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Tuesday, August 5, 2008
West Lawn Advances in Junior Legion State Tournament
Greater Reading, PA
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By: Dave Conard
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Photo(s) By: Dave Conard
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defeats Millcreak 5 - 1
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One day after a disappointing 14-2 loss to arch rival Shillington, the Owls did what good teams do; they rebounded and got back to their brand of baseball, handing Erie’s representative a 5-1 loss thus eliminating Millcreek from competition.
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West Lawn rebounds, sends Millcreek home
American Junior Legion State Championship Tournament
By David Conard
If there is one thing that West Lawn has learned as a team this season is that a great game erases the memory of a bad game.
One day after a disappointing 14-2 loss to arch rival Shillington, the Owls did what good teams do; they rebounded and got back to their brand of baseball, handing Erie’s representative a 5-1 loss thus eliminating Millcreek from competition.
The Owls (25-7) got on the board first as Jordan Rosa, who led off with a single and stole second scored on a sacrifice fly by Jonah Pulford posting the Eastern Regional champs to a 1-0 lead. West Lawn added another run in the third when Freddie Caruso drove in Rosa (2-for-3, 2 runs) who had set the table again by singling and stealing second. The 2-0 lead would prove to be more than enough to win the game and advance to the semi-finals on Tuesday versus Spring City (39-6) at Heuser Field. 13 year old Adam Bainbridge was “lights out”, fanning 10 while allowing just two hits and one base on balls.
“We’re not going home,” said Bainbridge. “I’ve got confidence in myself from being in this position before. After we got that second run, the adrenaline just kicked in.” Bainbridge, who did not allow an earned run, seemed to get stronger as the game progressed, mixing up his pitches and reaching back for a little extra zip on his fastball when needed. “I was really jacked,” said Bainbridge. “When we scored three to go up 5-1, we could feel the momentum swing our way. I’ve got the best catcher in the league and I am always confident that my team will make plays behind me. It’s a great position to be in.”
Webster’s dictionary defines “playmaker” as “ one who leads his team’s offense.” They may want to amend that to include defense too, as catcher Dylan Boll definitely fits that description to a tee. Boll, a 14 year old Wilson student, leads in many ways be it backstopping the Owls dynamic pitching staff or getting the big hit when needed; Boll has responded to every challenge put forth by the coaching staff this season. Again on Monday Boll delivered a clutch base hit as he has done throughout the playoffs, doubling to drive in Freddie Caruso, who had singled in the sixth. “Adam makes the pitches,” said Boll. “I have so much confidence in him, I know that he is going to put the ball where it’s called, even if he wants to bust someone inside, he will put it where I have the glove.”
Millcreek (28-4) got on the board in odd fashion. After striking out, Kyle Dirkmaat alertly scurried down the line when he saw the ball scoot by Boll. Dirkmaat reached safely and later scored on a double by Casey Fisher to cut the Owls lead to 2-1 heading into sixth inning.
“Dylan has had a great year for us,” said Coach Zach Williams. “We have asked him to do a lot of things this season and he has never shied away from anything we’ve asked. It’s good to come back after the drubbing last night.”
West Lawn boosted its lead by three in the visitor’s sixth, the big blow coming when Collin Gombos (1-for-3, 2 RBI) launched a shot in the gap driving in Boll and Eric Schmeck who had doubled. The rest, as they say is history, as Bainbridge struck out four of the final six batters he faced.
“We needed Adam to come out and give us his usual game,” said Williams. “He’s been our ace. He pitched the championship game for us last week…he’s just been our big game pitcher. I came in today and told our coaching staff we have shot because Adam’s on the hill.”
“It’s amazing to be here (one win away from the title game),” said Boll. “After going two straight losses in the League tournament we would have never expected to get this far. That was a wake up call for us. We need to come out and play Owls baseball every night.”
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