Hermitage 10U rolls past Bullskin, 10-3, in Section 2 All-Star Tournament

Dan Hiner, The Herald, Sharon, Pa.
·3 min read

Jul. 17—SHENANGO TOWNSHIP — At this point in the postseason, head coach Dustin Kulka knows pitching will be the key for the Hermitage 10U baseball team. And in the opening game of the section round, Hermitage got a strong start in a win.

Hermitage starter Blake Hooks threw 4 1/3 innings of shutout ball in a 10-3 win over Bullskin on Monday night at the West Middlesex VFW fields.

Hooks surrendered three hits and a walk, with one hit and the free pass coming in his final inning of work. But Hermitage already had a 9-0 lead by the time Ian Staples entered in relief.

However, it was a quick, six-pitch inning from the Hermitage southpaw that helped him set the tempo for the game in the first.

"I sent a kid home and we didn't score in the first inning when we should have," Dustin Kulka said. "Blake Hooks came out, and it was six pitches and we're out of the inning. Everybody calmed down and hit the ball."

Staples only lasted two-thirds of an inning before reaching a 20-pitch limit. Maddex Tomko allowed three runs in the sixth on three walks, a single and a double. He got out of the jam when Bryson Rueberger made a diving catch on the cut of the grass on his left side to end the game.

Hermitage got production up and down the lineup. Spencer Kulka was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, Gino Squatrito went 2-for-3 with two driven in and Staples finished 1-for-3 with an RBI.

"The top part of our order, they're ridiculous. The middle part of our order, they've been carrying us a little bit," Dustin Kulka said. "The top of the order gets us one or two runs, but you can't rely on one or two runs the whole game. Top to bottom, we've been hitting the ball pretty well."

The first run was put on the board in the top of the second inning. Brandon Hochstetler reached on an infield single to start the frame, and he eventually scored on a one-out single from Squatrito.

Hermitage increased the lead to 3-0 in the fourth when Hochstetler singled to lead off the inning and Mason Hand was hit by a pitch in the next at-bat. Spencer Kulka drove in Hochstetler with a single to center and Squatrito scored Hand on an RBI groundout to shortstop.

The "visiting" team from just down Route 18 finally broke the game open in the fifth with a six-run frame.

Kellan Toth led off the inning by getting hit by a pitch. MJ Panty followed with a walk and Tomko reached on an infield single. Toth scored on a throwing error, Tomko crossed on a stole base, Staples added an RBI with a single and Spencer Kulka capped the scoring with a two-run single to center.

Panty capped the scoring when he reached on a fielder's choice in the sixth and scored on a throwing error.

"We've been doing this for three years, preparing for this," Dustin Kulka said. "Went perfect. Had a plan to (have the starter throw) 50 pitches. Got him to 50, the next pitcher 20 to save him for tomorrow. And everything went good. We hit the ball well."

Staples will take the mound in Hermitage's game Tuesday against Ingomar at 7:30 p.m.

Dustin Kulka will look for another strong outing from his pitchers with a critical part of the bracket ahead of the Hermitage All-Stars.

"These tournaments are every day," the Hermitage coach said. "You lose one of the first two games, you have to play Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to win it. You just gotta keep pitching. That's the most important thing."