little bit and put the ball where I needed to put it," Mahaney said. "My catcher (Pat Montgomery) helped me out a lot."
Auburn answered the Fulton runs with two of its own in the bottom of the first. Kurt Handley led off with a double and was driven in by Dan Zambito's single. A two-out single up the middle by David Shellhammer plated Zambito with the tying run.
The Maroons went ahead in the third with a pair of unearned runs. Zach Prentice and Steve Deyo were on base with two outs and Dan Cuff hit a routine grounder to third. The throw to first was wide of the bag, allowing Prentice to come home. As Deyo attempted to score, the first baseman's throw sailed over the catcher. Cuff ended up at third.
Another unearned run scored in the bottom of the fourth, as Joe Graceffo crossed home on a one-out groundball by Deyo.
Fulton coach Kip Harvey lamented his team's defensive effort behind starter Nick Cole.
"One of the things that should be a strong point of this team is killing us," Harvey said. "We're not making plays. I think Cole gave up two earned runs. He definitely pitched well enough. I feel bad for him."
With a 5-2 lead and three innings left to go, Gremli turned the game over to Feocco, who earned the save.
Feocco allowed two hits, a walk, and two strikeouts. He made big pitches at the right time, inducing a double-play ball from Fulton's Matt Farfaglia that was expertly handled by Handley at second base, and getting a strikeout of Joe Paterson to leave two runners stranded in the sixth.
Feocco set the Raiders down in order in the seventh.
"My arm was sore, but all of our pitchers are sore," Feocco said. "Nolan came out and battled hard after pitching yesterday. I just came out and did what needed to be done, but couldn't have done it without the rest of the team."
Auburn added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth on two hits, two errors, and a walk. Cuff delivered a two-out RBI single to right field to bring in Shellhammer with the final run.
The Maroons finished the four-game stretch with a 3-1 record, including comeback wins over Baldwinsville and Oswego earlier this week. Gremli plans to give the team some time off before another busy week begins.
"We're going to have a good batting practice tomorrow and give the kids the weekend off, because we have a big week next week with a game on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and our Falcon Park tournament here over the weekend," Gremli said.
The Maroons are now 4-3 overall this season.
Mahaney took the ball to open the game after mopping up the last three innings on Wednesday, a 15-2 loss to Cicero-North Syracuse. Auburn coach Ed Gremli had no trouble trusting the righthander.
"He said he wanted the ball to at least start," Gremli said. "He had it in his mind that he wanted to go all seven, but when he got to third or the fourth he was honest and said his arm was getting a little tired. I said, 'You got the lead for us, that's all we needed.' That's huge, the way he stepped up for us."
Mahaney yielded two runs and four hits to the Raiders in the top of the first, but followed with three scoreless innings. He finished the day allowing six hits and three walks, with three strikeouts and those two earned runs. He left with a 5-2 lead and picked up the victory.
"At first I was a little sore from the day before, but I settled down a little bit and put the ball where I needed to put it," Mahaney said. "My catcher (Pat Montgomery) helped me out a lot."
Auburn answered the Fulton runs with two of its own in the bottom of the first. Kurt Handley led off with a double and was driven in by Dan Zambito's single. A two-out single up the middle by David Shellhammer plated Zambito with the tying run.
The Maroons went ahead in the third with a pair of unearned runs. Zach Prentice and Steve Deyo were on base with two outs and Dan Cuff hit a routine grounder to third. The throw to first was wide of the bag, allowing Prentice to come home. As Deyo attempted to score, the first baseman's throw sailed over the catcher. Cuff ended up at third.
Another unearned run scored in the bottom of the fourth, as Joe Graceffo crossed home on a one-out groundball by Deyo.
Fulton coach Kip Harvey lamented his team's defensive effort behind starter Nick Cole.
"One of the things that should be a strong point of this team is killing us," Harvey said. "We're not making plays. I think Cole gave up two earned runs. He definitely pitched well enough. I feel bad for him."
With a 5-2 lead and three innings left to go, Gremli turned the game over to Feocco, who earned the save.
Feocco allowed two hits, a walk, and two strikeouts. He made big pitches at the right time, inducing a double-play ball from Fulton's Matt Farfaglia that was expertly handled by Handley at second base, and getting a strikeout of Joe Paterson to leave two runners stranded in the sixth.
Feocco set the Raiders down in order in the seventh.
"My arm was sore, but all of our pitchers are sore," Feocco said. "Nolan came out and battled hard after pitching yesterday. I just came out and did what needed to be done, but couldn't have done it without the rest of the team."
Auburn added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth on two hits, two errors, and a walk. Cuff delivered a two-out RBI single to right field to bring in Shellhammer with the final run.
The Maroons finished the four-game stretch with a 3-1 record, including comeback wins over Baldwinsville and Oswego earlier this week. Gremli plans to give the team some time off before another busy week begins.
"We're going to have a good batting practice tomorrow and give the kids the weekend off, because we have a big week next week with a game on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and our Falcon Park tournament here over the weekend," Gremli said.
The Maroons are now 4-3 overall this season.
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