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