Harrison Baseball Scores 15 in Win Over Sacred Heart

The Harrison Huskies scored in every inning but the second and eight times in the third inning alone to beat the Sacred Heart Irish 15 - 0 Friday afternoon in Harrison. The game was ended because of the mercy rule after five innings.

Harrison pitcher Max Bruckner yielded a single up the middle to the first batter of the game but didn't surrender a hit the rest of the way in his first varsity start. The sophomore tossed a complete game shutout to earn the win.

"He was great," said Harrison Head Coach Marco Diruocco. "He mixed his stuff up today, kept batters on their toes, this was his first outing as a varsity player and he did a great job."

After plating two runners in the first, Harrison was held scoreless in the second before rallying in the third to put the game out of reach. The Huskies scored eight runs on only two hits, aided by four walks and two key Sacred Heart errors.

Robert Carducci led the offensive charge for Harrison. The senior shortstop finished the game 3-for-4 with six RBI's. 

"We started off a little slow and then the sticks came out during the game," said Diruocco. "They got warmed up and I was just proud of our guys to continue and play strong the entire game."

Leading 11 - 0 in the fourth inning, Harrison emptied its bench, allowing several role players to take the field. But it didn't keep the Huskies from continuing to put runs on the board as they added four more in what would be their final at bat.

"The guys off the bench were great, they came out, they hit the ball, they went out there playing and that's the bottom line is they have great attitudes and they need to keep up the great work," said Diruocco. "That's what is so nice about this team is that we can go to guys off the bench and whether they start or not is irrelevant."

Sacred Heart pitcher Arian Biberaj also threw a complete game. The junior struggled for most of his four innings, but fought through some mistakes by his defense.

"I thought he did well, this is a young team and a lot of times he could have been out of the inning with people missing balls and whatnot," said Sacred Heart Head Coach Jerry Weihe. "I wanted to see a little character early in the season and I thought he pitched well, he was able to keep his head in the game."

Harrison improved its record to 2 - 2 and will take on Byram Hills and Horace Greeley next week.

Bruckman, who was one pitch away from tossing a no-hitter in his first varsity start, said he was happy with his performance.

"I felt great," he said. "I hope the rest of the season will be like that."