Bellwood-Antis continued the improvement shown during the second half of the 2006 baseball season at Stadium Drive Field on Monday. The Blue Devils fell behind 3-0 before they even had a chance to bat and then 5-2 after Southern Huntingdon had two at-bats. But Bellwood-Antis jarred the Rockets, who returned nearly everybody from last year, but has had trouble putting it together this year, with a five run-second and added three more in the fifth to triumph 12-6.
Matt Baer, who the Blue Devils couldn’t get out all day, opened the game by ripping a double to the fence in left center. A walk and infield hit loaded the bases on starting pitcher Brian Dougherty, who with a little better help from his teammates on defense might have gotten out of the inning with just a run scored.
B-A dodged one bullet when Chad Coho threw out Baer at home on a fielder’s choice. An error and bases on balls scored a run each and a 3-0 advantage for Southern.
The Blue Devils got two of those tallies right back in the home half of the first. Nate Gray walked and Justin Manning beat out an infield hit. Both runners advance a base on an error on the Manning hit. Josh Kleinfelter, who has been volcanic-hot the last seven ballgames drilled a double to score both Gray and Manning.
The Rockets came back to take a 5-2 lead on Baer’s second double, a walk and singles by Troy Hoover and Chris Wertman. Dougherty kept Southern Huntingdon from any further damage in the second and turned the pitching chores over to B-A sophomore right-hander Justin Miller.
Bellwood-Antis sent 10 batters to the plate in the bottom of the second and scored five times to take a lead they never relinquished. Manning and Coho delivered two-run singles and Gray added an RBI single, after his foul pop was dropped by the Southern first baseman. Blaze Winterstein walked to open the frame and Brandon Beech singled to right. Miller laid down a perfect sacrifice to move both runners up to get to the top of the Blue Devils’ order with just one out. Gray knocked in Jake Manning courtesy running for Winterstein, Justin Manning singled to drive in Beech and Gray. Kleinfelter struck out, Earnie Kelley singled and L. J. Seidel struck out for what should have been the third out.. The third strike was down in the dirt and Seidel took off for first. Southern Huntingdon catcher Hoover mistakenly thinking the bases were loaded stepped on home plate for the force out. There was no force however and Seidel was able to get to first before a throw could be made. Now the bases were loaded. Coho lined a single up the middle to score Justin Manning and Kelley to provide the Blue Devils a 7-5 lead after two innings.
Miller was a bit wild, walking five batters and hitting two more to keep B-A coach Steve Conlon on his toes, but allowed no hits and just one run over five innings of work to pick up the victory. Miller walked the bases full with two outs in the top of the seventh, but then induced the Rockets’ Zach Crull to lie out to Gray at shortstop for the final out of the game.
The Bellwood-Antis offensive attack made it a little easier for coach Conlon, scoring twice in the third and three times in the fifth to give Miller a more comfortable cushion.
Beech walked to lead off the third and with two outs, Manning scored him with a double that was Justin’s third straight base hit. Manning went to third on an error and scored on a wild pitch.
In the fifth, Gray walked and Manning was hit by a pitch. Kleinfelter singled to get Gray home, and Kelley doubled to score Manning and Kleinfelter.
“Nate, Justin, Josh and Earnie, did the job with the bats in getting on base and Chad and L. J. did the job with runners on base. We had a decent day at the plate today and got some runs and Justin threw a hack of a game. He came in when he needed him and he closed the door and got us another win.”
Blue Devil Notes: The top four in the Bellwood-Antis line-up-Gray, Manning, Kleinfelter and Kelley went eight-for-12, with nine runs scored and nine RBI….this was Miller’s second long big relief effort. He tossed the final six innings of the first Penns Valley game allowing no runs and just one hit hit….Southern Huntingdon coach Josh Burkett was a teammate of B-A coach Conlon, when both were at Shippensburg University….Bellwood-Antis hosts Mount Union at Stadium Drive Field on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
Bellwood-Antis 12 Southern Huntingdon 6
Southern Huntingdon – Baer, ss, 2-2-2; Everhart, cf, 3-1-0; Walter, rf, 0-0-0; Yohn, 1b, 3-2-1; Hoover, c, 2-1-1; Wertman, lf-cf, 4-0-1; Shope, p, 0-0-0, Long, p, 0-0-0; Thomas, dh, 1-0-0; Snyder, dh, 0-0-0; J. Crull, rf, 3-0-0; Knepper, cr-rf, 1-0-0; Schnarrs, 3b, 3-0-0; Jones, 3b, 0-0-0; Z. Crull, 2b, 4-0-0. TOTALS 26-6-5.
Bellwood-Antis – Gray, ss, 2-3-1; Ju. Manning, 2b, 3-4-3; Kleinfelter, lf, 3-1-2; Kelley, 1b, 4-1-2; Dougherty, p, 0-0-0; Seidel, dh-rf, 4-0-1; Coho, 3b, 4-0-1; Winterstein, c, 2-0-0; Ja. Manning, cr, 0-1-0; Irvin, ph, 1-0-0; Beech, cf, 3-2-1; J. Miller, rf-p, 3-0-0. TOTALS 29-12-11.
Southern Huntingdon 320 001 0 – 6-5-2.
Bellwood-Antis 252 030 X – 12-11-1.
2B: Baer, Ju. Manning, Kleinfelter, Kelley.
RBI: Wertman 2, Hoover, Thomas, Ju. Manning 3, Kleinfelter 3, Kelley 2, Coho 2, Gray.
E: Everhart, Schnarrs, Gray.
SO: Shope 2, Long 2, Dougherty 2, J. Miller 4.
BB: Shope 3, Long 1, Dougherty 4, J. Miller 5.
WP: J. Miller LP: Shope
