Tracie Vinal Photo

NORWICH – Summer is here and that means Legion Baseball is underway. The Chenango Hellcats played two straight games, ending the first week on a high-note with wins in both.

Two-run fifth inning leads to win over Harpursville

The Hellcats snagged a late lead on Thursday, June 7 to take a 4-2 win over the host Harpursville, taking the first game of their summer schedule.

With the game even at 2-2, J.T. Vinal stepped up to the plate in the top of the fifth. Facing a 0-1 with two outs, Vinal hit a hard ground ball through the infield and into left. His teammate, Justin Bates scored from second and Vinal recorded a double.

Just one batter later, Marcus Cashman hit a grounder to the second baseman. Unable to field the ball cleanly, Cashman reached on an error and Vinal came rounding third to score at home, making the score 4-2 in favor of the Hellcats.

Harpursville fired up the offense first, scoring one run due to an error in the opening frame. The host team added another when a ball got passed the Hellcats’ catcher.

The Hellcats answered by knotting the game up at two in the top of the third inning, as Cashman drove in two runs when he singled in his second at-bat of the game.