Tomahawks All-Star Game & AAABA Recaps

Good Evening,

Tonight's post combines two local events all bunched into one, the Tomahawks All-Star game and the AAABA tournament.

Tomahawks All-Star Game Recap, Team Red Def. Team Blue 6-3

Opening day is 48 days away, but a large crowd of Tomahawks fans made their way to Planet Ice in Richland Township for the Johnstown Tomahawks Main Tryout Camp All-Star Game Sunday Afternoon. Fans filled the stands and welcomed the future stars of this year's team onto the ice. The players were split into two teams, Red and Blue. They played three 30 minute periods with a running clock and a short intermission between periods.

The game was physical early on, and the first goal was scored by team red on the power-play at 16:01. Heinz Koster got credit for the goal with the assists to Eric Tien and J.B. Baker. Team Red extended their lead to 2-0 on an Evan Ketner goal, assisted by Joe Drabin and Shane Bernard at 22:45. The two teams exchanged chances early in the second period, but the goaltenders were solid, stopping everything in their paths. With less than seven minutes in the period, team blue got on the board on a Casey Linkenheld goal, assisted by Connor Gilmartin and Forest Donovan. Less than 30 seconds later, Ilya Ignatenko extended the team red lead to 3-1, with the assist provided by Griffin Leach. Early in the third period, the game saw its first fight when Jake Fairchild and Leach dropped the gloves just 1:07 into the period. At 6:25, Vincent Guimond made it a 4-1 game, with the assist going to Baker, his second of the game. Baker would add a goal of his own at 12:27 to give himself three points in the game. Gilmartin and Brandon Reinholz would drop the gloves at 25:09 of the third period, before back-to-back penalties were issued to Marc Guimond and Ketner. With four minutes to go in the game, Fairchild gave team blue their second goal of the game, with the assists going to Jacob Soyka and Tyler Basham. Within the last 90 seconds of the game, the teams exchanged goals with Connor Jonason scoring at 28:30 and Forest Donavan scoring 20 seconds later, to set the final at 6-3.

Overall, both teams played very well, putting it all on the line for today's game. It appeared to me that the coaches will have some tough decisions to make to get the final roster that will take the ice on September 14th when the Port Huron Fighting Falcons for the start of the 2013-14 season. After seeing what I saw today, it appears that this team will be fast, physical, and fun to watch this season.

Delweld Wins 2013 Johnstown AAABA League Title with 15-9 Win

Through the first 6 1/2 innings of Saturday night's game at Point Stadium, it appeared that Martella's Pharmacy was going to extend the best-of-five Johnstown AAABA League championship series to a fourth game. Delweld had other plans, scoring six runs in both the 7th and 8th innings to defeat Martella's 15-9 and sweep the series 3-0. The win gives them the league title and the honor of representing Johnstown in the AAABA National Tournament and playing in the night game each night. Martella's will also make the tournament, but will be known as Flood City and will play in the afternoon at the Point. Click here to see the Martella's GameChanger page from last night's game.

-The Flood City Sports Fan

Delweld Wins Game One, 6-5 in Ten Innings

     After both teams combined for 10 runs in the first five innings, Delweld and Martella's took the first game of the Johnstown AAABA League Championship series to extra innings. In the end, Delweld loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the tenth inning, and Ian Helsel hit the game winner which was bobbled by Jimmy Stenger, leading to a walk-off error, and a 6-5 victory for Delweld.

     Ben Legath and Luke Campbell each homered for Delweld, and Ian Helsel went 3-for-5 with two runs driven in. Tony Strasiser and Dillon Boyer each went 3-for-4 with Strasiser driving in three.

     Martella's opened up the scoring in the top of the first inning after Matt McMillen singled in Dillon Boyer for an early 1-0 lead. Delweld took their first lead of the game in the second, thanks to four runs including a Ben Legath home run over the screen in left field. The teams each knocked in a run in the third, before Martella's tied the game in the top of the fifth inning thanks to RBI from Jesse Cooper and Tony Strasiser. Both teams had their share of opportunities to score, but neither was able to put a run across, leading to extra innings. Delweld got out of the top of the 10th, only giving up a single to Tony Strasiser. In the bottom half of the 10th, Delweld's Ben Legath walked to lead off the inning. It appeared that Devin Pritts would sacrifice to put the winning run on second, but a throwing error by pitcher Andrew Keirn put runners on second and third with nobody out. After intentionally walking Eric Weyant to load the Bases, Helsel reached on an error to give Delweld the 6-5 win and a 1-0 series lead.

