Tyrone manager Tom Coleman and assistant Bill Vigne are a couple of old pitchers, which explains why they believe so strongly in the importance of starting pitching in high school baseball.
But the numbers on the Eagles are clear: when Tyrone hits and scores runs, they win. When the bats are on the shelf, Tyrone’s record is abhorrent – 1-6 in games when failing to score at least 10 runs heading into yesterday’s MAC contest against Penns Valley.
So why, then, did the Eagles look so comfortable late in a tight game with enormous playoff implications?
Maybe it was because the unflappable Tyler Golden was on the mound with his best stuff of the season. Maybe it was because portions of Tyrone’s lineup that for weeks had laid dormant were coming finally coming through with clutch hits.
Probably, it was a little of both.
Tyrone (8-6, 4-2 MAC Division III) rallied from a four-run deficit to go ahead in the fifth, and then stranded three Valley runners at second base over the final three innings to defeat the Rams 5-4 at the Harry K. Sickler Sports Complex.
It was Tyrone’s third victory in three days and fourth in its last five games, and it avenged a 10-run loss to Penns Valley at Spring Mills in April.
“It’s nice to rebound back,” said Coleman. “Down there, they really put it to us. Winning three-in-a-row can really help our confidence.”
In his strongest outing of the season, Golden improved to 4-1 with his fourth complete game. He allowed only two earned runs on eight hits and fanned a career-high nine batters. He struck out four over the fifth, sixth and seventh, each time stranding a Ram runner in scoring position.
“Tyler got into some jams but he was able to get himself out of it,” said Coleman. “He got some big outs and really kept us in the game. He’s a competitor, and he’s the kind of pitcher who gets stronger as the game goes on. You don’t jump to the bullpen when he’s on the mound.”
Golden’s tightest spot came in the top of the fifth, after Tyrone had scored three in the bottom of the fourth to cut Valley’s lead to 4-3. With runners on first and second and Cory Niederer, who went 3-for-3 with two runs, waiting on deck, Golden fanned Taylor Wingard for the third time to end the threat.
That allowed the Eagles to plate the game-winning run in the bottom of the frame, with the help of some timely hitting from the bottom of Tyrone’s order. Tyler Gillmen started the inning with a single to right, and one out later he scored to tie it at 4-4 on a double down the third base line by Buddy Stotler. Stotler would come around to score the go-ahead run one batter later when designated hitter Donnie Hunter, batting in the seven spot, doubled to the gap in right center.
“Buddy’s starting to see the ball well again and he’s driving it, and Donnie is a good contact hitter,” Coleman said. “We thought we might be able to move some runners with our lineup like that.”
The Rams (7-6) took a 2-0 lead in the third, when the Eagles committed three fielding errors. Niederer started things off with a single and moved to third after third baseman Matt Brooks threw wildly to first on a sacrifice attempt by Steve Alterio. Niederer scored on a sacrifice by Mike Brubaker, and Alterio scored on a throwing error by Jamie Levinson.
A two-run single by Brubaker in the fourth made it 4-0.
Tyrone got three back in the bottom of the fourth, thanks again to the bottom of its order. After Stotler was hit by a pitch and Hunter walked, Brooks, hitting from the eight-hole, singled to load the bases. Nine-hitter Josh Clark then drove in Stotler when he served a 1-2 pitch into right field. Brinton Mingle followed with a two-run single up the middle to cut Valley’s lead to 4-3.
“Towards the bottom of the order, we were able to get some things going,” Coleman said. “That got us some runs and put us back in the game. I expected us to hit a little better today, but we battled back and got the win.”
GAME NOTES: Tyrone travels to Mount Union for a game against the Trojans Friday … the game ended a stretch for the Eagles in which they played five games in six days … in a scoring correction, Golden was not awarded the victory for yesterday’s game against Bishop Guilfoyle. Golden had started the game and pitched two innings when it was suspended on April 3. Instead, the victory went to Josh Clark, who pitched all three innings of yesterday’s 16-3 win.
TYRONE 5 PENNS VALLEY 4
PENNS VALLEY – S. Alterio, cf, 2-2-1; Brubaker, rf, 3-0-1; Jo. Kieffer, c, 4-0-0; Frankenberger, 1b, 2-0-1; D. Alterio, 3b-p, 3-0-1; Davis, pr, 0-0-0; Ja. Kieffer, lf-3b, 4-0-1; Homan, ss, 0-0-0; Bogus, dh, 3-0-0; Wingard, p-lf, 3-0-0; Weaver, ph, 1-0-0; Niederer, 2b, 3-2-3. TOTALS: 28-4-8.
TYRONE – Mingle, rf, 4-0-1; Golden, p, 4-0-1; Levinson, ss, 2-0-0; Gillmen, 2b, 4-1-1; Schopp, cf, 3-0-0; Stotler, 1b, 2-2-1; Hunter, dh, 1-1-1; Anders, c, 0-0-0; Brooks, 3b, 1-1-1; Clark, lf, 2-0-1. TOTALS: 23-5-7.
PENNS VALLEY 002 200 0 – 4-8-0
TYRONE 000 320 X – 5-7-3
2B: S. Alterio, Stotler, Hunter
RBI: Brubaker 3, Jo. Kieffer, Mingle 2, Clark, Stotler, Hunter
SB: Mingle, Brubaker
E: Levinson 1, Anders 1, Brooks 1
SO: Golden 9, D. Alterio 5, Wingard 1
BB: Golden 4, Wingard 4, D. Alterio 2
WP: Golden LP: D. Alterio
