Tyler McClellan tossed three scoreless innings against Bishop Guilfoyle at Bellwood’s Stadium Drive field to stop the Blue Devils’ three-game losing streak on Monday afternoon. Bellwood-Antis batted around in the second inning and McClellan hung on for a 9-6 win to get their record (7-7) back to .500.
Although the Blue Devils jumped out to a 7-2 lead after their big second inning, BG kept chipping away, using three home runs to close the score to 7-6.
Down 2-0, the Blue Devils sent 10 batters to the plate to score seven times. Kyle Drost and Troy Brunner opened the inning with singles and McClellan dropped a perfect bunt down the third base line and beat it out to load the bases. Adam DeArmitt got B-A on the scoreboard with a sacrifice fly to left that scored Drost. Nick Treese hit a bad-hop single that brought Brunner home with the tying run.
Andy Brisbin rapped a single to center to score McClellan and Treese. Alley singled to left to put runners at first and second. Shawn Weiand cleared the bases with a three-run rope that sailed over the center field fence to close out the inning with the Blue Devils ahead 7-2.
Josh DeStefano drilled a solo home run with one out in the third and BG scored three times in the fourth, highlighted by a bases empty home run by Matt Georgiana and a two-run double by Destefano that closed the gap to a single run.
Bellwood-Antis scored two insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth after a long delay when BG centerfielder Johnny Cotto had to be taken off the field in an ambulance after hitting a fence pole making a fantastic catch that robbed Troy Brunner of an extra-base hit.
Cotto was talking and able to move his hands while awaiting the ambulance. Play was stopped for approximately 40 minutes and fans and players from both teams applauded Cotto as the ambulance left the field.
When play resumed, with one out, McClellan, DeArmitt, L. J. Seidel and Brisbin hit consecutive singles. Seidel’s hit scored McClellan and DeArmitt came home on Brisbin’s base hit.
“We got the big hit from Shawn and Andy pumped some RBI,” said Bellwood-Antis coach Steve Conlon. “The bottom of the order with Adam DeArmitt, Nick Treese, L. J. Seidel and Tyler McClellan had some hits. Tyler came in to pitch and shut the door down, no runs in three innings of work. That’s all we can ask of him.”
McClellan, who came on to pitch the fifth, immediately got into trouble in the sixth. Singles by losing pitcher Travis Gibbons and Tommy Seasoltz at the bottom of the Marauders order and an intentional walk to Destefano loaded the bases with nobody out. McClellan reached back and turned it up a notch to strike out Simon Littlejohn and get Jonathan Milliron and Georgiana on pop flies to get out of the inning unharmed.
McClellan also allowed a double by Matt Lonero to begin the seventh, but once again handled the situation by retiring the following three batters to pick up the win.
Bellwood-Antis concludes their regualr season with the return match against Tyrone at Bellwood at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Bellwood-Antis 9 Bishop Guilfoyle 6
BISHOP GUILFOYLE – Destefano, c, 3-1-2; Cotto, cf, 2-0-0; Littlejohn, rf, 1-0-0; Milliron, lf-cf, 4-0-0; Georgiana, 2b, 3-1-1; Zimmerman, rf-lf, 0-0-0; Lonero, dh, 4-0-2; Zeak, 1b, 2-1-0; Bettwy, ph, 1-0-0; Sipes, 3b, 4-2-1; Gibbons, p, 4-0-2; Cala, cr, 0-1-0; Seasoltz, ss, 2-0-1. TOTALS 30-6-9.
BELLWOOD-ANTIS – Brisbin, 2b, 4-1-2; Alley, p-ss, 4-1-1; Weiand, c, 2-1-1; Coho, 1b, 0-0-0; Albright, dh, 4-0-2; Drost, 3b, 4-1-1; Brunner, lf, 4-1-2; McClellan, rf-p, 3-2-2; DeArmitt, cf, 3-1-1; Treese, ss, 2-1-1; Seidel, rf, 1-0-1. TOTALS 31-9-14.
Bishop Guilfoyle 021 300 0 6-9-2.
Bellwood-Antis 070 020 X 9-14-0.
2B: Destefano 1, Lonero 1.
HR: Destefano 1, Georgiana 1, Sipes 1, Weiand 1.
RBI: Destefano 3, Sipes 2, Georgiana 1, Brisbin 3, Weiand 1, DeArmitt 1, Treese 1, Seidel 1.
SO: Gibbons 4, Alley 3, McClellan 2.
BB: Gibbons 2, Alley 1, McClellan 1.
WP: McClellan LP: Gibbons