     Stone Rice picked up the win for Delweld, throwing two innings, giving up no runs and two hits. He relieved Marcus Shippey, who went eight innings, giving up five runs on eight hits, striking out four. Keirn took the loss, pitching 2.2 innings giving up the lone run in the tenth and two hits. Mike Mulvey started for Martella's, pitching 6.1 innings, giving up five runs and striking out five.

     The teams take the field at the Point again tomorrow night at 7pm for game two. If you can make it out to the Point, try to be there. You will probably see another exciting match-up.

-The Flood City Sports Fan

Johnstown AAABA Playoff Recap: Days 2 & 3

Good Afternoon,

     I didn't have a chance to post Sunday night about the games, so I am combining both nights into this one post.

Martella's Pharmacy 11-12, Berkley Hills Renegades 9-3
     After losing game one in the tenth inning, a game they led by two runs in the 9th inning, the Renegades looked like they were going to tie the series after taking an early 6-1 lead in game two. However, Martella's stormed back scoring nine runs in the fifth and sixth innings, en route to an 11-9 win and a 2-0 series lead. Derek Younker picked the win, despite giving up 17 hits and 8 earned runs. Ryan D'Andrea took the loss, giving up 7 runs (5 ER) in 4.1 innings. Anthony Fanelli, Tony Strasiser, and Jesse Cooper each had multiple RBI for Martella's, while Jake Pribanic and Dan Gray each had multiple RBI.
     In game three, Martella's jumped out to an early 7-1 lead and ended the series with a 12-3 win. Seven different Martella's players had an RBI in the game. Rick Jones led the way for the Renegades with 2 RBI, while John Jones went 4-for-5 in the game with an RBI. Nick Cubarney picked up the win, going seven innings, giving up three runs. Alain Girman took the loss, pitching 2.1 innings giving up 7 runs (5 ER). The Renegades end the 2013 season with a 22-15 record, while Martella's enters the championship series with a 25-12 record.

Delweld 7-12, Laurel Auto Group 4-7
     In game two, Laurel Auto Group and Delweld were tied after five innings, but Delweld scored two runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to pick up a 7-4 win. Laurel Auto Group Committed four errors leading to two unearned runs. Delweld pitcher Nate Plummer picked up the win, tossing eight innings. Matt Kochasic took the loss for Laurel Auto Group.
     In the final game of the series, Laurel Auto Group scored first but Delweld scored 12 runs in innings 4-8 to pick up a 12-7 victory and a series sweep. Delweld got multiple RBI from Eric Weyant, Ian Helsel, Matt Martin, and Luke Campbell. Campbell also provided a home run in the victory. Ben Webb and Ryan Bills each had two RBI for Laurel Auto Group and Zach Zimmerman had two stolen bases. Austin Sleek picked up the win for Delweld, while Chris Nolan, who pitched in relief, took the loss. Laurel Auto Group finishes the season with a 21-16 overall record, A significant improvement over their 13-21 record from last season. Delweld enters the championship round with a 28-9 overall record.

Finals Preview: Delweld vs. Martella's
     The finals for the Johnstown AAABA League playoffs are now set for Thursday, as Delweld and Martella's Pharmacy both swept their series Monday night. This guarantees that these two teams will represent Johnstown in the AAABA National Tournament. This will be a tough series, because both these teams want to be the #1 Johnstown team and play in front of the larger crowd in the evening games at the Point.
     In the regular season, Delweld won the season series taking four of the six meetings. The last of those meetings was supposed to be last Thursday, but Delweld forfeited the game. It is not totally clear why, but the fact that they were locked into their seed and that there was a chance that they may have ended up playing Martella's in the first round had they defeated them were probably factors. Taking away the forfeited game, Delweld won four of the five meetings. However with the stakes on the line, and the fact that three of the five meetings that were played were one run games, I feel like this series will go at least four or five games.

