Wild weekend (08/01/05)

There was nothing conventional about this weekend’s American Amateur Baseball Congress state tournament.

The first game Saturday ended on a walk-off home run. The second went 13 innings before finding a victor. And there was another extra-inning affair in Sunday’s opener.

And that was just the action on the field.

The Crawfordsville Eagles, ranked fifth in the state, defeated the No. 2 Portland Rockets 9-0 in Sunday’s second contest. That result should have set up a championship showdown between Crawfordsville and the top-ranked South Bend Senators.

But, already guaranteed a top-two finish and a spot in the regional, South Bend had chosen to go home.

The Eagles effectively won the tournament by forfeit.

But, they chose not to continue on to the regional tournament, leaving the second qualifying spot to the Rockets.

As crazy as their qualifying paths may have been, both South Bend and Portland will play in regional action in Cincinnati Thursday at 5:30 p.m. (4:30 Ind. time).

Rockets win in 13

Although there were many highlights, game two Saturday was undoubtedly the best of the weekend as the host Portland Rockets topped the Lebanon Merchants 4-3 in 13 innings.

Up 1-0 after the first inning, Portland fell behind 3-1 thanks to a 2-run fifth inning for Lebanon and a solo home run in the sixth from second baseman Cole Williams.

But Rocket starter Jimmy Linder found his groove after the homer and the offense kept the game alive.

Down to the final at bat, pinch hitter Brandon Cooley gave Portland life with a leadoff double in the seventh inning. Pete Milas followed with a single to center field, putting the tying run on base.

After a Phil Bruns strikeout, Kyle Dygert singled to center to bring home pinch runner Matt Steinke. Milas scored the tying run on a Luke Jones ground out, thus sending the contest into its long stretch of extra innings.

Linder and Lebanon pitchers Ben Norton and Josh Vollmer dueled, allowing just one base runner in the eighth through 10th innings. Following the Williams home run, Linder sat down 14 straight batters as he notched one-two-three innings in the seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th.

Lebanon nearly took the game in the 11th as it loaded the bases with two outs. But, Jay County graduate Mitch Waters knocked down a ground ball and beat Chris Posiask to third base for the final out of the frame.

Finally Portland took the contest in the 13th with some help from the Lebanon defense.

Steinke singled to center field with two outs, then went all the way to third base when Milas reached on an error by first baseman Adam Metzler. Another Metzler error on a grounder by Bruns allowed Steinke to score the game-winning run.

Phil Ernst got the win in relief of Linder, who tossed the first 11 innings. He allowed just six hits and three runs over that span, while striking out nine and walking two.

The game is believed to be the longest in Rocket history.

Top teams split

Thanks to their long victory over Lebanon, the Rockets earned a date in Saturday’s nightcap against the top-ranked Senators.

South Bend showed why it owns the No. 1 spot in the state poll, shutting out the tired Portland team 4-0. Pitcher Sean Galiher had a no-hitter through three innings and allowed just three hits in all while striking out 12 batters.

The Senators did most of their damage in the second inning as each of their first three batters reached base and scored against South Adams graduate Matt Ousley.

But, Portland and South Bend met again in the first game Sunday with a different result. Needing the victory to stay alive, the Rockets won another extra-inning contest 3-2 over the Senators in nine innings.

The game was tied at two runs apiece until Kris Steffen and Lenny Koesters came up with hits in the ninth. Milas put down a perfect bunt to load the bases, and Dygert drew a walk to bring Steffen in with the winning run.

Jay County graduate Pete Byrum, who went 12 innings for a victory earlier this year, went the distance again for the victory.

Portland then fell to Crawfordsville in the tournament’s final game.

Cards go down hard

The Geneva Cardinals looked primed to earn a game against Portland as they led Crawfordsville 2-0 for almost all of Saturday’s first contest. But it was not meant to be as the Eagles won 3-2 on a walk-off home run.

They scored in the second inning when Travis Foster got the first of his two infield singles and Troy Hirschy followed with a walk. Matt Hollycross brought Foster home when he reached base on an error, and Ryan Bedwell scored Hirschy on an RBI single to right field.

The score stayed the same until the seventh inning when Crawfordsville, which was also shut out 6-0 Friday night against South Bend, found some offense.

Down to its final out and held scoreless for its first 132/3 tournament innings, Crawfordsville got a one-out single from Michael Beaven. Brandon Froedge flied out for the second out, but Jake Martin gave his team a chance with an RBI double to center field passed a diving Chris Anderson.

Ryan Sipe then broke Geneva’s heart, lining a home run over the fence in right field to end the game.[[In-content Ad]]