April 9, 2010
Caraballo, Castro set tone for U.C.
Union City's Jefry Castro struck out seven batters in a complete game effort.
Click Here for photos from Memorial at Union City.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
UNION CITY – Coming off of a 1-3 road trip to start the season, Union City knew it was imperative to open up their home schedule on a winning note.
Playing in their first-ever regular season game at their new rooftop field, the Soaring Eagles couldn’t have envisioned a better opening as they stormed past Memorial 10-1 yesterday at Roosevelt Stadium.
“It was important on a lot levels,” Union City manager Chip Benway said. “We needed to get a win. Not only because it’s Memorial and they are the beasts of North Hudson, but we needed a win more than anything else.”
“It was great to win it in front of the home crowd,” second baseman Kevin Caraballo said. “We have in our mind a mental toughness and that’s what we brought out from the first inning.”
Caraballo would set the tone immediately for Union City (2-3). After falling behind 1-0 in the top half of the first, the senior quickly set the tone for the Soaring Eagle offense. He led off the bottom of the inning with a double and came around to score the tying run on an infield single from Jose Matias.
“A lot of things go through Kevin,” Benway said. “Kevin does a lot of things for us. He plays second, he plays third and he’s at the top of a lineup that we feel can produce some runs. He set the tone and he’s a kid that plays hard every day and that’s something to be proud of.”
“I just do the job (of a leadoff hitter) and have them move me over,” Caraballo said. “Just get on base for them, give them the RBI and just score.”
Caraballo may be asked to be the sparkplug at the top of the order, but he acted the part of a middle of the order slugger in the third inning. It was then when he put the Soaring Eagles on top for good with a two-run double to give them a 3-1 lead.
Caraballo delivered his third RBI of the afternoon an inning later with a single to plate Feliberto Gonzalo. Caraballo would come around to score on a balk in a four-run inning which saw the Tigers (2-2) victimized by a pair of balks and two errors as Union City broke the game wide open.
“We had our opportunities early on,” said Memorial assistant coach Jack Nagurka, who was managing in place of Tony Ferrainolo. “It just got away from us. Our pitcher (Bryan Vizcaino) threw the ball fairly well.”
Memorial was further frustrated offensively by the Soaring Eagles’ Jefry Castro. The senior right-hander kept the Tigers off-balanced by mixing his fastball and changeup. Castro was touched up for a run in the first, but was in control the rest of the way in a complete game performance.
“Jefry threw the ball well today,” said Benway. “He had command of at least two of his pitches. He was around the plate all day long. That’s what we expect from Jefry. He’s a senior starter, he was our number two guy last year. Not only does he have to have big performances, but he has to eat up innings for us as well.”
Castro allowed five hits and four walks, while striking out seven Memorial batters. He also helped his own cause defensively in the third inning when he snared a screaming liner off the bat of Francisco Perez to escape a first and second jam and keep the game tied at one. Castro also maneuvered his way out a bases loaded situation in the sixth inning without giving up any runs.
Union City’s Yeudy Ventura put the exclamation point on a memorable day as he launched a three-run homer to center in the sixth inning for the first homerun in the history of the new stadium.
“That was unbelievable,” Caraballo said. “My mouth was open and I didn’t know what to do. It was great.”
Ventura had three hits and was one of eight different Soaring Eagles to score a run in the victory.
Perez drove in the Tigers’ lone run with an RBI double in the top of the first to give them a short-lived lead. Vizcaino allowed seven runs (five earned) with six strikeouts in four innings.
Chris Gomez drew two walks and scored the lone run of the game for Memorial.
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| Memorial Tigers (2-2) | 1 |
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| Union City Soaring Eagles (2-3) | 1 |
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| Hits: Memorial 5; Union City 12. | |||||||||||
| RBI: Memorial: Francisco Perez. Union City: Kevin Caraballo (3), Yeudy Ventura (3), Jose Matias. | |||||||||||
| W: Jefry Castro | |||||||||||
| L: Bryan Vizcaino | |||||||||||