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Joey Puccinelli collected a couple of foul balls while standing in the on-deck circle waiting for his brother, Tony, to finish his at-bat. But when Tony singled, Joey headed to the plate and left the baseballs behind—for that he drew a couple of shouts from the umpires and his own coach.
"We can't play without baseballs," hollered Prospect coach Carlos Boles from his place in the third base coaching box.
Moments later, Joey Puccinelli hammered that point home. He lost one of the balls over the center field fence, and that quickly Boles was no longer concerned about missing baseballs.
J. Puccinelli's two-run homer proved the difference for Prospect in Friday's 2-0 Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division win over Willow Glen.
The two runs were all pitcher Kyle Bonvechio needed to nail down the mound win. The senior right-hander tossed a two-hit shutout, striking out seven along the way, to lead the Panthers to their first win of the league season.
Bonvechio was in control all afternoon. He threw just 84 pitches, 53 of them for strikes, in his rout-going performance. He tossed no more than 16 pitches in any inning, and retired the side on just five pitches in the fifth. He allowed only four baserunners—two on singles, one on a walk and another on an error—but never more than one in an inning, and only one advanced as far as second base.
Steve Rebagliatti had both of the Willow Glen hits: a two-strike single down the right field line in the third and a single up the middle in the sixth.
Justin Jeffrey was the only Ram to get as far as second base in the game. He reached on an error with two outs in the fourth, then moved up on a wild pitch. But Justin Johnson bounced out to third to end the inning.
The only other Willow Glen baserunner reached in the seventh. Jimmy Garcia worked a walk to open the inning but was promptly tossed out while trying to steal second.
Johnson threw well in relief for the Rams in the game. Carlos Torres went the first two innings but was tagged for the J. Puccinelli homer in the second. He finished the frame, but Johnson took over in the third and went four shutout innings, striking out four and allowing just two hits.
The Willow Glen defense supported with a couple of 6-4-3 double plays. Garcia, Mario Montes and Rebagliatti combined for one in the first, and Garcia, Torres and Rebagliatti turned another one in the sixth.
The Rams, 1-3 in the division, had opened the week with a 10-3 loss to Leigh, but Willow Glen did manage nine hits in the game.
Garcia led the attack with a single and a double, and Tista Perri also doubled. Jeffrey, Johnson, Montes, Craig Doleshel, John Gibilisco and Kevin Tollner each singled for the Rams.
The Rams and Longhorns were locked in a 3-3 tie through three innings, but Leigh scored a run in the fourth to break the tie, then unloaded for four more in the fifth to take control of the game.
Willow Glen will be back on the diamond for a pair of 3:30 p.m. games this week. The Rams will host Mt. Pleasant on March 26 and Oak Grove on March 28. The following Monday, Willow Glen heads to Leland for a 3:30 p.m. game.
Barreto stars
Willow Glen's Nick Barreto won medalist honors twice to pace the Rams to a couple of golf wins over Prospect last week.
Barreto fired a 43 on the par-36 Cinnabar Hills Golf Course to lead Willow Glen to a 198-231 win over the Panthers.
Later in the week, Barreto was three-over with a 38 at the Santa Teresa Golf Course in a 184-245 win over Prospect.
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Photograph by Jacquelyn Ramseyer