Finney & Simon No Hit Franklin Towne, Defense is Perfect in 7-0 Win
Two seasons ago the Rockets were the first unranked team in City history to reach the Final Four in the Public League Playoffs. Politics and a solid Franklin Towne squad were the only things standing in the way of their undefeated Cinderella run to a City Title as a C-Division team. Towne went on to win it all in '15 and made it back to the Final Four in '16. But judging by the Rockets' performance today, '17 will have a different type of storybook ending.
While the Rockets manufactured runs throughout, smacking 12 singles to score 7 runs in 3 big innings, it was all about defense and pitching today. Leon Finney in his first official start of the season, struggled with a very tight strike zone, but Avi Cantor had his back throwing out two runners in the first, effectively changing the complexion of the game before it even started.
While the Rockets manufactured runs throughout, smacking 12 singles to score 7 runs in 3 big innings, it was all about defense and pitching today. Leon Finney in his first official start of the season, struggled with a very tight strike zone, but Avi Cantor had his back throwing out two runners in the first, effectively changing the complexion of the game before it even started.
6 innings later Finney reached the maximum 100 pitches and still hadn't surrendered a single hit. Ben Simon came in to strike out 3 of the 5 batters he faced, and the defense was perfect to secure the second no-hitter in team history. Finney & Simon combined to strike out 8, and the Rockets' bats did the rest with Tony Brown leading the charge, going 2-5 with 3RBIs.
Jason Greene continued his hot streak going 3-4 and scoring 2 runs. Lukas Supovitz-Aznar went 2-3 with an RBI single, and Ben Simon and Arsenio Gomez both chipped in a run each with back-to-back RBI singles in the 5th. Leo Cassel-Siskind made some smooth plays at 1st, including a beautiful backhanded snare of a shot down the line, and the rest found their way to his outstretched glove any time Towne put the ball in play.
While still early, this was quite a statement to make, especially with the defending Champions-Olney Charter- up next. But the Rockets aren't intimidated. A no-hitter and having outscored their opponents 35-9 in their first 4 games might have something to do with that.
Up Next: SLA @ Olney- Tues, 4/4 (1st Pitch, 305pm)
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