Midget Sox 2-0 in Michigan Sault tourney

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI – The 2007 Paul C. Andary Memorial Tournament is underway and the Soo Black Sox are 2-0 after one day of action.

Quality pitching and solid defense led the Black Sox to a 4-0 victory over Petoskey in their opening game and a 12-0 win over Marquette in their second game later in the day. Jake Yukich got the complete game victory against Petoskey while young Christopher Buonomo got the win over Marquette.

"Both games were played pretty well," said Black Sox coach Ryan Johns. "In the first game we left a few guys stranded that we should have cashed in. In the first game we had the bases loaded with one out and we didn't cash anybody in. In the second game we had a lot of opportunities with the bases loaded or runners in scoring position and our hitters were able to score them."

In the first game, Kyle Sayers knocked in three runs, including a pair on a double off the wall in the third inning. Tyler Wilson also knocked in a run for the Black Sox. A seven-run third inning led to the Black Sox second win.

Both Yukich and Buonomo gave the Black Sox solid pitching when needed.

"I was a little nervous because the game I started before I walked a lot of guys," said Buonomo. "I didn't want to walk anybody today and I did that. It was really good. I didn't really throw that many off-speed pitches. It was just a lot of fastballs and hitting my spots.

"I got ahead of batters and threw lots of strikes," said Yukich. "The defense was great. It helps your confidence when you've got eight great players behind you."

With the opening day behind them, the Black Sox now face Sanford at 9 a.m. and Alpena at 3 p.m. on Sunday. If they continue their solid play, they can lock up a berth in one of two semi-finals games set for Sunday morning.

The Black Sox will face an Alpena team that they split a pair of games with on Wednesday night in Great Lakes Baseball League action. Alpena won the first game in extra innings before coming out victorious in game two.