Season Series (Delweld wins 4-2)

Delweld 3, Martella's 2 6/5

Delweld 1, Martella's 0 6/6

Delweld 6, Martella's 5 6/7

Delweld 10, Martella's 2 7/8

Martella's 7, Delweld 4 7/9

Martella's 7, Delweld 0 (Delweld Forfeited This Game) 7/18

     According to the Martella's AAABA Website, the two teams will meet in the league championship round for the 7th time in the last 11 years. Martella's has also clinched their first trip to the tournament in the last 12 years and their fifth straight overall. Delweld missed the tournament last year, but prior to 2012, they had made five straight appearances. Below is the schedule for the series, and I encourage everyone to try and attend one or all of these games. These two teams are rich in tradition and are going to put on a heck of a show.

BEST-OF-FIVE FINALS

Thursday, July 25

Martella's Pharmacy vs. Delweld, 7:00 p.m. 

Friday, July 26

Delweld vs. Martella's Pharmacy, 7:00 p.m. 

Saturday, July 27 

Martella's Pharmacy vs. Delweld, 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, July 28

Delweld vs. Martella's Pharmacy, 7:00 p.m. (if necssary)

Monday, July 29 

Martella's Pharmacy vs. Delweld, 7:00 p.m. (if necessary)

-The Flood City Sports Fan

   

Johnstown AAABA Playoffs Recap: Day 1

After an exciting evening of baseball, I am able to sit down and post a review of the day. I will try to do one of these for each night of action as the top four teams battle for a spot in the AAABA National Tournament and bragging rights as the best team in the Johnstown AAABA League.

Delweld 6, Laurel Auto Group 3 (Delweld leads the Best-of-Five Series 1-0)

In the first game of the night, Delweld, the top team in the regular season, defeated Laurel Auto Group 6-3. Delweld pitcher Marcus Shippey threw a complete game, giving up three runs and six hits over nine innings and Luke Campbell drove in three runs. Laurel Auto Group held an early 2-0 lead, but Delweld battled back, scoring four runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 4-2 lead. Laurel Auto Group would get within two , but an insurance run by Delweld in the bottom of the 8th set the final score at 6-3. Zach Zimmerman, Joe Fearer, and Ryan Matsko provided the RBI for Laurel Auto Group, while Eric Weyant, Devin Pritts, and Campbell provided the runs for Delweld. Errors were costly to Laurel Auto Group in this game as four errors led to three unearned runs

One of the stranger strategies that I have ever seen was used in this game by Laurel Auto Group. Pitcher Ryan Bills would pitch to the entire lineup, except for OF Josh Staniscia. During his at-bats, left fielder Joe Fearer would come in and pitch, while Bills moved to third base and third baseman Mike Nowicki moved to left field. After Staniscia either reached base or recorded an out, Bills returned to the mound and completed the inning. This strategy worked the first time with Fearer getting a flyout on the first pitch, but he walked Staniscia during the next three at-bats.

Line Score      1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9      R  H  E

Laurel Auto      0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0      3   6   4

Delweld            0 0 0 0 4 1 0 1 X     6   9   0

Martella's Pharmacy 7, Berkley Hills Renegades, 10 Innings (Martella's leads the Best-of-Five Series 1-0

In the nightcap, Martella's Pharmacy scored two runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, before Jordan Giannini hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the tenth to lead them to a 7-6 win over the Berkley Hills Renegades. The game was a back and forth affair, with both teams exchanging leads throughout the game. The Renegades got on the board first on a Jake Haubrich home run over the brick wall in left-center field in the top of the third inning. Martella's made it 2-1 in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Anthony Fanelli and a Matt McMillen ground ball that led to an error by Rick Jones.

 It appeared that the Renegades would pick up the victory after Rick Jones homered to left-center in the sixth, but Martella's was able to come back and tie the game in the ninth thanks to RBI singles from Pat Gully and Jimmy Stenger. After a scoreless top of the tenth inning, Martella's lead-off hitter Dillin Boyrer singled and moved to second on a Jesse Cooper sacrifice bunt, before Jordan Giannini ended the game just after midnight with a single to right-center field. Andrew Keirn picked up the win after coming in relief of starter Mike Mulvey in the 7th. Rick Jones, who relieved Nate Spohn in the 8th inning took the loss. Spohn had an impressive outing going 7.2 innings, allowing 4 runs (2 Earned), 9 strikeouts, and two walks.

Line Score 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10     R   H   E

Renegades  0 0 1 3 0 2 0 0 0  0       6   13   4

Martella's    0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 2  1       7   14   1

Today's Schedule: Martella's vs. Renegades 5:30pm/Laurel Auto vs. Delweld, 8:00pm (Point Stadium)

-The Flood City Sports Fan