SUFFERN — Matt Matcovich figures he's going to get into a jam or two during the course of a game. So the situation in the top of the fifth in yesterday's 3-2 victory over Panas didn't faze him.
The score was tied 2-2, but the Panthers were threatening to grab control. Matcovich, the Mounties' sophomore left-handed starter, had just walked Ryan Sullivan to load the bases with two outs. No biggie.
"I just waited," Matcovich said. "Eventually I was going to get an out."
Matcovich did that against the next batter, striking out left fielder Mike Anderson with a high fastball to end the threat.
Pitching with runners on base apparently isn't a problem for Matcovich, who said all three of his pitches — fastball, curveball and changeup — were working better from the stretch yesterday than from the windup.
"You almost get used to it," said Suffern assistant coach Chris Michie, who managed the Mounties yesterday as head coach Ron Gamma attended his son's college graduation. "He gets into jams here and there. But his demeanor never changes. He goes out there, does his job and throws strikes. That's key."
Suffern (12-10-1) got the winning run in the bottom of the fifth. Scott Kohn drove a one-out triple down the line that Panas right fielder Gary Jackman just missed catching. The next batter, Tony Cataldo, lofted a sacrifice fly that scored Kohn.
Sac flies were responsible for two of the Mounties' runs. Conor Andreas scored on one from Frank Vella in the second inning, giving Suffern a 1-0 lead.
The Mounties, who have won 10 of their last 14 after starting the year 2-6-1, believe they have to play that way to win. Michie noted they don't have a lineup that can produce extra-base hits consistently.
"Over the last two weeks we've scored a lot of runs," Kohn said. "We've been working together as a team to produce a lot more runs. We've been playing a lot of small-ball."
It was the second loss in as many days for Panas (15-4), which couldn't take advantage of a solid effort by lefty starter Neil Ross.
"We wanted to play Suffern to see how we measured up against a (Class) AA team," Panthers manager Anthony Fata said. "We didn't play on all cylinders today. Our bats weren't as active as they normally are."
The Panthers got their runs in the third inning. Ross singled to drive in Chris Totten. After stealing second, Ross scored on Alex Goldfarb's double.
Panas might have gotten more in the inning, but Matcovich escaped from a two-on, one-out situation by striking out Sullivan and getting Anderson to fly out.
The stranded runners in the third inning and the fifth were critical in the Panthers' loss. Fata thought his hitters were too anxious.
"They're all trying to get the big hit and forgetting about what they've got to do when they get in that box," he said. "Right now we're pressing."