PIRATES HAVE HOWLING SUCCESS VS RED WOLVES IN OPENER

Rocky River, powered by perfect days at the plate by Braedon Spies, Thomas Rossi and Gavin O'Brien, and equally good performances on the mound by Ethan White and Hudson Wissman, blew past the Cuyahoga Hts Red Wolves, 10-0 in River's season opener

Spies led the offensive way, going 4-4 with a double, home run, two singles. four runs scored, five rbi's, plus three stolen bases. Rossi also had a home run and two runs scored

On the mound, White went four scoreless innings and had six strikeouts. Wissman had two strike outs in one inning of relief

River plays a split doubleheader on Saturday when they travel to Sports Force park in Sandusky to face Vermilion at 12 and then Huron at 230. A $5 dollar admisssion will be charged that day

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COLTS BUCK PIRATES OUT OF SECTIONALS

Rocky River's offense could only muster a two run double by Charlie Russell in the second inning as their only source of offense and the Pirate defense had a tough game defensively, all contributing to an 11-2 loss in their sectional final game at Cloverleaf on Wednesday evening.

The Maroon and White hit into two line drive double plays and were thwarted on a squeeze attempt by the host Colts. Meanwhile, Cloverleaf used four Pirate errors and eight walks to break open a 2-2 tie midway through two innings

River ends their season at 10-16, but have a good core of young players returning in 2022

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PIRATES DEAL CARDS DEFEAT IN SECTIONAL OPENER

Dillon Bandi tossed his fourth three-hitter of the year and the Pirate offense used two big innings to defeat Brookside in a sectional semi-final, 9-4 on Monday evening on the road. River also defeated Brookside in a sectional opener in 2019 at River,

The Pirates took advantage of the Cardinals wildness in pitching in the first inning, turning five walks into three runs. The Maroon and White then put together a five run fifth inning, using a two-run double by Braedon Spies, a bunt for a base hit by Joey Pike and a two run single by Charlie Russell to extend their lead. An rbi single in the seventh by Jacob Florentine sealed the deal

Bandi struck out six and quieted the home team bats, as they scored runs on two sacrifice flies, an error and a bases loaded base on balls.

River, now 10-15, move on to play at Cloverleaf on Wednesday at 5p in a sectional final

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RIVER INVADES NORMANDY FOR WIN

Rocky River used a frantic fourth inning, timely hitting in the sixth inning and a fluke play in the seventh to score runs, then hung on defensively to stifle a potential Normandy rally in winning their final regular season game 7-4 on Thursday evening

Pitcher Gavin O'Brien scattered seven hits, struck out five and was helped by his defense all day in securing his first win of the season after three hard luck losses

The Pirates took advantage of two infield hits and Invader miscues to load the bases in the fourth inning. Anthony Ferchill then laid down a squeeze bunt to score Danny Petrus, but Normandy's pitcher threw the ball away which allowed Joey Pike to also score on the play. Both Jacob Florentine and Ferchill scored on ground outs

In the sixth, the Maroon & White used doubles by Michael DiFranco and Braedon Spies to score Ferchill and DiFranco. In the seventh, Florentine scored from third on a ground out and error with two outs, but the batter, Ferchill was ruled out when he was tagged out making an attempt to go to second base, in the umpires' mind

In the bottom of the inning, Florentine flashed his defensive skills by making a catch deep in the left center gap, making a diving catch in right center, then throwing out a runner at home to end the game as the Invaders appeared to be mounting a rally

River ends their regular season at 9-15 overall and 8-10 in conference. The Pirates open up sectional play on Monday, May 17 at Brookside High in a 5p matchup

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GOOD FIGHT GOES FOR NAUGHT

The Pirates headed to Elyria Catholic down five players, due to adverse situations, but gave it their all in battling the GLC leading Panthers tooth and nail, but losing 4-0 on Wednesday evening. Ethan White pitched well for the Maroon and White, as all four rbi base hits by EC were bloop hits to right field. The Pirates played errorless ball, but could only muster three hits versus the Panther starter

River, now 8-15 on the season and 7-10 in conference, travel to Normandy to close out the regular season on Thursday at 530p

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PIRATE RALLY COMES UP SHORT IN EXTRAS

Rocky River played it's second extra inning game versus a border opponent, but their outcome was not as fortuitous as it was against Bay on April 26th. Despite coming back from five runs down, the Pirates lost this affair to Fairview, 7-6 on Tuesday evening in eight innings

Down 6-1 in the fifth inning, with two outs, Dillon Bandi walked, stole second, then stole third and scored on a catcher's throwing error. Braedon Spies then singled and eventually scored on three straight walks by two different Warrior pitchers, to make the score 6-3.

