Tyrone manager Tom Coleman had a message for his team in the moments after its 11-1 five-inning victory over Southern Huntingdon yesterday at the Harry K. Sickler Sports Complex.
\n\u201cEnjoy it, but remember: tomorrow it doesn\u2019t mean anything,\u201d he said, referring to the Eagles\u2019 game today on the road against Williamsburg.
\nIt was a poignant statement because if Coleman has learned anything over his first five years as Tyrone\u2019s skipper, it\u2019s that fast starts don\u2019t mean much come May, as evidenced last year when the Eagles opened 7-2 only to finish 11-8.
\nBut then again, a quick start isn\u2019t a bad thing if you can maintain the momentum, and there was a lot of it to ride after the Eagles\u2019 10-run rule suspended victory. Case in point: if senior Clint Wilson can stay anywhere near the form he displayed against the Rockets, he\u2019s in for a special, special season.
\nThe 6-3 lefty started on the hill and tossed a complete-game two-hitter, striking out four and walking only one. At the plate, he went 2-for-3 with two extra-base hits \u2013 including a fourth-inning homer – and four RBI.
\nIt wasn\u2019t the first time Coleman saw a senior open his final season with a strong showing, but he was impressed with Wilson\u2019s control over all facets of his game in just the third outdoor work for Tyrone this spring.
\n\u201cClint is the kind of kid that gives 100 percent whether it\u2019s in practices or games,\u201d Coleman said. \u201cOffensively, he\u2019s going to be a really tough out, and pitching-wise, he calmed down and just threw strikes after looking a little anxious in the first inning.\u201d
\nWilson was one of four players with two hits as the Eagles pounded two Rocket pitchers for 11 hits. Junior first baseman Buddy Stottler went 2-for-2 with two runs and a pair of doubles, and Brice Mertiff had two hits and scored three runs. Mertiff, Ben Gummo and Brit Mingle each drove in a two runs as the Eagles rung up six extra-base hits.
\nBut more importantly for Coleman, Tyrone committed just one error on a drifting fly ball near the right field foul line that mixed up Mingle and Mertiff in the third inning. But unlike last year, when an error often meant the start of a rally, the Eagles regrouped and never let the miscue translate into runs.
\n\u201cIf we don\u2019t commit errors and make mental mistakes, we\u2019re going to win a lot of games,\u201d Coleman said. \u201cEven after our one error, the team calmed down and got out of the inning without any damage. Defensively, I thought we were solid.\u201d
\nNathan Stains took the loss for Southern, lasting only two innings and surrendering 3 runs. He allowed three hits and walked two.
\nBrandon Shope came on in the third and allowed six runs on seven hits in 2 2\/3 innings of relief.
\nWilson was aggressive early, fanning four of the first six batters he faced. But Matt Baer\u2019s infield single, combined with a walk, a wild pitch and a passed ball allowed Southern to score first and lead 1-0 into the second inning.
\nThat was when the Eagles\u2019 bats came to life, as Tyrone scored five runs in the frame with two outs. Mertiff \u2013 batting lead-off this season after spending last year anywhere from 3 through 5 \u2013 brought home Tyler Gillmen with a double, Gummo doubled to plate two more, and Wilson made it 5-1 with Tyrone\u2019s third two-bagger of the inning, bringing home two more.
\nThe Eagles made it 8-1 in the fourth with an RBI double by Mingle and Wilson\u2019s two-run homer, a monster shot over the 365-foot-deep right field fence on a 1-0 count.
\nTyrone ended it an inning later with three more runs, this time on a single by Mertiff, a sacrifice fly by Mingle and a bases-loaded walk delivered to Gillmen.
\nAll the while, Wilson had the game well under control from the mound, at one point retiring 12 of 14 batters on his way to his first varsity victory.
\nWilson also got some help in the field, most notably from Mertiff. Playing at second this season after switching from shortstop, Mertiff handled three hot liners for fly outs over the second and third innings, and recorded seven putouts with no errors.
\nGAME NOTES: Ben Gummo is scheduled to start against the Blue Pirates \u2026 sophomore Tyler Golden singled in his first varsity at-bat \u2026 Wilson and Mertiff figured in on 13 of Southern\u2019s 15 total outs \u2026 only one ball hit by the Rockets made it our of the infield.
\nTyrone 11 Southern Huntingdon 1
\nSOUTHERN HUNTINGDON \u2013 Everhart, cf, 3-0-0; Baer, 2b, 3-1-1; Kuhns, c, 1-0-0; Stains, p, 0-0-0; Shope, p, 0-0-0; Traxler, dh, 2-0-0; Yohn, 1b, 2-0-0; Wertman, lf, 2-0-1; Welsh, rf, 2-0-0; Schnarrs, ss, 2-0-0. TOTALS: 14-1-2.
\nTYRONE \u2013 Mertiff, 2b, 4-3-2; Gummo, ss, 3-1-2; Mingle, rf, 2-2-1; Wilson, p, 3-0-2; Lynn, cr, 0-1-0; Soellner, c, 4-0-0; Gillmen, 3b, 3-1-1; Maceno, lf, 3-0-0; Stottler, 1b, 2-2-2; Clark, cf, 2-0-0; Golden, cf, 1-1-1. TOTALS: 27-11-11.
\nS. HUNTINGDON 100 00X X \u2013 1- 2-2
\nTYRONE 050 33X X \u2013 11-11-1
\n2B: Stottler 2, Mertiff, Mingle, Wilson
\nHR: Wilson
\nRBI: Wilson 4, Mertiff 2, Gummo 2, Mingle 2, Gillmen
\nSO: Wilson 4, Stains 1, Shope 4
\nBB: Wilson 1, Stains 2, Shope 2
\nWP: Wilson LP: Stains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tyrone manager Tom Coleman had a message for his team in the moments after its 11-1 five-inning victory over Southern Huntingdon yesterday at the Harry K. Sickler Sports Complex. \u201cEnjoy it, but remember: tomorrow it doesn\u2019t mean anything,\u201d he said, referring to the Eagles\u2019 game today on the road against Williamsburg. It was a poignant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43182\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}