Tyrone couldn’t have asked for a better start than the one they got yesterday against Bishop Guilfoyle at Vet’s Field.
And they couldn’t have imagined a more disheartening ending.
The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 4-0 lead after their first at-bat, but went scoreless for the next five innings before manufacturing a tying run in the top of the seventh. But the wheels fell off immediately when Tyrone took the field in the bottom of the frame as the Marauders scored an unearned run on an Andy Williams single against a drawn-in infield with the bases loaded to send BG to a 6-5 MAC Division III victory.
It was the Marauders’ second win over Tyrone in a week, and it underscored just how out-of-sync the Eagles have looked at times this season. In its first at-bat, Tyrone smacked four hits against BG starter Brent Miliron, one a double off the bat of Johnny Shaffer and another a triple by Justin Schopp.
But the Eagles would get only three more hits the rest of the way, while imploding defensively behind starter Tyler Golden, who pitched four innings and surrendered five runs, though only two were earned. Tyrone committed five errors, giving the Eagles nine in the last three game – a gaudy number that looks even worse when you consider they went without a fielding error yesterday in a win over Juniata Valley.
The final one came in the seventh when Andy Lytle hit a hard shot to third to lead off the inning with the score 5-5. The ball took a long, sharp hop to Golden, who had moved to third base, but it went off the tip of the normally sure-handed utility player’s glove and into left field.
After Mike Romano uncorked a wild pitch, Bill Beard laid down a sacrifice to advance Lytle to third. Two walks later, with the bases loaded, Anthony Williams knocked a seeing-eye single past short, plating Lytle with the game-winning run.
Williams also earned the pitching victory after spelling Miliron in the seventh, giving him to wins over Tyrone this season. He faced only one batter, but the result was a strikeout of Romano with the bases loaded.
Earlier, against Miliron, Schopp had singled with two outs to score Shaffer and tie the game.
Tyrone led thanks to a 4-spot in its first at-bat, a trip through the first eight batters in the order that included Shaffer’s RBI double to deep center and Schopp’s triple to the wall in right that brought home Shaffer. Schopp also stole home on a double steal with Aaron Cunningham from first.
But the Eagles never looked as comfortable at the plate again, although they advanced five runners into scoring position over the next five innings.
BG, meanwhile, settled in after the early fireworks, starting in the third with an RBI single to center by DH Ron Shrift, to cut Tyrone’s lead to 4-1.
In the fourth, the Marauders went on top 5-4 despite managing only two hits in the inning. AJ Kitt got things rolling with a one-out double to center, but Golden got Max Sheedy to pop out to short one batter later. After Williams drew a walk, Nic Perehenic singled to bring home Kitt and make it 4-2. Williams later scored on a passed ball.
Shrift followed and grounded a roller to second, but Doug Rudy’s throwing error plated Perehenic to tie the game. Miliron then sent right fielder Donnie Hunter just in front of the warning track with a towering fly ball that bounced out of Hunter’s mitt to bring home Shrift and give BG the lead.
Tyrone had chances to get some of the runs back, stranding Shaffer and Cunningham on third in the fifth and sixth, respectively.
GAME NOTES: Brock Anders reached base in all five of his at-bats despite never registering a hit. He walked three straight times before being hit by a pitch in the seventh … in two games against Tyrone this season, Perehenic is 4-for-7 with two runs, 4 RBI, a home run and a double … the Eagles travel to Glendale today for the third of five road games in five days.
BISHOP GUILFOYLE 6 TYRONE 5
TYRONE – Rudy, 2b, 4-0-0; Levinson, ss, 4-1-1; Shaffer, 1b, 2-2-2; Gillmen, lf, 4-0-0; Golden, p-3b, 4-1-2; Schopp, cf, 3-1-2; Anders, c, 0-0-0; Cunningham, cr, 0-0-0; Brooks, 3b, 1-0-0; Romano, p, 1-0-0; Hunter, rf, 3-0-0. TOTALS: 26-5-7.
BISHOP GUILFOYLE – Sheedy, 2b, 3-1-0; Williams, 3b-p, 3-1-1; Perehenic, c, 3-1-1; Shrift, dh, 4-1-2; Tommassetti, lf, 0-0-0; Miliron, p-1b, 4-0-0; Kuny, cr, 0-0-0; Sommer, ss, 3-0-1; Lytle, 1b-3b, 4-1-0; Beard, rf, 2-0-0; Kitt, cf, 3-1-1. TOTALS: 29-6-6.
TYRONE 400 000 1 – 5-7-5
BISHOP GUILFOYLE 001 400 1 – 6-6-1
2B: Shrift, Sommer, Kitt, Shaffer
3B: Schopp
RBI: Shaffer, Golden, Schopp 2, Williams, Perehenic, Shrift
K: Golden 2, Miliron 5, Williams 1
BB: Golden 4, Romano 2, Miliron 5
WP: Williams LP: Romano
