AVON — Midview didn’t get to where it is this season strictly via muscle at the plate. Pitching and fundamentals have carried the Middies as much as their bats.
Yet Midview came out swinging in the rain on Tuesday, pounding out 15 hits — three of which went over the outfield fences — on the way to a 12-6 victory over Avon in a West Shore Conference game.
“It’s really important to get out in front early in a game like this,” Midview coach Terry Hawke said. “With the rain, you never know how things will go. We came to hit today.”
Stiff breezes in the early innings were replaced by rain of varying intensity that played havoc with the field — which required frequent maintenance late in the game.
The victory put Midview in a tie with Avon for first place, each team owning a 9-2 WSC record. Midview is 17-4 overall and Avon is 13-5.
“We’re glad we started out quickly,” Hawke added. “Avon is a good team and there are a lot of good bats over there.”
Midview got all its runs and 13 of its 15 hits in the first four innings. Danny Zaun, Dan Brattoli and John Pulito slugged home runs, all to different parts of the outfield.
“We got a little help from the small park and the wind,” Hawke said.  “But I was pleased with the way we were aggressive at the plate.”
“(Midview) did a good job of hitting the ball hard,” Avon coach Frank DeSmit said. “We didn’t come out on top of things in some respects, the way we normally do. But this is still a young team with a lot of players who haven’t been in many big games.”
“The good news is we’re still in first place,” DeSmit said. “The bad news is we need help if we want to win it alone. We have to play every game like it’s the most important game of the year.”
 Midview scored an unearned run in the first inning before putting four on the board on five hits in the second. Zaun’s home run made it 2-0, and three straight singles loaded the bases. Kevin Allen and Jay Overy walked to score runs and Pulito singled to make the score 5-0.
The Eagles got two runs back in the second on Josh Pierce’s double. Brattoli’s home run in the third gave the Middies a 6-2 lead.
Avon scored an unearned run in the bottom of the third, but Midview came back with six runs on five hits, including Pulito’s two-run homer that made it 8-3. Singles by Allen, Jordan Szpak and Brad Gross, and Overy’s bases-loaded walk brought home the other four runs.
The Eagles finished the day’s scoring with three runs in the last of the fourth. Mike Horning’s foul ball to deep right field was caught, with Erik Stump scoring from third on the play. A.J. Ruschau’s ground ball scored Colin Moran and Matt Logan came home on a throwing error.
A two-out single by Garrett Gronowski drove Midview starting pitcher Cody Gunselman from the mound. Nick Clark came on to retire the last batter of the inning and followed that with three innings of scoreless relief.
Ryan O’Rourke was equally impressive in relief for the Eagles, allowing two hits and striking out four over the final 31/3 innings.     

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