Colonial Outlasts Freedom For 7-2 Victory

It was a cool night full of good baseball. As the sun set against the late February sky on Wednesday, the Colonial Grenadiers and Freedom Patriots took the field for their early-season contest. Colonial came out on top in the end by a score of 7-2, but that didn’t stop both teams from having their fair share of highlights.

Adam Reis was the starting pitcher as well as the leadoff hitter for Colonial, and he started the game off with a bang on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Reis connected for a double in Colonial’s first at-bat of the game, setting the tone for his team early on. He admits he enjoys the chance to set the pace right away in a game from the leadoff spot.

“It’s a little bit of pressure, but I like the pressure,” Reis said. “I like to give my team confidence to start the game off with.”

That is exactly what he did. Reis pitched the entire game and tallied 10 strikeouts in the outing. Manager Mike Smith confirmed that Reis has committed to Seminole State in Sanford to be a pitcher.

As for the rest of the team, the Grenadiers (2-2) put three quick runs on the board in the first inning with a combination of patience at the plate and heads-up base running, something that Manager Mike Smith has tried to emphasize early on.

“We’re just working on fundamentals right now,” Smith said. “We’re early in the year and we’re trying to get the little things done, the sacrifice bunts, the hit-and-runs, the run and bunt.”

The bunt certainly proved to be a point of emphasis in this game. Third baseman Juan Cruz laid down a perfect bunt to actually earn himself a single during Colonial’s three-run fifth inning, and several other sacrifice bunts were implemented throughout the game as well.

As for the Patriots, they came back in the second inning with a rally of their own. First baseman J.P. Pesi hit a double and later scored off an error. However, Freedom (0-3) stayed quiet until the sixth inning, where Austin Davis hit a single, stole second, then scored on a passed ball in a whirlwind of events.

Defensively Kemir Milanes, the starting pitcher for Freedom, settled down after the first inning and only allowed one more run before exiting after the fourth inning. He tallied three strikeouts of his own.

Overall, Manager Mike Smith was pleased with his team’s performance.

“This is my first year here, and I came over to try to rejuvinate this program by putting up the new tarps and changing the whole atmosphere here,” Smith said. “Our offense came alive tonight. We saw some good pitching from Freedom, and, to me, it was a great ballgame. It was a much tighter game than the scoreboard portrayed.”

For Colonial, the offensive standout was Francisco Rosario, who went 2-for-2 for the evening.

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