Solid start for Hersey downstate

Hersey didn’t find too many obstacles in Monday’s first game of its annual baseball road trip to central Illinois.

The pitching of Coastal Carolina-bound senior Joe Perricone was solid. So was the hitting as Mike Tsiolis homered and had a 2-run single.

And the defense was flawless as the Huskies opened the season with an 8-3 victory over host Williamsville.

Perricone had a no-hitter through four innings and went into the sixth on a 70-pitch limit. He had 3 strikeouts and his only 2 walks were in the sixth.

“Joe was very good,” said Hersey coach Bob Huber. “He had good control. He was throwing the ball very well.”

Tsiolis was part of a 10-hit attack where Sean Thompson went 2-for-4 with a double. Dan Gierman and Mike Danielak split time at first base and both went 2-for-2 and Perricone also had a hit.

Third baseman James Ioratti and second baseman Mike Schmadebeck turned a double play. Backup catcher Brian Tansor also made a nice block to keep runners at first and second late in the game as Williamsville was unable to cut further into its 5-run deficit.