By David J. Hill<br><a href="mailto:hilld@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail David</a>
The Tonawanda bats, which have been hot lately in a five-game winning streak, cooled quickly Wednesday as the Warriors fell to Eden, 3-1, in a key ECIC Division IV contest at Vets Park.
With the loss, Tonawanda drops to 5-3 in the division while Eden goes to 7-2, meaning the Warriors will need to win out the remainder of their ECIC schedule and get some help in order to win the division.
Junior southpaw Mike Tolsma regrouped after a shaky start in which he walked the game’s first batter and yielded three straight hits, including a two-run single by his counterpart Jarrett Carroll.
That gave the Raiders all the runs they’d need as THS couldn’t provide Tolsma any run support.
“It was a disappointing effort. We couldn’t string together any hits,” said Warriors coach John Frank. “Their pitcher (Carroll) changed speeds. I thought he threw a lot of junk and we couldn’t hit him. It happens.”
The Warriors had just five hits on the day and never had more than one runner on base, even in the bottom of the seventh when they got their only run. It came on Tolsma’s sacrifice RBI, which scored pinch runner Shane Foster. Foster came in for Brian McCarthy and advanced to third on two passed balls.
After that first inning, Tolsma settled down and struck out three Raider hitters in the second; he finished with eight strikeouts. Eden couldn’t threaten again until the top of the sixth when they strung together three hits but no runs.
“He pitched a hell of a game,” Raiders coach Eric Cooper said of Tolsma. “He mixed his pitches well, and he kept our batters off balance a little bit.”
Eden beat THS 5-2 earlier in the season, but Cooper expected another tough contest Wednesday. “They’re a scrappy bunch. They hit the ball. We knew we were going to have our hands full again,” he said, “which is one of the reasons we went with Jarrett.”
Tonawanda sophomore Matt Dunne came in to pitch in relief in the seventh, but a lead-off walk and some fielding mistakes set up Eden’s third run, scored by Alex Shea. Jay Senozetnik and Carroll each had two hits for the Raiders. Senozetnik also made three stellar plays at first base.
Senior Alex Pickel had Tonawanda’s best hit of the day, a double that he crushed to deep left field.
That was about as exciting as it got at the plate for the Warriors. “Their pitcher did a nice job of keeping us off balance,” Frank said.
But that wasn’t the only problem. “There was no spark, no jump, no desire to be out there playing in the biggest game of the season,” he said. “It’s the first time all year I can say that about them.
“We can’t win if we don’t score. We waited around and waited around and let them hang in the game and couldn’t punch one though until it was too late,” Frank added.
The Warriors hope to bounce back Friday against first-place Alden (7-2).
Contact reporter David J. Hill at 693-1000, ext. 115.
