SUSPENDED: Smith 0, New Hartford 0

Hey legion fans. I'm here at Joe Corr Memorial Field for today's marquee match-up between Oneida County league rivals Smith Post 24 and New Hartford Post 1376. Smith is currently 6-0 and on top of Oneida County's Blue Division. New Hartford is the Gold Division leader with a perfect 5-0 record.

I'll provide live updates throughout the game so you can follow along with every at-bat. Feel free to leave your thoughts on today's game or any other league matter in the comments section below. I'll also be here to answer any questions you may have.

Starting lineups:
New Hartford (5-0)
1. Joe Carcone, 2B
2. Joe Desens, 3B
3. Joe Betar, SS
4. Mike Matt, CF
5. Eric Verbickas, 1B
6. Mike Doyle, C
7. Pat Calli, RF
8. Steve Bieganowski, LF
9. Chandler Evans, DH
Pitcher: Alex Giovannone, LHP (1-0)

Smith (6-0)
1. Kyle Richardson, CF
2. Ryan Kramer, SS
3. Nate Mallinder, LF
4. Jason Nowicki, RF
5. Zack Ciccotti, C
6. Joe Melioris, P
7. Ryan Marquette, 1B
8. Eli Hendrington, 3B
9. Mike Stevens, 2B
Pitcher: Joe Melioris, RHP (0-0)

*Quick note: New Hartford shortstop Joe Betar was a game-time decision. His arm is bothering him after falling asleep on it awkwardly last night. It will be interesting to see what effect this will have on his play, if any.

Top 1st: Kyle Richardson hit a high pop out to NH catcher Mike Doyle on a full count for the first out. Giovannone needed only one pitch to get Ryan Kramer to fly out to left for the second out. Nate Mallinder popped out to first to end the inning.

Bottom 1st: Joe Carcone grounded a 1-2 pitch to first for the first out. Joe Desens struck out swinging for the second out. Joe Betar grounded out to Kramer at short to end the inning.

New Hartford 0, Smith 0

Top 2nd: Jason Nowicki grounded out to Desens at third for the first out. Zack Ciccotti popped out to the catcher on the first pitch he saw for the second out. Joe Melioris walked on four pitches (runner on first, two outs). Giovannone got Ryan Marquette looking at a 2-2 pitch for the inning's final out.

Bottom 2nd: Mike Matt popped out to Marquette in foul territory for the first out. Eric Verbickas worked the count full before drawing a walk. Doyle struck out on three pitches (runner on first, two outs). Pat Calli struck out looking at a 2-2 pitch to end the inning.

New Hartford 0, Smith 0

Top 3rd: Eli Hendrington flew out to Matt in center on the first pitch he saw. Giovannone got the nine-hitter, Mike Stevens, swinging on an 0-2 pitch for the second out. Richardson popped out to Matt to end the inning.

Bottom 3rd: Steve Bieganowski was beaned by Melioris to the leadoff hitter on. DH Chandler Evans bunted the first pitch he saw to Marquette for a sacrifice, moving Bieganowski to second. Melioris hit Carcone, hit second hit batter of the inning (runners on first and second, one out). Desens ripped a grounder right at Melioris on the first pitch he saw. Melioris snagged it and threw to third for the force and second out (runners on first and second, two outs). Betar went too far on a two-strike check swing, striking out to end the inning. Runners were stranded at first and second.

New Hartford 0, Smith 0

Top 4th: Kramer tried bunting the first pitch he saw, but he hit it right back at Giovannone who threw to first for the first out. Mallinder reached on a infield single (the first hit of the game). Betar ranged to his right and made an off-balanced throw to first, but it was just late. Mallinder stole second on an off-target throw from Doyle. Nowicki popped out to center field on a curveball for the second out (runner on second, two outs). After falling behind 3-0, Giovannone came all the back to strike Ciccotti out to end the inning and strand Mallinder at second.

*There was a big crowd at the start, but it seems to be multiplying as the game goes on. The 50-50 just passed by me and the person selling the tickets said, "It's going to be a big pot tonight."

Bottom 4th: Mike Matt struck out looking for the first out. Melioris struck Verbickas out on a nasty 0-2 curveball. Melioris ended the inning and picked up his seventh strike out by getting Doyle on another two-strike curveball.

