2006 O-TIGERS

By Rob Centorani

Staff Writer

TROY — No matter how former Oneonta State pitcher Chris Salamida’s baseball career turns out, it’s a good bet he’ll remember his first professional start.

Not for the outcome — Salamida suffered the loss in the Oneonta Tigers’ 4-3 New York-Penn League victory over the Tri-City ValleyCats — but for a series of odd coincidences that brought him back to Joseph L. Bruno Stadium on Thursday night.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]"That was a little weird, actually," Salamida said. "Getting drafted here locally and playing Oneonta in (my) first game, that was a little ironic."

For lefty Salamida, 22, to debut against a team based in the city where he just finished his college playing days, the following had to occur:

• He needed to be drafted — by the Houston Astros — following his junior season at Oneonta State.

• Then he needed the Astros to assign him to their short-season Single-A team in Troy.

• Then he needed the NY-Penn schedule to work out, with the first three Tri-City games against the O-Tigers.

The Daily Star Weekly Photo GalleriesView and purchase local sports photos from The Daily Star

Salamida held the O-Tigers hitless Thursday until former Connie Mack League teammate Casper Wells fought off an inside fastball and lifted it into left for a single. Wells produced the game’s first run in the second inning.

"It was nice," said Wells, who played with Salamida on the South Troy Dodgers three years ago. The Dodgers played some of their games at Bruno Stadium. "It’s nice to have the upper hand, for now anyway. I’ll probably face him down the road again because we play Tri-City a lot."

On giving up the hit to Schenectady High graduate Wells, Salamida said: "I wasn’t upset. It’s a Section Two kid. You have to give it up for a Section Two kid."

All of this unfolded Thursday for Salamida, who graduated from Watervliet — about a 10-minute drive from Bruno Stadium, where he pitched as a college freshman for Hudson Valley Community College.

Following an 8-2 season at O-State this spring, Salamida was picked in the 13th round of the First-Year Player Draft by the Astros.

Before a standing room crowd of 5,127 — the seventh-largest in the five-year history of the ValleyCats — Salamida pitched three innings. He allowed two runs — none earned — on two hits, striking out two and walking two in a 44-pitch outing.

Salamida walked O-Tigers leadoff hitter Deik Scram on four pitches, missing away on all four to the left-hander. But then a snap pickoff throw caught Scram for the first out.

"(The pickoff) did settle me down, but I was still nervous," said Salamida, who estimated the largest crowd he played in front of before Thursday was about 200. "I ain’t gonna lie — I was definitely nervous."

The O-Tigers (2-1) scored two unearned runs off Salamida in the second inning. Brandon Timm led off by hitting a grounder into the hole at short. Tri-City’s Jhon Florentino backhanded the ball, but his high throw pulled first baseman Jimmy VanOstrand off the bag for an error.

After Timm stole second, Ronnie Bourquin walked. Salamida then induced Scott Sizemore into a 4-6-3 double play as Timm moved to third. Wells followed with his RBI single to left to make it 1-0.

"He looked good," Wells said of Salamida. "He looked really poised on the mound. He really surprised me."

After Wells went to second on a passed ball, Santo DeLeon hit a liner to short that caromed off a leaping Florentino’s glove and into shallow left-center, allowing Wells to score.

Salamida, who gives the fans behind home plate a complete view of the No. 10 on the back of his jersey before turning toward home, retired the O-Tigers in order in the third inning on eight pitches. He started locating his offspeed pitches in the third inning, including a slider to Scram for strike three.

"It was his third inning of work and he was getting more comfortable inning by inning," Tri-City manager Gregg Langbehn said. "He probably doesn’t give up any runs if we don’t make an error.

"I think he was so excited to be out there (the first two innings)," he continued. "I’m looking forward to his next outing."

Salamida’s next scheduld start is Tuesday at Lowell.

"I’m glad I got this out of the way," he said. "The next time out, I won’t be as nervous and I can just concentrate on pitching."

The O-Tigers also scored a run in the fifth. Sizemore led off with a single and eventually scored from third on a grounder by James Skelton.

Timm tripled in the sixth inning on a ball Tri-City center fielder Nick Moresi appeared to lose in the lights. Timm’s drive reached the warning track, but Moresi never moved.

Timm moved to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-1.

The ValleyCats (1-2) rallied with runs in the sixth and eighth innings. Tri-City had runners on first and second with one out in the ninth before Phillip Napolitan struck out Moresi and VanOstrand to end it.

O-Tigers starter Jeff Gerbe threw four shutout innings, allowing two hits. Jose Fragoso got the victory, despite allowing two runs in three innings. Fragoso struck out six and walked two.