Following yesterday’s 16-3 victory over Bishop Guilfoyle – a game suspended on April 3 for rain that was picked up with Tyrone leading 5-0 – the Golden Eagle baseball team had outscored its last two opponents 32-5. Neither team ever offered a serious challenge, but you can take something positive from any game, according to Tyrone manager Tom Coleman.
“I was glad to see some other players swing the bat well,” he said after the Eagles matched a season-high with 13 hits. “Hopefully it’s starting to come together at the right time. We’d like to win a few here and qualify for the playoffs.”
There was other good news. First baseman Buddy Stotler broke out of a frustrating 0-for-20 slump that went back to an April 12 game against Williamsburg, with two hits – one of which came yesterday – and two RBI. He, along with Tyler Golden, Jamie Levinson and Tyler Gillmen, delivered multiple hits.
The Eagles’ pitching staff was able to save some arms, using reliever Josh Clark for three innings. He was on in place of Golden, who started the game last month and had allowed zero hits in two innings. Clark surrendered three hits and allowed only one earned run while walking none.
But when it was all done, Coleman and the Eagles all understood that the win – while friendly on the statistics – did little to improve their playoff or league standings. A game like that is waiting in the wings today and Friday, when Tyrone (7-6) faces MAC Division III opponents Penns Valley and Mount Union, respectively.
The Rams (7-5) embarrassed Tyrone in Spring Mills last month with a 12-2 victory that went only five innings. The Eagles followed that up with one of their best defensive games against the Trojans, but lost 6-1 and tallied only six hits.
“We need to set the tone tomorrow. It’s a big game. It’s a game to move up the standings in our division,” Coleman said. “The last time we played them it was only our second game of the season, so hopefully we’re a changed team since then. Hopefully it will be a different game.”
The game yesterday was quite similar to the one that was started in April, despite the fact that both teams went with different pitchers at the start. Where the Marauders and original starter Anthony Williams had allowed three runs in the first inning – all off the bat of a Gillmen round-tripper – and were at work on two more in the second, Guilfoyle under reliever Anthony Kunyn had the same trouble getting outs.
When the game resumed, Justin Schopp was on second and Golden on first. Tyrone rang up four consecutive base hits to go ahead 9-0, and totaled seven base hits in the inning on the way to a 15-0 lead. Golden drove in three runs, Schopp and Gillmen batted in two, and Clark, Stotler and Jesse Hertzler each drove in one as Tyrone went through its lineup twice.
That was almost enough to end the game in 45 minutes. Clark had two away with a runner on third in the top of the third, but an error led to an unearned run and kept the game from being cut short by the 15-run mercy rule.
BG added two more in the fourth, including one on an RBI single by Andy Lytle to make it 15-3, but Tyrone picked up one more in the bottom of the frame on a run-scoring single to left by Levinson, and won by 10-run rule after retiring BG in the top of the fifth.
“Offensively, it was nice to see us string together some hits in the second inning,” said Coleman. (Not including a hit batsman) we had, I think, nine hits in a row at one point. To do that against any pitcher is impressive.”
GAME NOTES: Bishop Guilfoyle fell to 4-9 … Tyrone committed four errors … Tyrone has defeated only two teams this season with winning records … Golden improved to 4-1 despite playing all yesterday in left field.
Tyrone 16 Bishop Guilfoyle 3
BISHOP GUILFOYLE – Seasoltz, ss, 2-0-0; Dunning, ph, 1-0-0; A. Williams, p, 0-0-0; Kunyn, p, 1-0-0; Tomassetti, p, 1-0-0; Perehenic, c, 2-0-0; Pruiyn, ph, 1-0-0; Sommer, dh, 2-0-0; Neremberg, dh, 1-0-0; St. John, cf, 0-0-0; Milliron, rf, 1-0-0; Durbin, rf, 2-0-0; N. Williams, 1b, 0-0-0; Rossman, ph, 0-1-0; Craig, lf, 2-1-1; Lytle, 3b, 1-1-1; Sheedy, 2b, 1-0-1; Sweeney, ph, 1-0-0. TOTALS: 19-3-3.
TYRONE – Schopp, rf, 3-3-1; Golden, p-lf, 4-2-2; Mingle, cf, 3-2-1; Gillmen, 2b, 4-2-2; Stotler, 1b, 3-1-2; Morrow, cr-1b, 1-1-0; Levinson, ss, 3-1-3; Anders, c, 3-0-0; Hertzler, 3b, 2-2-1; Clark, lf-p, 2-2-1. TOTALS: 28-16-13.
BISHOP GUILFOYLE 001 20 – 3- 3- 3
TYRONE 3(12)0 1X –16-13-4
HR: Gillmen.
RBI: Gillmen 5, Stotler 2, Schopp 2, Golden 2, Levinson, Hertzler, Clark, Lytle.
SB: Schopp.
E: Hertzler 2, Morrow, Anders, N. Williams, Seasoltz, Kunyn.
SO: Golden 1, Clark 1, A. Williams 1, Kunyn 1.
BB: Golden 1, A. Williams 4, Kunyn 2.
WP: Golden LP: A. Williams