In the seventh, Anthony Ferchill reached on an error, Gavin O'Brien walked and Michael DiFranco singled home Ferchill. O'Brien scored on a fielder's choice by Bandi. Following a Spies single, pinch runner Andrew D'agostino scored on a double by Tommy Capka. River left the winning run on base with a line out to the pitcher and a pop fly to the shortstop

Despite giving up a run in the top of the eighth, the Maroon and White roared back in the bottom half of the stanza, putting the tying and winning runs on second and third with two outs, but a hard hit line drive by Bandi was caught by the left fielder to end the game

With the loss, River drops to 8-14 and 7-9 in the GLC. They travel to Elyria Catholic tomorrow to face the first place Panthers at 445p

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PIRATES ARE ROAD WARRIORS IN WIN OVER RIVALS

Rocky River used timely hitting, keen baserunning and clutch defensive plays to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 win at Bohlken Park versus Fairview on Monday evening

The visitors gunned down a runner at home after an overtrhrow on a Warrior bunt to end the second inning. In the fifth, SS Gavin O'Brien made a spinning throw from behind second base to barely get a runner at first to end that inning. Then, in the sixth, C Nathan Mitchell caught a short pop foul after initially losing sight of the ball of the bat

Pirate bats pounded out nine hits, their most since a 4/20/21 affair against Lakewood, including a double by Michael DiFranco and a triple by Anthony Ferchill. Ferchill's hit came immediately after Jacob Florentine stole third base and scored on a throwing error by the catcher. Ferchill scored on a sacrifice fly to center by O'Brien. The Maroon and White's game winning run came in the sixth when pinch runner Thomas Rossi scored on a two out, infield slow roller to short, that was beaten out by Florentine

Dillon Bandi pitched his second straight complete game and third staight outing going seven innings, in winning his third straight decision. River is now 8-13 overall and 7-8 in GLC action. They will face Fairview, at home, on Tuesday, in the Pirates' last regular season home game

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PIONEERS GO RUNWARD LATE VS PIRATES

Elyria's bats turned a close game after four innings into a run-rule game after six innings, as they dispatched Rocky River,11-1, on Saturday afternoon

Thomas Rossi made his Varsity pitching debut, and held home team in check for four innings. But Pioneer bats erupted to produce four runs in the bottom of the fifth and five more off Pirate relievers in the sixth, to seal the game.

Pirate lumber was victimized numerous times by fine defensive plays by Elyria, that squelched potential River rallies

The Pirates, 7-13, after a tough week, have four regular season games left. They start next week at Faiview on Monday

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RANGERS RAIN ON RIVER RALLY

The Pirates rallied to tie the game in their last at bat, but Lakewood won the game in their last at bat, to take a classic pitcher's duel, 2-1 on Friday evening. The game was supposed to be played at 7p, but was moved up to 5p due to forecasted rain around 730p. Both teams responded to the change in grand fashion

Gavin O'Brien rose to the challenge in a spot start for River, scattering ten hits and allowing two runs on bloop singles. He also had the game tying rbi by beating out a two out infield single that scored Anthony Ferchill from third base in the top of the seventh. Unfortunately, Lakewood's first two batters reached base and the third batter singled home the winning run just ahead of River's relay throw

River falls to 7-12, overall and 6-8 in GLC play, will travel to Elyria to take on the Pioneers, in non- conference action, at 1p on Saturday

BUCKEYE GIVE PIRATES BLACK EYE

Buckeye took advantage of ten walks issued to them to score eight runs in the first two innings, and hung on the defeat Rocky River 9-4 on Thursday evening. River had early opportunities to score, as well, in the first two innings, but an out on a tag up play for leaving early thwarted the first inning. In the second, the Bucks starters waked the first three batters, then subsequently struck out the next three to kill the rally.

River tallied runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, before going quietly in the seventh. Tommy Capka scored on a Jacob Florentine single in the fourth. Michael DiFranco scored all the way from first on an rbi double to deep center by Dillon Bandi, who eventually scored on a wild pitch. In the sixth, Gavin O'Brien scored on a two out rbi single by Bandi. Braedon Spies followed with a double, but the rally died on a pop out.

Samir Hasan gave the Pirates a great relief effort of five innings of one run ball to keep the Bucks in check and give the Maroon and White a chance to come back.

