Luke Rightnowar pitches Genoa to win over Delta
GENOA – The game plan doesn't change for Genoa senior Luke Rightnowar.
Rightnowar earned his 18th victory in 21 varsity decisions Monday as the Comets topped Delta 6-3 in a non-conference matchup.
He struck out five, walked four and hit one batter.
"My pitches got a little better," he said. "I throw a little harder, but I'll still pitch the same way."
Rightnowar doesn't overpower but he allowed only four hits Monday.
"He pounds the baseball down in the strike zone," Genoa coach Ron Rightnowar said. "He keeps the tempo up. He struggled to find a rhythm in the first three innings before settling in. He can do better and he will."
Rightnowar allowed two runs in the seventh before Blake Traver made a lunging catch for the final out with runners on second and third.
"Every time I start, my mindset is to finish," Luke said. "If I start, I want to finish. You have to go at it like you'll pitch the whole game."
Cody Pickard, Nick Wolfe and Matt Aumiller each scored in the first innings as Wolfe and Aumiller drove in one run apiece.
"We were champing at the bit," Wolfe said. "The gym's no fun. It was nice to see some live pitching and putting up some runs early was a good sign."
Wolfe had three hits and drove in two runs.
"I put a lot of work in in the offseason seeing the ball," Wolfe said. "I was relaxed and the ball looked big. I let the bat do the work."
Jake Wojciechowski had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run, Aumiller added a sacrifice fly in the third, and Pickard had a hit and scored in the fifth.
"The top of the lineup produced our offense," coach Rightnowar said. "They've been in the battles the longest so they're supposed to produce."
The Comets (1-0) made a few errors in the field and on the basepaths. They turned a double play in the fourth and picked a runner off first in the fifth.
"It's a good first game," coach Rightnowar said. "We got it done. We'll have to be better to win any titles."
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