Extra Effort
Meridian proved to be resilient. Center Township never flinched.
Top-seeded Meridian erased a 4-0 deficit to force extra innings, but Max Bachman belted a two-out RBI double in the top of the eighth and lifted fourth-seeded Center Township to the Butler County American Legion winner's bracket final with a 5-4 victory Thursday night at Pullman Park.
The Meridian rally didn't shake the confidence of Center Township.
“The guys didn't get down,” said CT manager Doug Culbertson. “I told them, 'This is what we've played for all year. We're here. Now is the time to do it.' They stuck together and pulled through.”
Meridian will look to stay alive in the double-elimination tournament on Saturday in an elimination game against either No. 5 Saxonburg or No. 6 Slippery Rock. Center Township moves on to play No. 3 Butler City.
Center Township steadily built a 4-0 cushion heading into the bottom of the fifth, before Meridian chipped away.
CT tallied an unearned run in the second as Dom DeAngelo scored from first after a deep fly from Bachman was dropped in right field with two outs.
DeAngelo later led off the fourth with a triple — a sinking line drive just under the diving center fielder's glove — and Matt Rudzki followed with an RBI double down the first-base line to make it 2-0.
Boo Lokhaiser hit a sacrifice fly to right scoring Chris Fiorina in the top of the fifth and Kyle Campbell added an RBI single to supply a 4-0 advantage.
Kolby Kriess held down Meridian early with five-plus innings of strong pitching. He struck out seven — including a span of five in a row — and was charged with two earned runs on four hits.
“We didn't hit the ball for the first four innings,” said Meridian manager Butch Master. “Kolby did a great job keeping us off balance.”
“He pitched great,” said Culbertson. “He threw strikes. He kept them off balance. I couldn't have asked anything more from him.”
Meridian began its comeback with two runs in the fifth inning, but Bachman made a running, reaching snag on a deep fly ball off the bat of Robert Stamm just short of the warning track prevent further damage.
Adam Schaffner sparked a sixth-inning rally for Meridian with a leadoff single, which ended Kriess' night on the mound. An infield single from Tucker Van Dyke was followed by an RBI base knock from Travis Edinger to make it 4-3 with runners on second and third with no outs. CT elected to intentionally walk Spangler, bringing Jake Koerner to the plate with the bases juiced.The threat was thwarted by an unusual unassisted double play by Campbell, the catcher.“The ball bounced in the opposite batter's box and then it kicked fair. It was a fair ball and the catcher made a great play,” explained Master. “He tagged the guy and the runner at third didn't see him tag him, so he thought he was dead meat coming home.“Bases loaded, nobody out and something like that happens — it's tough one.”After a walk to Knauer reloaded the bases, Patrick Byrd struck out Jake Campbell after the home-plate umpire declared he went around on a check swing.Despite a missed opportunity, Meridian continued to plug away in the seventh.Stamm flared a one-out single into right field, Schaffner drew a walk and Van Dyke was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Jesse Savisky lifted a sacrifice fly to left scoring Stamm to tie the game, but Byrd induced a grounder to send it into extras.Campbell walked to lead off the eighth and went to second on an Evan Barber bunt, before Bachman brought him home with the game-winning double.“I've got a lot of young kids on this team and it didn't show,” said Culbertson. “They played like vets.”Meridian made one more push in the eighth, but runners were stranded at first and third when Stamm grounded out to shortstop Doug DeFrancis.“They've been battling all year and we've won a couple of games in the later innings,” said Master. “Hate to do that, but that's the way it is tonight.”Stamm shouldered the loss on the mound after relieving Schaffner, who pitched four-plus innings and gave up three runs — two earned — on seven hits and struck out six. Stamm also went four innings, allowed two earned runs and fanned five.“Overall, the boys played well,” said Master. “Robert has been steady all summer. Can't say enough about him.”Byrd picked up the win after allowing two runs on three hits over three innings.“This is when they needed to turn it on. They needed it to pull it all together and they've pulled it together,” said Culbertson. “We've won the first two games of the playoffs because they're playing solid defense and hitting the baseball.”Center Township 010 120 01 — 5 10 2Meridian 000 021 10 — 4 8 2W: Patrick Byrd 3IP (2K, 4BB). L: Robert Stamm 4IP (5K, 1BB).Center Township: Ryan Vero 2-1B, SB; Boo Lokhaiser RBI; Kolby Kriess R, SB; Kyle Campbell 1B, BB, R, RBI; Dom DeAngelo 3B, 1B, 2-R; Matt Rudzki 2B, 1B, RBI, SB; Max Bachman 2B, RBI; Chris Fiorina 2-1B, RMeridian: Jake Campbell BB; Matt Dowdy 2-1B, RBI; Robert Stamm 2-1B, R; Adam Schaffner 1B, BB, R; Tucker Van Dyke 1B, HBP; Travis Edinger 2-1B, RBI; Jesse Savisky RBI; Drew Spangler 2-BB, R; Adam Knauer 2-BB, RSaturday: Center Township at Butler City; Saxonburg or Slippery Rock at Meridian