River 7-11 and 6-7 in the conference, will play at Lakewood at 7p on Friday night in GLC action

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PIRATES NOT TICKLED PINK AFTER LOSS TO PANTHERS

Hit were hard to come by for both teams on Wednesday, but visiting Elyria Catholic eked out four runs on their four hits to defeat Rocky River 4-2. The Pirates collected their five hits over the last three innings of the game and, unfortunately had the game tying runs on base as the game ended

Down 4-0, River scored twice in the bottom of the sixth, first on a double steal with Jacob Florentine scoring at home. Then, Gavin O'Brien singled home Anthony Ferchill.

In the seventh, The Maroon & White's first two runners reached base via errors before Tommy Capka got his second hit of the day. Unfortunately, pinch runner Samir Hasan was thrown out trying to race home. Pirate runners Braedon Spies and Capka stole third and second base on the same play, but River's final two batters struck out to end the game

Ethan White was the tough luck losing pitcher, only giving up two runs on two hits in four innings of work, but had an elevated pitch count. Hudson Wissman pitched the final three innings and also gave up two runs on two hits in an efficient 35 pitches

The Pirates are now 7-10, 6-6 in the GLC. EC goes to 15-4, 11-2 and in first place in the conference

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SENIORS SQUEEZE OUT VICTORY ON THEIR DAY

Five Seniors led the way in various fashion, as Rocky River beat a top team in the GLC, Buckeye, 1-0 on Tuesday afternoon on Pirate Senior Day

Dillon Bandi pitched a three hit complete game for the win, Tommy Capka had a key single in the bottom of the seventh to advance a runner to third. Danny Petrus broke a Pirate hitless streak of seven innings with a leadoff single in the third inning. Michael DiFranco made key defensive plays at first base. But Joey Pike was the hero, bunting in the game's only run with one out in the seventh.

It was the third time in the game that River had a runner on third, but they brought him home when it meant the most. After a swing and miss on the first pitch of the at bat, Pike pushed a bunt down the third base line as a streaking Braedon Spies slid across home plate just before the force catch at home. Ironically, Buckeye had a failed squeeze attempt in the top of the sixth inning that led to a spectacular over the shoulder catch by SS Gavin O'Brien on a pop fly over a drawn in infield

With the win, River is now one or two games behind in the win column with seven league games to go. The Maroon & White sits at 6-5 in the GLC and 7-9 overall. They will host another top team in the conference, Elyria Catholic on Wednesday at 430p

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COMETS CLEANSE PIRATES

Early Pirate miscues and well placed hits allowed visiting Amherst to score 11 first inning runs en route to a 13-0 win over River on Saturday afternoon. The Pirates were without six normal starters due to adverse situations, but dubbed this as a "FUTURES GAME" vs the SWC powerhouse.

After the rough start, River hunkered down and competed very well with the Comets, despite getting no hits on the day. Despite the score, River had good pitching performances from Gavin O'Brien, Samir Hasan, Hudson Wissman and the Varsity debut of Sean Connelly

The Maroon & White return home and GLC action on Monday, hosting Elyria Catholic at 430

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ROCKETS ROCK RIVER IN REMATCH

The visiting Rockets parlayed 13 walks and eight base hits into 12 runs in five innings to rout Rocky River 12-1 a day after losing to River in extra innings. Bay got six runs in the fourth inning after Pirate starter Ethan White seemed to be cruising through the first three innings, to put the game out of reach. Pirate bats could only muster four hits off of Bay's starter

River is now 6-8 overall and 5-5 in GLC will face Elyria Catholic on Thursday on the road

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IN BATTLE OF ACES, PIRATES BREAK BAY HEARTS

With Bay and Rocky River's top pitchers matching up on Monday afternoon, the GLC game proved to live up to what one's imagination of a dream match up would be, and the Pirates ended winning the pitching duel, 3-1 in eight innings

River starter Dillon Bandi battled out of jams all game in pitching 6 2/3 innings and forced Bay to strand 11 baserunners. His counterpart Jay Reinhart went the the distance in the game, striking out 14 Pirates in the process

Bay's only run came in the second inning on a ground out to short. River answered in the fourth on a double steal of second and home by Michael DiFranco and Gavin O'Brien.

Reliever Hudson Wissman came on in the bottom of the seventh with the game winning run at third, but induced a groundout to end the threat. River scored in the eighth on a infield single and error for Anthony Ferchill, followed by a DiFranco double. Braedon Spies drove in an insurance run with a two our single that scored pinch runner Samir Hasan. Wissman pitched a perfect eighth to gain his first victory of the season

Now 6-7 on the season, River will face Bay on Tuesday at home at 430.