New Hartford 0, Smith 0

Top 5th: Melioris struck out for the inning's first out. Marquette hit what looked to be a sure single up the middle, but Carcone made a phenomenal play to snag it and make an off-balanced throw to first for the second out. Hendrington hit a 2-2 single to left. Stevens followed with a single up the middle on the first pitch from Giovannone. Richardson grounded to Betar who flipped it over to Carcone for the force at second, ending the inning and stranding two Smith runners.

Bottom 5th: Calli grounded to Marquette on the first pitch he saw for the first out. Bieganowski saw two pitches before lightning was sighted, causing the home plate umpire to call a mandatory 30-minute delay (the delay started at 7:09 p.m.). Lightning was spotted again at 7:17 pm, restarting the 30-minute delay. We're about to get started up again after a 40-minute delay. Players from both teams just took the last five minutes to throw and get loose. Bieganowski will be at the plate with one out and a 2-0 count. Melioris came back to strike Bieganowski out swinging on a full count for the second out. Melioris pick up his ninth strike out of the game, getting Evans looking at a 1-2 fastball to end the inning.

New Hartford 0, Smith 0

Top 6th: Kramer hit a 3-2 pitch up the middle for a single. Mallinder gave himself up, bunting Kramer over to second (runner on second, one out). Nowicki grounded out to short for the second out, but Kramer moved to third on the play, putting the go-ahead run just 90-feet away. Ciccotti hit a hard groundout to Betar to end the inning, stranding Kramer at third.

*ALERT: Melioris has a no-hitter going. He's struck out nine, walked one and hit two batters. He's thrown 64 pitches.

Bottom 6th: Carcone drew an eight-pitch walk to lead off. Desens tried to bunt Carcone over, but it went right back to Melioris who turned and fired to second to get the inning's first out (runner on first, one out). Betar struck out on a 2-2 curveball. Desens was stealing on the pitch and reached second safely (runner on second, one out). Matt hit a weak blooper over Melioris' head and beat it out for an infield single, breaking up the no-hitter for Melioris (runners on first and third, two outs). Verbickas his a grounder at Kramer at short. He beat Matt to second and touched the base for the force and the inning's final out. Runners were stranded on first and third for New Hartford.

New Hartford 0, Smith o

Top 7th: Melioris hit a deep fly ball out to Calli in right for the inning's first out (the NH fans held their collective breathe as it looked like the hit might have a chance to clear the right field fence). Giovannone struck Marquette on three pitches for the second out and got Hendrington swinging for the third out.

*NH will have their 6-7-8 hitters coming up. One run will win it.

Bottom 7th: Doyle was hit in the shoulder on an 0-2 fastball to put a runner on for NH. Melioris struck Calli out swinging for the first out(Melioris' 11th strike out of the game). Bieganowski bunted the first pitch he saw straight back to Melioris. The pitcher threw to second to get the first out. The runner was called for interference on the slide, making it a 1-6-3 double play and ending the inning.

New Hartford 0, Smith 0

*Giovannone is taking the hill for NH heading into extras. He's thrown 100 pitches.

Top 8th: Stevens lined out to Matt in center for the first out. Richardson grounded out to third for the second out. Kramer hit the first pitch on the ground toward second base. Carcone made another great play to get to the ball and make an accurate off-balanced throw. But, the infield umpire said Verbickas was off the bag at first and called the runner safe (runner on first, two outs). Giovannone got Mallinder to ground out 1-3 to end the inning.

*9-1-2 hitters coming to the plate for New Hartford. One run wins the game. Melioris is still in for Smith. He's thrown 90 pitches.

Bottom 8th: Evans struck out on three pitches for the first out. Carcone struck out looking on a 2-2 curveball for the second out. Melioris picked up his 13th strike out by fanning Desens on a 1-2 pitch to end the inning.

*You guys are going to love this one - game called due to darkness (8:32 p.m.) - New Hartford 0, Smith 0. The home plate umpire, Ron Starsiak, told me the game will be resumed from the point at which it left off tomorrow at 6 p.m.

Check back later for more - I'll probably start a new post.