Cosmos settle down, top Green Mountain, 11-7

Going into Thursday's game at Green Mountain the Springfield Cosmos had lost four straight. So when the Chieftains put a five-spot on the scoreboard in the first inning it looked like another gloomy day for the Cosmos. http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20120504/SPORTS02/705049925

Cosmos settle down, top Green Mountain, 11-7 By POODY WALSH CORRESPONDENT CHESTER — Going into Thursday’s game at Green Mountain the Springfield Cosmos had lost four straight. So when the Chieftains put a five-spot on the scoreboard in the first inning it looked like another gloomy day for the Cosmos. “We certainly could have packed it at that point,” Springfield coach Larry Partridge said. Instead the Cosmos regrouped and went on to post an 11-7 win over the Chieftains at Paul Adams Field. “This has got to be a confidence builder,” added Partridge. “I’m real happy that we hung in there.” There were several bright spots for the Cosmos especially the pitching of senior Jeff Fuller. All five runs off him in the first inning were unearned and only one of the seven Green Mountain tallies was earned. He gutted out a 114-pitch performance. He gave up six hits, but only four after the first inning. He also helped himself by staying in the strike zone. He walked two and struck out six. Another plus for the Cosmos was the defense which made three errors in the first inning and made just one more the rest of the way. Aaron Wallace also had a nice game for the Cosmos with a single and a triple. “And how about that catch in left?” said Partridge. That catch came at a crucial time. Springfield was leading 10-6 and Green Mountain had two runners on when Ryan Wilhelm lofted a soft liner to left that Wallace had to dive for. While Wilhelm was denied that big hit by Wallace, he made his mark with three innings of no-hit relief with five strikeouts. Both teams entered the game with 2-6 records, Springfield in Division II and Green Mountain in Division III, hanging around the danger zone trying to stay in the top 16 to make the postseason. It’s been kind of a frustrating season for the Chiefs who have had some leads, but have not always been able to hold team. “That’s kind of the story of our season,” said Green Mountain coach Eric Anderson. “We can’t seem to put the offense and defense together.” The first two balls Green Mountain put into play resulted in Springfield errors. There was one more error before the inning was over and a couple of bad decisions that resulted in five Green Mountain runs. However, the defense tightened and Fuller battled, at one time retiring nine in a row. Springfield began its comeback in the third, scoring three times. The Cosmos added another run in the third and the fourth was the big inning for the Cosmos, who scored six times. The victim of all that offense was Green Mountain starter Brighton Birschoffberger, who gave up nine hits and walked four in four innings. He threw 97 pitches over that span. Birschoffberger did have a sparkling moment in the third when the Cosmos had a run in and the bases loaded with nobody out. Two infield bouncers resulted in force plays at the plate and Birschoffberger closed out the inning by picking the runner off second. There were a couple of blows in the Springfield fourth. Taylor Fontaine had a two-run double and Wallace drove in a run with a triple down the line in right. “Aaron’s been struggling, but he had a nice game today,” Partridge said. Kirk Perham and Wallace each had two hits for Springfield while Tyler Francoeur and Jake Cavacas had two hits each for Green Mountain. Both Cavacas hits were doubles. Springfield goes to Bellows Falls on Monday when Woodstock comes to Green Mountain in another Monday game.