Shoremen build 16-3 lead, stave off Green Terror comeback
WESTMINSTER, Md. – Joe Willis went
4-for-6 with four RBIs and two runs scored to lead Washington to a
16-11 victory over McDaniel in Centennial Conference (CC) baseball
action on Tuesday.
Three other players rapped out three hits apiece for the
Shoremen (11-7, 6-3 CC), who pounded out 23 hits, including four
extra-base knocks, in an affair that saw 38 combined hits and 27
combined runners left on base.
Brandon Kline (Myersville, Md./Middletown) and
Patrick Christopher (Union Beach, N.J./St. John
Vianney) had three hits apiece for the Green Terror (5-12,
1-8 CC), who has now allowed 95 runs in its first nine conference
games but rallied to plate eight runs in the final three inning
after falling behind 16-3 in the top of the seventh.
Knotted at 2-all after three innings, John
Rolewicz blooped a two-out single into center field before
Matt Boucher cleared the right-field wall to give
Washington the lead for good at 4-2.
A pair of singles and Ryan Mulhern hit by pitch
loaded the bases through three batters in the fifth before
Joe Willis shot a two-run single into right field
for a 6-2 lead.
After a strikeout, Sean Connole dropped a
single into left to chase Green Terror starter Mike Freeman
(Lititz, Pa./Warwick) after 4 1/3 innings and two
strikeouts.
An error and bases-loaded walk stretched the lead to 8-2 before
a sacrifice fly capped the five-run inning.
With one out in the home fifth, Kline singled to right before
Andrew Worm (Easton, Md./Easton) sent a bounding
ball to third. The Shoremen attempted to turn the double play but
both runner beat out the respective throws to put runners at first
and second.
On a bounced pitch, Worm took off for second and Washington got
the base runner in a run down long enough before safely returning
to first, allowing Kline to not only get to third but steal home
and slide in under the tag to make it a 9-3 game.
The Shoremen responded with Kyle Aldrich and
Willis singles to push the lead back to seven in the sixth before a
six-run seventh keyed by a Ryan Mulhearn two-run
triple to greet reliever Gio Fricchione (New Tripoli,
Pa./Northwestern).
Fricchione settled in after that, retiring six of the next eight
hitters he faced.
Meanwhile, the offense went to work attempting a comeback.
Chris Zimmerman's (Princetown,
N.J./Montgomery) pinch-hit single up the middle off
reliever Eric Buono in the bottom of the seventh
started the rally.
Christopher followed with a single before Russell Coover
(Schuylkill Haven, Pa./Blue Mountain) was hit by a 1-0
pitch to load the bases.
Ricky LaSota (Burtonsville, Md./Paint Branch)
drew a walk to force in Zimmerman before Kyle Pruitt
(Berlin, Md./Stephen Decatur) also worked a one-out walk
to force home Christopher and chase Buono.
Steve Cameron struck out the next two batters
leave the bases loaded.
A Kline walk, Zimmerman double and Coover triple trimmed the
deficit to 16-7 in the eighth before two walks and a hit batter
reloaded the bases and made it a 16-8 game.
Two more strikeouts from Cameron once again left three Green
Terror runners on base.
A Kline infield single, fielder's choice and back-to-back
singles from Christopher and Coover made it a 16-9 game with one
out in the ninth.
LaSota's sacrifice fly drew the hosts within 16-10 before
Pruitt doubled home Coover to pull McDaniel within five with two
outs.
Chris Keiper needed just one pitch to induce a
fly ball to the warning track in right that ended the game.
Shane Mattingly fanned three and allowed nine
hits over the first six innings for the win.
McDaniel concludes the home-and-home series at Washington (Md.)
on Friday. Game time is 3:30 p.m.
Score by
Inning
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
-
R
H
E
Washington (Md.) (11-7, 6-3
CC)
1
1
0
2
5
1
6
0
0
-
16
22
1
McDaniel (5-12, 1-8
CC)
2
0
0
0
1
0
2
3
3
-
11
16 2
Shane Mattingly, Eric Buono (7), Steve Cameron (7), Kevin Lynch
(9), Chris Keiper (9) and John Rolewicz, John Lambert (7); Mike
Freeman, Joe Drzonsc (5), Gio Fricchione (7), Christian Wingate (9)
and Ray Hart, Greg Povlow (8). WP: Mattingly (3-1). LP: Freeman
(0-2). S: none. SO-BB: Mattingly 3-1, Buono 0-2, Cameron 4-3, Lynch
0-1, Keiper 0-0; Freeman 2-3, Drzonsc 2-3, Fricchione 1-0, Wingate
1-0. 2B: Ryan Normoyle (W), Ben Jardot (W), Brandon Kline (M),
Andrew Worm (M), Chris Zimmerman (M), Kyle Pruitt (M), Ray Hart
(M). 3B: Ryan Mulhearn (W), Russell Coover (M). HR: Matt Boucher
(W).
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