Salisbury Varsity Baseball Defeats Palisades 15-0 in Home Opener

The Salisbury High School varsity baseball team shut out Palisades High School 15-0 on Wednesday, the opening home game. The Falcons scored 15 runs on 13 hits before the game was called in the fourth inning. Salisbury improved to 2-0 on the season and 1-0 in the Colonial League South with the win.
    Salisbury got on the board first in the bottom of the first inning when outfielder Zachary Seitz scored from third base as Palisades failed to throw a Salisbury runner out at second base. That's all Salisbury would need in terms of runs in this game.   
    The Falcons used an eight-run second inning, in which infielder/catcher Justin Aungst recorded a triple and two RBIs, and scored on an overthrow to third base. Catcher Colby Kulig and pitcher Nicholas Ampietro each had sacrifice flies in the inning to increase Salisbury's lead to 9-0 after two innings.
    After scoring another run in the third inning, the Falcons used a five-run fourth inning to put away the Pirates for good. Infielder Brad Vangeli and outfielder/infielder Tyler Tocci each recorded a two-run double in the inning. Outfielder/infielder Zachary Harper's RBI in the fifth inning pushed Salisbury's lead to 15-0 and the game was called before the fourth inning was finished.
    The Salisbury batters gave the Palisades pitchers trouble throughout the entire game. The Pirates used four different pitchers in the ballgame, with no pitcher lasting longer than 1 1-3 innings. Starting pitcher, Trey Smith, recorded the loss for Palisades. Smith gave up six runs, while walking four batters and striking out two in 1 1-3 innings.
    Eight Salisbury batters recorded an RBI, with Harper and Tocci leading the way with three each. Vangeli and Aungst recorded two RBIs in the game as well.
    Although Salisbury's bats were alive against Palisades, the pitching of Ampietro was sensational. Ampietro pitched a four-inning, complete game shutout against the Pirates. He had two strikeouts while giving up just three hits and recorded the win for Salisbury.
    The Falcons will look to improve on their 2-0 start as they face off against Saucon Valley High School on April 1. The game is scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m. at Saucon Valley.