Prime Pub keeps it all in the family with win over Horse and Hound

On Wednesday, June 24, Prime Pub and Horse and Hound squared off in a rematch of last summer's championship game.

"We're the defending champs," said James "Shamus" O'Connor of Prime Pub.

But Horse and Hound jumped out to an early lead and held a six-run advantage late in the game. Then the champs got to work.

"They know their place," Alex Barbosa joked lightheartedly, and a 15-13 Prime Pub victory backed up the playful boast.

Horse and Hound got off to a fast start, drawing a pair of walks to begin the opening rally. The last laugh of the inning belonged to RBI singles by Brandan Scott and Brian Powers.

Trailing 2-0, Prime Pub answered right back. Kevin Heis' hard one-hopper wasn't handled at second, and Brian Jones and Jim O'Connor followed with singles up the middle.

With the lead cut in half, Troy Torres had no problem when the next pitch arrived in his wheelhouse.

"On the inside," he said, "it's where I draw most of my power."

Torres tied the game with a single to left, and Prime Pub wasn't ready for last call in the inning. Jim Ciliberti drove a double deep to left to score two more runs, and Bobby Jones' groundout to short extended the lead to 6-2.

The onslaught left Jake Kern undeterred. The John Jay graduate launched a triple into the left-center field gap and came home on Nick DeFalco's double. That was all Horse and Hound would get, though, thanks to Prime Pub's pitcher. On a shot back to the mound by Jay Jazwinski, Ciliberti got his glove up and ended the threat.

Prime Pub couldn't build on that momentum in the bottom of the second, going down in order. Horse and Hound responded with another rally. After Matt Corteen lined a double past third base, Juan Reyes, Scott, Powers, Kern and DeFalco strung together singles to take a 9-6 lead.

With no response from the home team, the visitors continued to push their advantage. Corteen doubled home another run, Reyes singled up the middle to make it a four-run lead, and Scott and Kern added singles to stretch the margin to 12-6.

Nonetheless, James O'Connor made the most of the low point in the game—and his spot in the lineup.

"I'm working my way up from the bottom of the order," he said after leading off with a ground-ball single through the middle.

Heis followed with a single to right, and after Reyes walked with one out, Torres showcased what he considers his greatest strength.

"You've got to be able to hit it where they're not," he said, and his line-drive single up the middle did exactly that.

Austin Barbosa's sacrifice fly pulled Prime Pub within three, and even more was on the way in the bottom of the fifth. Five straight walks certainly simplified matters, trimming the deficit to one run.

Jones finally put the bat on the ball with a groundout to short that tied the game, and Jim O'Connor's single gave Prime Pub the lead for good. Another groundout brought home an insurance run, and Austin Barbosa capped the scoring with an infield single as Prime Pub completed its 15-13 comeback victory.