Martin Oil completed a tough weekend Sunday with a gutsy effort to comeback to down Sheetz at home and finish on the upside after suffering losses to Locker Room and Barkman Oil/Russell Trucking on the road.
Locker Room used eight Martin Oil errors to vanquish Martin Oil 8-3 on Friday, at Hollidaysburg, then Barkman/Russell held off a spirited attempt to get a win at Martinsburg on Saturday, 12-10.
On Sunday afternoon, it looked like more of the same for Martin Oil, with Sheetz putting up four markers in the top of the first, and added two more in the second to claim a 6-1 lead after two complete innings. With Nate Plummer on the mound for Martin Oil, the defense allowed four unearned runs – Plummer was charged with just one earned run in each inning.
From that point however, Plummer and reliever Nate Gray shut down the Sheetz offense, while the Martin Oil sticks got going, with the help of 10 walks and five Sheetz errors.
Nate Gray doubled to begin the Martin Oil first and scored on a sacrifice fly by Chad Coho.
Martin Oil cut the deficit in half, with a pair of third-inning scores. Trey Mock and Coho walked to begin the frame. Mock scored on an error and Coho on a wild pitch to close the margin to 6-3.
In the fifth, Martin Oil sent 11 batters to the plate to score six runs and take the lead.
With one down, Justin Miller slammed a single over the Sheetz centerfielder’s head. Justin Manning walked and Sheetz changed pitchers. Mike Albright reached on an error. Adam Kovac drove in Miller with a sac fly. Gray was safe when his sky-high popup was dropped, just in front of home plate to load the bases. Jake Manning doubled to right to get both Justin Manning and Albright home. Coho and Alex Miller walked, with Miller forcing in Gray with another run. Jimmy Watters completed the inning with a single that plated both Jake Manning and Coho.
Not done yet, Martin Oil came right back with five more scores in the sixth inning.
Justin Manning and Jesse Davis walked, before Garrett Rabold singled to score Manning. After Kyle DeGennaro struckout, Jake Manning walked. Jared Coho singled to right to score Davis and Rabold. Jake Manning scored on a wild pitch, and Alex Miller drove in Jared Coho with an RBI fielder’s choice.
After the first two frames, Plummer settled down to pitch shutout baseball over the next four innings, scattering four hits, with four Ks and no walks. For the game, Plummer, who picked up the win, allowed six runs, two earned on 10 hits, with six strikeouts and only one walk. Gray tossed the final two scoreless innings, allowing two hits with three strikeouts and one walk, to pick up the save.
On Friday, the game was tied 3-3 until Locker Room converted three walks, a hit batter and two errors to score five seventh-runs in an 8-3 victory over Martin Oil. Martin Oil had led 2-1 after two innings. Singles by Mike Albright and Jesse Davis, a fielder’s choice on which no out was recorded loaded the bases. Derrick Wolfe was hit by a pitch to score Albright, and Nate Gray delivered a sacrifice fly that scored Davis. In the fourth, Adam Kovac walked and scored on a double by Nate Gray.
Saturday’s game with Barkman/Russell was a slugfest that wasn’t over until the final at-bat for Martin Oil. Nate Plummer had three hits, and Gray, Trey Mock, Ian Pankoke, and Justin Miller each had a pair of base hits.
“We started to look like a baseball team on Saturday, despite losing the game. That was the first time this season, we looked like we have heart,” said Martin Oil manager Ed Davis. “Then on Sunday, we got off to our usual bad start, but the difference was, we didn’t quit when we got down at the beginning. We kept fighting and turned it around. Nate Plummer settled down after his defense collapsed in the first two innings and pitched the best game of his season, and Nate Gray came in and shut them down late. Both Nates were throwing strikes and staying ahead in the count. We only walked two batters in the entire game, and the defense, was steady after the first two innings.”
Martin Oil 14 Sheetz 6
Sheetz – Moore, 1b, 5-1-2; Gallardy, rf, 4-2-2; McCloskey, cf, 2-1-1; Sommer, ss, 4-0-1; Kephart, 3b, 3-1-0; Ehredt, 2b-p, 4-1-2; Bettwy, p, 3-0-1; Kowalski, cr, 0-0-0; Champeno, cr-p, 0-0-0; Greiner, 2b, 1-0-0; Walter, lf, 4-0-2; Angle, c, 4-0-1. TOTALS 34-6-12.
Martin Oil – Gray, ss-p, 3-2-1; DeGennaro, ph, 1-0-0; Mock, 3b, 2-1-0; Ja. Manning, c, 1-2-1; J. Coho, 2b, 1-1-1; C. Coho, dh, 0-2-0; Pankoke, cf, 3-0-1; A. Miller, lf, 1-0-0; Watters, lf-cf, 4-0-2; Gorby, ph, 1-0-0; J. Miller, 1b-rf, 4-1-1; Plummer, p, 1-0-0; Ju. Manning, ss, 0-2-0; Albright, c-3b, 3-1-1; Doyle, cr, 0-0-0; Davis, ph, 0-0-0; Kovac, rf, 2-0-1; Rabold, ph-1b, 1-1-1. TOTALS 29-14-10.
Sheetz 420 000 0 6-12-5.
Martin Oil 102 065 X 12-10-3.
E: Moore, Sommers, Kephart, Bettwy, Angle, Gray 2, Watters.
2B: Ehredt, Gray, Ja. Manning, Kovac.
RBI: Sommer 2, Ehredt, Bettwy, McCloskey, Ja. Manning 2, J. Coho 2, A. Miller 2, Watters 2, C. Coho, Kovac, Rabold.
SO: Bettwy 4, Ehredt 1, Plummer 6, Gray 3.
BB: Bettwy 5, Champeno 2, Ehredt 3, Plummer 1, Gray 1.
WP: Plummer LP: Champeno SAVE: Gray
