A call to (many) arms

Calling all arms, calling all arms. That’s what it is going to take to win the District V American Legion baseball title this week.

 

Now that games are nine innings, not seven, from here on out, pitching quality and quantity will be put to the test. As for quality, Rome’s Smith Post has two NCAA Division I arms in righty Joe Melioris and lefty Garrett Baker, and good luck trying to find another No. 3 starter as good as Kyle Richardson.

 

Nine-inning games, however, put more of an emphasis on quantity, and when it comes to strength in numbers, New Hartford Post – runner-up to Smith in the Oneida County tournament last week – may have the edge there. Armed with lefties Erik Sheridan, Eric Verbickas, Alex Giovannone and Tyler Porter and right-handers Chandler Evans, Dan Nelson and Pat Derrane, New Hartford has seven pitchers who have thrown at least 12 innings this season – Smith Post has the aforementioned Big Three.

 

That should add up to an interesting week of baseball at Rome’s DeLutis Field.