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beaten the Hornets in early April.
    â€œIt’s nice to get some payback on those teams—show them who’s boss,” said hot-hitting Spencer Lewis. Spencer, the shortstop and cleanup hitter, had a solo home run against Palisades and a two-run double in the win over Memorial.
    Spencer made the defensive play of the year against Memorial, nabbing a line drive and turning a double play to kill a potential game-tying hit.
    Catcher Jared Owen also homered against Palisades. The durable Owen has been behind the plate for every pitch this season.
    â€œWe don’t even know who the second-string catcher is,” said Spencer.
    Apparently third baseman/pitcher Miguel Rivera would be the emergency catcher, according to Coach Wimmer. “I think he caught a few games in Little League,” Coach said. “Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that Jared doesn’t get hurt. I don’t think Miguel could pitch and catch in the same game. He’d have to be mighty quick!”
    HORNET HAMMERINGS: First baseman Eddie “The Mouth” Ventura actually spoke recently. Coach Wimmer asked him how he was feeling, and Eddie said, “Fine.” It was his longest conversation of the season…. Center fielder Willie Shaw sat in gum after striking out in the second inning against Palisades. Ryan Grimes denied that the gum was his, but he is the only one on the team who likes grape-flavored chewing gum…. Second baseman Lamont Wilkins was caught listening to 1970s disco music on his headset on the ride home from Memorial…. Overlooked left-handed reliever Jimmy Fleming plucked the splinters from his butt and pitched key innings in both wins last week.
    â€œThat wasn’t disco!” Lamont said in the locker room on Wednesday afternoon, pretending to be angry. “It was my mom’s CD…. I don’t know how it got in there.”
    â€œAnd that wasn’t grape gum!” said Ryan. “It was raspberry…. Not that it was mine anyway.”
    Eddie held back a smile. He could really throw them off now. He stood up from the bench and said, “And I gave a two -word reply to Coach! I didn’t say, ‘Fine.’ I said, ‘ I’m fine.’ Isn’t that true, Coach?”
    â€œWhatever you say, Eddie.”
    â€œSee?”
    A balled-up sock came flying across the room and just missed Eddie’s head.
    â€œThere’s one of my record-setting socks,” Spencer said. “At least I got some good press for once, though. I’ll have to tell Calvin to thank his ‘source’ for me.” He looked right at Eddie when he said it, a knowing smile starting to form.
    â€œOkay, hot shots,” Coach said. “Get the uniforms on and start thinking about the baseball game. The bus to Jersey City leaves in five minutes.”
    Â 
    Eddie was glad to see that Liberty had a different pitcher today. That short guy with the big curve was out in left field. Today’s pitcher was tall and lean, with squinty eyes and a constant frown.
    He was strong, too. Working quickly, with little hesitation, he struck out Lamont on three pitches to start the game. The entire at-bat lasted less than a minute.
    Lamont was shaking his head as he walked past Eddie, who was kneeling in the on-deck circle.
    â€œHe’s got good stuff,” Lamont said.
    Jared quickly fell behind, too. He managed to foul the third pitch back over the fence and out of play. But pitch number four caught him looking. He was out.
    Big task for Ventura, but he’s up for it. If anybody can figure out this pitcher, it’s him.
    â€œHang in there,” Jared said as he walked by. “There’s a lot of zip on that ball.”
    The Liberty infield was making a lot of noise. They were up for a rout today; that loss to Hudson City two weeks before was not forgotten.
    Eddie stepped to the plate and took an easy swing, his eyes never leaving the pitcher. He felt strangely