The Yankees recruited a new pitcher last week and immediately sent him to the mound against the Bears and he delivered. Newcomer Javier Urrea struck out 8 Bears over the course of his 5 innings of work (allowing 1 run on 5 hits) and Lex Herrlett finished the game allowing only 1 run on 3 hits over 2 innings.

Bears starter Curt Tucker pitched admirably for 5 innings after allowing 5 runs in the first (4 unearned). Tucker battled while Bears defenders struggled with the stiff winds at Bob Moore and six of Tucker's 8 runs allowed were unearned. Rob Bialkowski made another appearance and has yet to give up a single run (earned or otherwise) as he went two innings walking 2 and striking out 2.

Offensively for the Yankees - Lex Herrlett and Jason Rhude both went 3-for-4.

For the Bears, Curt Tucker went 1-for-1 at the plate with a booming RBI double and James Morton went 2-for-3 with a stolen base. Stu Howells was 1-for-2 with 2 SB and Tommy Ayers went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Stu Howells is leading the Bears in plate appearances as the primary leadoff hitter and is delivering with a .429 average, two doubles and now three stolen bases through five games so far this season. And despite going 0-for-3 against the Yankees, "Old Man" Joe Montemarano is hitting .455 with 14 AB's this year. As a team, the Bears have improved in team batting average over last year and are hitting .294 through their first five games - still, however, the Bears strike out entirely too much averaging ten strikeouts per game. The Bears now need to show improvement offensively by putting the ball in play more.

The Bears and Yankees share something in common: next opponent. The Yanks face the Mets tonight at the "B" Diamond in Schenectady Central Park and the Bears get their shot against the Mets Thursday at the same venue. The Bears are hoping the Yankees can soften up a tough opponent as they continue to search for that elusive first win.



-- Edited by The_Hurricane on Tuesday 26th of May 2015 12:23:17 PM