Hopewell Pony League Baseball Beats Riverside, 13-3

Coach Yurcina’s Hopewell Pony League bounced back from an opening game 7-6 loss to Freedom to defeat Riverside tonight, 13-3.

The Vikings offense was effective tonight as they scored in all four innings that they were at the plate.

Luke Vukovcan started and went 3 scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3. Jackson Yurcina pitched the 4th and 5th innings, allowing 2 hits, 3 runs (only 1 earned).

Riverside was threatening to get on the scoreboard first, but Hopewell was able to shut the door.

In the top of the 1st with 2 runners on and 0 out, Vukovcan got the No. 3 hitter to ground back to the mound for the first out. On the play, runners moved to 2nd and 3rd. Then the runner on 3rd attempted to steal home but Vukovcan threw home to catcher Ryan Gaguzis, who applied the tag for out No. 2. Vukovcan got a strike out swinging to end the Riverside strike out in the 1st.

Hopewell got things going in their first time at the plate. With 1 out, Collin Davis drew a walk and scored on a James Armstrong triple to right field. Hopewell up 1-0.

Next up, cleanup hitter Andrew Arzberger singled to right field to score Armstrong and Hopewell was now up 2-0. Following an infield single by Camden Hoth, Vukovcan drove in Arzberger with a line drive single to left field. Hopewell up 3-0. Then after Hoth and Vukovcan stole 2nd and 3rd, they scored on a Riverside error from a ground ball by Owen Ackerman.

After the 1st inning, Hopewell led 5-0.

In the Riverside 2nd, with a runner on 1st and 1 out, Vukovcan picked off the runner with a quick move over to Arzberger and then ended the inning with a strike out.

Hopewell added to their lead in the second as Jaxsen Covalt and Reed Budavich led off with walks. Following a grounder by David Villanueva, which moved the runners over, Noah Ciminella and Jacob Durkin both walked to bring in run No. 6. Hopewell leads 6-0.

Nothing going in the Riverside 3rd as the leadoff hitter walk but Vukovcan got the next 3 hitters on a ground ball to Jayvion Lindsey at 1st, a pop up to Lindsey and then a strike out looking.

In the Hopewell 3rd, Davis led off with a single, which was followed by walks to Armstrong, Arzberger and Vukovcan, which brought in a run and increased the lead to 7-0. Run No. 8 came in on a bases loaded walk to Ackerman. Arzberger scored the final run of the inning on a Riverside error. Hopewell led 9-0 after 3.

In the Hopewell 4th inning, they tacked on 4 more runs, the last of which came home on an RBI single by Armstrong to make the score 13-3.

With Hopewell leading by 10 runs entering the 5th, they only needed to hold Riverside scoreless, and the game would be over. That’s exactly what they did as Yurcina pitched a 1-2-3 fifth inning. Yurcina got the first batter to fly out to center fielder Gaguzis, the next hitter to ground out to Arzberger and the final out was a ground out to Vukovcan at 3rd.

Final Score: Hopewell 13 Riverside 3.   Hopewell (1-1) picks up their first win of the Pony League season. Next game is next Tuesday at home against South Side.