Game 1 Recap: Mountaineers 2, Nighthawks 0

Vermont's Daniel Little tags out Upper Valley's Sean Breen trying to steal second. /Times Argus

The first edition of the Governors Cup matchup between Montpelier's Vermont Mountaineers and Hartford's Upper Valley Nighthawks came down to one big inning, as the Mountaineers struck twice in the eighth for a 2-0 win. Both teams had excellent pitching, strong defense, and it was a very well-played game.

Top Play (WPA)
There's little doubt to which play this is. JT Pittman's one-out RBI single through the left side of the infield (.248) broke open a scoreless game in the eighth inning. Pittman, a junior from Le Moyne, went the other way off of Upper Valley reliever Billy Layne (Seton Hall). Layne was throwing hard - the stadium gun had him up to 95 m.p.h - so it was a quality at bat from Pittman.

"We had some really good quality at bats at the end of the game," Vermont manager Joe Brown said. "I thought JT Pittman’s at bat to hit the ball the other way and not pull it was a huge at bat."

Bottom Play (WPA)
Vermont outfielder Davis Feldman grounded out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh (-.134). Give him credit, Feldman only had five at bats this spring with Eastern Michigan as he's primarily a reliever He finished a forgettable 0-for-3 day at the plate.

Three Notes

Pittman was 1-3 with a SB, RBI

1. Osinski excels -- Longwood junior shortstop Michael Osinski entered the season opener coming off a spring where he had 23 errors in 59 games (.910 fielding percentage), but showcased excellent range and plenty of talent. Three straight balls were hit to him in the first inning, and he made all three plays. He finished 7-for-7 on chances. He was also Vermont's best hitter, as he went 2-for-4 and drove in a run with a double off the right field wall. "Our shortstop was exceptional tonight," Mountaineers manager Joe Brown said. "He had some nice plays over the bag."

2. Plenty of pitching -- Both teams showcased excellent arms throughout the game. Vermont had the duo of Indiana right-hander Jonathan Stiever and Old Dominion southpaw Joey Benitez, and they teamed up to toss a two-hitter, needing just under 120 combined pitches. Stiever faced the minimum through four innings and didn't allow a hit, striking out four and walking two over five innings. Benitez, meanwhile, was stellar in relief. He gave up a pair of singles and hit a batter, but didn't walk a batter and struck out six. The duo combined for 10 strikeouts, and ended five of the nine innings with strikeouts -- including three looking.

3. Cortland connection -- Upper Valley manager Nick Cenatiempo is Brown's pitching coach at SUNY-Cortland. "That was a little bit of fun," Brown said of facing him. The story of how Cenatiempo got his job at Cortland is quite the tale.

"I offered him a job in the middle of a game (last summer). I said, 'Hey, are you available next year?" And he goes, 'Yeah.' I said, 'I'd like to hire you'," Brown recalled. Cenatiempo was a pitcher on Brown's 2008 NECBL Champion Sanford Mainers, even recording the last out against Newport in the league championship series. "He has a toughness about him. He honestly is a huge reason why we got back to the College World Series this year, because we had a pitching staff that was virtually brand new."

Up Next
Vermont has a day off before traveling to Robbie Mills Field to take on the newly-renamed Winnipesaukee Muskrats. The Muskrats are in Plymouth tonight, with first pitch coming at 6:30 p.m.