High school baseball team wins 52-3, losing coach is 'proud'
File photo by Richard Ta
Buena won its game versus Pleasantville by a score of 52-3.
Despite a 49-run loss last week, first year Pleasantville (N.J.) baseball coach Erick McAllister was certainly pleasant. And all those involved, according to McAllister in a report to The Press of Atlantic City, were sportsmanlike.
"I will point out that throughout each inning and run, they never quit," McAllister told the newspaper following a 52-3 loss to defending Group 2 state champion Buena (N.J.) on Thursday. "They had the strength of character to continue to fight and do their best regardless of the score."
Ah yes, the score.
More than 30 walks and plenty of errors contributed to the hefty margin. Buena, which had 26 hits, took out all its starters by the second inning.
Buena coach Harry Grose told the newspaper he felt bad about the game and the school's athletic director Dave Albertson said it was a "no-win situation."
Albertson said that Buena didn’t take more than one base for much of the game and stopped advancing on passed balls and wild pitches.
"Do you tell a kid to strike out?" Albertson asked. "Do you tell kids to walk to first base? Where do you draw the line? ... I don’t know the answer. There is no manual to it."
Pleasantville has seven freshmen on a 24-man roster.
"We are a young team and in the process of learning and trying to improve," McAllister said. "I cannot cram 10 years of experience in a month and a half. I can teach them skills that will help improve them on the baseball field and foster a love of the sport and the camaraderie with their teammates.
"I am proud of my boys' reaction to the loss. They were supportive of one another and chalked it up to a learning experience that they all share. They were gentlemen in the loss — as were the players from Buena gentlemen in the win."
New Jersey's mercy rule stops a game if a team is winning by 10 or more runs after five at-bats for the losing team. The softball mercy rule in the state is 15 or more runs after three at-bats for the losing team.
Buena led 24-0 after two-and-a-half innings.
