By Scott Kinville

LITTLE FALLS, N.Y. — Two baseball teams off to a hot start collided at Veterans Memorial Park on Monday afternoon as the Little Falls Mounties squared off against the Frankfort-Schuyler Maroon Knights.

The Mounties entered the game with a 2-0 record and a scoring differential of 20-0. The Maroon Knights have been a big problem for early-season opponents, coming into Monday’s game with a 3-1 record and having scored eight runs in each of their last two games.

When the final out was recorded, it was the Mounties who came away with a 4-2 victory.

The offenses got to work early. Thomas Eck turned a lead-off walk into a run for the Maroon Knights in the top of the first. The Mounties answered back in their half of the opening inning as James Milianta led off with a single and came all the way around to score to tie the game at one.

The teams traded runs once again in the second inning. Connor Grates parlayed a walk into a run to put Frankfort-Schuyler up 2-1 heading into the bottom of the second. Milianta once again scored as he turned a two-run single into a run to bring the score even at two.

After the offenses took center stage in the first two innings, the pitchers took over as Frankfort-Schuyler’s Nicholas Service and Giovanni Almaviva of Little Falls shut the offenses down until the bottom of the fifth. Then, the Mounties broke through with two runs. Wyatt Beadle got things started as he got on with a lead-off single and was driven home by Derek Milianta. Milianta then came across on a two-out triple by Ayrck Skibinski to make it 4-2.

Almaviva did not give up any more runs as he was relieved by Beadle, who threw one pitch in the sixth inning and struck out the side in the seventh. Brian Martinez came in for Service in the sixth inning, and although Almaviva had a two-out triple, the Maroon Knights pitcher got Beadle to fly out to Brayden Wisheart to end the threat.

With the win, Little Falls is now 3-0 and will host Canastota in their next game on Wednesday. Frankfort Schuyler falls to 3-2 and will head to Poland on Thursday to take on the Tornadoes.

Photos by Dave Warner