Thunder open elimination tourney with 10-1 win
After slow start, Tecumseh bats erupt to thump Milton 10-1
TECUMSEH It was a far bigger grind for the Tecumseh Thunder than the score might indicate.
The defending national champion Thunder scored nine runs in the final two innings to pull away from the Milton Red Sox for a 10-1 win on Friday at Lacasse Park in the opening game of the Ontario senior elimination tournament.
“You look at the box score and it says 10-1 and (you think) easy win, but it’s 1-1 going into the top of the sixth inning,” Thunder starting pitcher Joel Pierce said. “It’s good for us to get a game like this because we’re going to be grinding for the rest of the tournament and you don’t want any cakewalks, and this sets the tone for the rest of the tournament.”
The visiting team for the game, the Thunder was in trouble in the first inning with the first three Milton batters reaching base, but Pierce, who is a former Milwaukee Brewers minor league prospect, got out of the inning without giving up a run.
“The adrenalin got pumped up a bit,” said the right-handed Pierce, who threw a no-hitter in his last start. “For them to get bases loaded right away really gets me focused.”
Pierce’s throwing error on a bunt single eventually allowed Milton to open the scoring in the bottom of the second inning, but Paul Lamantia’s RBI single brought home Eric Cunningham to tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the third inning.
It stayed that way into the sixth inning as Pierce and Milton lefthander Damian Clark both worked out of trouble to keep the game tied.
“(Clark) was kind of throwing some soft stuff and that usually gets us off our game,” said Lamantia, who had three hits and drove in three runs. “I think guys were a little jumpy and it just took us a couple of innings to settle in and get the approach that you have to see the ball a little deeper and hit it the other way.”
With two on and two out in the sixth inning, the Thunder finally pulled ahead for good as Ryan LaPensee went the opposite way for a two-run double. Mitch Delaney and Lamantia followed with runscoring doubles and Tecumseh would plate six runs in the inning to take a 7-1 lead.
“It was like anxiety, anxiety, anxiety and then bam, it all broke open at once,” Lamantia said. “You saw a little bit of emotion, the dugout got loud and that’s what you need going forward.”
Tecumseh finished with 16 hits in the game and eight of those came in the final two innings.
“I think it was a good test for us and showed our determination,” Lamantia said. “Not only did we end up pulling it out, but the bats really woke up, which is our bread and butter.”
Pierce went the distance and allowed just five hits and a walk while striking out three for the win and Tecumseh added three more runs in the top of the seventh inning for insurance.
“We’re obviously defending national champions, but we’ve had a lot of turnover, so it’s a whole new ball club, really,” Lamantia said. “We’ve got a couple of guys that were here and a whole new group of guys that need to go through it for the first time at this level. Getting that one out of the way and putting up a bunch of runs gives us a lot of confidence going forward.”