Braverman wins No. 200; Cadets begin Big 10 title defense

The uniforms were new in La Salle's season opener on Monday afternoon, but the Cadets were up to their same old tricks, winning a Big 10 ballgame.

La Salle head coach Jesse Braverman signals directions to a batter during Monday's Big 10 Conference opener against Schenectady at Geer Field. La Salle won, 6-3. (All photos by J.S. Carras - The Record)

Braverman, who was a longtime varsity and junior varsity coach at Bethlehem before coming to La Salle, became only the 58th coach in Section II history to eclipse the 200-win mark.

Many of his players, however, had no idea until Braverman thanked them in his postgame remarks.

"It’s a huge accomplishment for him and for the program," said Wil Ryan.

"I wasn’t keeping track," Braverman laughed. "I told the boys that means I’m old and I’ve lasted a while, I guess. I will never stop appreciating the opportunity I’ve gotten from La Salle. this is like a second life for me here. I’ve been blessed with such wonderful players and such strong support from the school. I consider myself lucky."

La Salle second baseman Wil Ryan makes a catch to end the first inning against Schenectady Monday at Geer Field. Ryan, in his first day as a regular in the La Salle lineup, reached base all three times he came to the plate, scored two runs, singled twice and drove in a run.

The Cadets carried an undefeated record into the 2008 New York State Class AA semifinals and return many of their starters, but Ryan seemed to fit right in on his first day on the job.

"It’s a new team but we still have to work just as hard because people are gunning for us," Ryan said.

La Salle starter Zach Ferris delivers towards home plate in Monday's game. He went four innings plus, allowing three runs (none earned) and took a no-decision.

Braverman brought in Dave Roseboom, the reigning Big 10 Player of the Year, and he mowed down five of the six Patriots he faced, earning the win. La Salle rarely had to rely on three pitchers in a game last year (Dwight Mathusa came in for the save) and Braverman thinks it was a sign of the times in the vastly improved Big 10.

"We may have surprised a few people by bringing Dave in, but it was still in the middle innings and I knew that inning was going to be a difficult inning," Braverman said. "I was trying to get through that inning but unfortunately they tied it up."

La Salle 6, Schenectady 3

SCHENECTADY LA SALLE
ab r h bi ab r h bi
Shafer 2b 1 1 0 0 Charron 3b 3 1 2 1
Imfeld cf 3 0 0 0 Morrissey cf 3 0 0 0
Earing ph 0 0 0 0 W.Remillard c-1b 3 0 2 1
Zielinski ss 4 0 0 0 Bridenbeck 1b-c 3 0 0 0
Borowski p-1b 3 0 0 0 Sportman ss 3 0 0 0
Jurczynski c 3 0 2 0 Gava rf 2 2 0 0
Ottati 3b 3 0 0 0 Ryan 2b 2 2 2 1
Andi 1b-p 3 0 0 0 Bernardo lf 1 0 0 0
Vachon lf 1 1 0 0 Kiley dh 3 1 0 0
Dangrfld ph-lf 1 0 0 0
DeFruscio rf 2 1 1 0
Fredericks ph 1 0 0 0
Totals 27 3 3 0 Totals 23 6 6 3
Schenectady (0-1, 1-1)...............................000 030 0 - 3 3 3
La Salle (1-0, 1-0).......................................010 203 x - 6 6 3
E- Vachon, Zielinski, Andi, Ferris, W.Remillard, Bridenbeck. DP-Schenectady 1 (Zielinski, Shafer & Andi). GIDP-Sportman. LOB-Schenectady 6, La Salle 7. 2B-W.Remillard. SB-Jurczynski, Vachon. CS-Shafer, Sportman. S-Bernardo (2).
Schenectady ip h R er BB SO
Borowski 4 2 3 3 3 2
Andi, L (0-1) 2 4 3 2 0 2
La Salle ip h R er BB SO
Ferris 4+ 3 3 0 3 2
Roseboom, W (1-0) 2 0 0 0 0 5
Mathusa, S (1) 1 0 0 0 2 0
Ferris pitched to three batters in fifth. Inherited runners-scored – Roseboom 2-2.
WP - Ferris. PB-Jurczynski. HBP -Ottati (by Ferris), Charron (by Borowski), Bridenbeck (by Borowski), W.Remillard (by Borowski).

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Check out the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Record, as well as our full roundup of local events from a jam-packed day.

Our 2009 high school softball preview section is all set to roll and will appear in the hard copy on Thursday morning.