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#2 TEAM IN STATE DROPS PIRATES

Rocky River took an early 2-0 lead on Division ll number two team in the state, Chagrin Falls, via a two out single by Braedon Spies, in the bottom of the first inning, but from the second inning on, it was all Tigers, as the methodically scored in four separate innings to defeat River 11-2 on Friday evening, in a non-conference game

The visitors consistently put the ball in play to put up three spots in the second, fourth and fifth innings. The home team squandered scoring opportunities by leaving runners in scoring position in the second, third and fourth innings

River, now 5-7 on the year, returns to GLC play on Monday, when they travel to Bay to take on their arch rivals the Rockets at 430

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RANGERS ROAM ON PIRATES FIELD TO VICTORY

Lakewood used two two out rallies to overcome an early three run deficit, en route to defeating River 8-5 on a chilly Tuesday afternoon

The Pirates grabbed two runs early in bottom of the first via a two-run single by Dillon Bandi, then added another in the second via an rbi single by Jacob Florentine. The visitors made it 3-2 in the top of the third, scoring twice on a single and an error in right field

After Lakewood's first two men got out in the fourth a walk and an effor put runners on second and third. The visitors followed that with three straight hits to go up 6-3. In the fifth, two singles were sandwiched between two strikeouts, but the Rangers used two base hits to knock out starter Tommy Capka to end their scoring on the day

River scored two in bottom of the fifth on an rbi single by Michael DiFranco and an error later in the inning. The rally was snuffed out when the visitors threw out a potential run at home plate

The Maroon & White, 5-6 and 4-4 in GLC, get a rematch at Lakewood on Thursday at 430

GREEN WAVE WASHES OVER PIRATES

What started as a pitcher's duel for 4 and a 1/2 innings, abruptly turned into a whitewash, as Holy Name scored all of their runs in the fifth and sixth innings, in defeating Rocky River 7-0, Monday at Kurtz Park

River was held to three singles for the game and those came in the last two innings courtesy of Anthony Ferchill, Tommy Capka and Jacob Florentine

Ethan White appeared to be cruising through the first four innings, but two walks, a seeing eye double, a bloop single, a hit batsman, two more trickle hits and a gap shot double led to the seven runs.

River's record drops to 5-5 on the year and 4-3 in the GLC. The pirates are home Tuesday to Lakewood

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PRAYERS ANSWERED AS PIRATES DEFEAT HOLY NAME

For the second straight game, River bats knocked out an opposing pitcher in the third inning and went on to win their second straight game, 9-4 over Holy Name

After the Green Wave's starter loaded the bases with a walk in the bottom of the third, Gavin O'Brien greeted the reliever with a base clearing triple to the right field corner. O'Brien was then brought home on a sacrifice fly by Tommy Capka to make the score 7-2.

The visitors tried to mount a comeback in the top of the fourth by loading the bases, but Capka made a diving catch with two outs in foul territory to end the inning

Starter Dillon Bandi went 4 and 2/3 innings for his second straight win. O'Brien came on in relief to stop a second bases loaded threat by Holy Name, in the fifth, and then pitched the last two innings without surrendering a run

The Pirates, now 5-4 and 4-2 in conference play, travel to Kurtz Park on Monday to face Holy Name again

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RIVER CAPTURES CAPKA ENERGY IN WINNING REMATCH

Pirate bats took an early lead and Tommy Capka pitched a complete game as Rocky River bounced back to defeat Valley Forge 6-2, one day after a heartbreaking loss in extra innings.

The Maroon & White used a variety of steals, bunts and timely hits to score in each of the first four innings for their six runs. Forge's two runs came on a two out flare single

Capka used seven strikeouts and good defensive play from his infield to win his second straight decision. Michael DiFranco continues to swing a hot bat, going 2 for 4 with 2 rbl's. Braedon Spies and Dillon Bandi also went 2 for 4 on the day.

River is now 4-4 overall and 3-2 in the GLC will host Holy Name on Thursday

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PATRIOTS BLEED HITS IN EXTRA INNING WIN OVER PIRATES

River could not overcome any of the deficits that were placed before them early, but did mount a fabulous six-run sixth inning to tie the game only to lose in extra innings 12-8 to Valley Forge on Tuesday evening

The Patriots sprayed ten hits over the first six innings to score eight runs and chase starter Ethan White and lead 8-2 going into the home half of the stanza. Michael DiFranco started the inning with a double followed by walk to Dillon Bandi. The visitors made a throwing error on Tommy Capka's sacrifice bunt, which scored DiFranco, but got Bandi thrown out at third after a rundown. Braedon Spies' single knocked in Capka and a walk to Joey Pike loaded the bases. Pinch hitter Nathan Mitchell laid down a suicide squeeze that plated Pike and Spies. Jacob Florentine, after walking, scored all the way from first on a double by Anthony Ferchill to tie the score!!!

River was unsuccessful in getting the go ahead in from second to end that inning and despite a great ten pitch at bat by Spies with a runner on second in the bottom of the seventh, could not get the game-winning run in.

Valley Forge put up a four spot in the top of the eighth to salt the game away

The two teams will meet again on Wednesday afternoon, in a makeup of a Monday rainout

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PIRATES NOT DRAGGIN IN WIN OVER DRAGONS

Samir Hasan, Michael DiFranco and Nathan Mitchell each had two hit, while DiFranco, Charlie Russell and Anthony Ferchill scored two, two and three runs, respectfully, as River travelled to the far eastside to beat Lakeside's Dragons, 13-7 on Saturday. The win stopped Lakeside's 5-game winning streak, while upping the Pirates' to three games!!

Dillon Bandi went four innings and struck out seven to gain his first win of the season. Gavin O'Brien pitched three innings of relief and struck out five. River pounded out eight hits in the win, as their bats seem to be heating up, after a slow start

River will be on the road Monday at Valley Forge for a 445p start

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RIVER BEATS MOTHER NATURE AND REDMEN

Tommy Capka sat through a 30 minute weather delay in the midst of pitching five shutout innings and reliever Hudson Wissman shut the door on a potential rally with two innings of relief, as River defeated Parma for the second time in three days, 10-3. Capka picked up his first win of the season, as he struck out 9 batters while walking only two.

The Pirates had eight hits with Dillon Bandi and Nathan Mitchell each having two. Bandi had two doubles on the day and Michael DiFranco also doubled.

River is now 2-3 on the year and will travel to Ashtabula to face Lakeside on Saturday

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RIVER 210 061 x 10 8 2 T Capka WP(1-1)

RIVER TICKLED PINK; GET FIRST WIN OVER REDMEN

Ethan White scattered seven hits and three runs over five and a third innings to earn Rocky River their first win of the season after three losses, as River defeated Parma 8-5 on Tuesday afternoon on the road. Gavin O'Brien finished out the game for White and the Pirate bats answered every rally that Parma tried to mount

After Parma scored in the bottom of the third, to make it 3-1, River, the Pirates scored two in the fourth. Parma came back with one in the fourth and River came back to score one in the fifth, sixth and seventh to stave off the three runs the Redmen combined to score in the last two frames

Michael DiFranco went 3 for 4 on the day. Jacob Florentine went 2 for 4 and he, DiFranco and Charlie Russell each scored two runs.

River will face Parma again at home on Thursday

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PARMA 001 101 2 5 12 4 C. Storey LP

RIVER'S BEACHES STORMED BY NORMANDY

Visiting Normandy got all their hits and all their runs in the fourth and seventh innings en route to an 11-0 shutout of the Pirates. River's bats were still cold, mustering only three hits coming from Michael DiFranco, Anthony Ferchill and Nathan Mitchell. Dillon Bandi took the loss for River, which is now 0-3.

The Maroon and White travel to Parma tomorrow, trying to pick up their first win of the season

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LANCERS BOIL PIRATES BY TOSSING GOOSE EGGS

River travelled out to Gilmour on Tuesday and were victims of a combined no-hitter, losing 10-0 in five innings. A couple of misplays in the field led to a big nine run second inning for the Lancers. Ethan White relieved in the second inning for Tommy Capka and pitched three and a third effective innings before giving up the game winning run in the bottom of the fifth.

River will open up GLC play on Thursday, when they travel to Normandy to take on the Invaders at 445p

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BARKER TAKES BITE OUT OF PIRATE BATS TO OPEN SEASON

Blake Barker, son of ex-Indians pitcher Large Len Barker struck out six River batters in three innings of work and Chardon used 12 walks and five Pirate errors to win at River on opening day of 2021, 10-1. Gavin O'Brien had the lone Pirate hit on the day. Dillon Bandi took the loss

The Pirates will travel to Gilmour on Tuesday to face the Lancers at 5p

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