White Sox come from behind
Collegeville rallies past Lansdale to go up 2-1
NORTH WALES >> Collegeville had learned how to battle back.
“Last series, I think we were losing in every single game,” said Scott Young of the White Sox. “We know how to come back. You just don’t wanna wait too long.”
This time, Collegeville erased a four-run deficit in the fifth and sixth innings Tuesday night to lock down a wildly-entertaining 13-11 victory over Lansdale and go up two games to one in the bestof-five Perky League Final series.
“Having to battle back against good pitching like we did last week (against Nor-Gwyn), it’s tough to do,” said Young (Perk Valley/Ursinus College). “You just gotta go up there — it’s not like you’re trying to hit home runs or hit doubles, you’re just trying to make good, solid contact and swing at good pitches.”
Collegeville bolted to a 6-0 lead early, fell behind 11-7, then prevailed 13-11 in a back-and-forth battle at Hostelley Field. Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday night, back at Hostelley at 7:30.
FAST START >> Collegeville’s big first inning started in a hurry, with Kyle Feaster leading off with a double to left. Matt Altieri’s single scored Feaster for a quick 1-0 lead.
Then, Lenny Del Grippo and Young launched back-to-back homers — for the seventh time in their careers, said Del Grippo — to inflate the early lead to 4-0.
Bryan Mulhern doubled and scored on a hit by Cole Luzins. The White Sox batted around, with Feaster knocking in a run to make it 6-0 in the first.
Lansdale answered in the bottom of the second, manufacturing three runs off of just one hit (Matt Cavagnaro double) and taking advantage of three Collegeville errors to slim the margin to 6-3.
Altieri doubled and scored on a fielder’s choice to make it 7-3 Collegeville in the fourth, but then came the Tigers’ big burst.
Lansdale plated eight runs in the fourth.
Matt Hanson, Kyle Wenger and Zac Hess all homered, and a triple by Rick Gorrell helped turn the game upside down, pushing the Tigers in front, 11-7.
But no lead was safe. The White Sox cut it to 11-8 in the fifth on a sac fly by Young, and then Collegeville pushed in front for good in the sixth. PUSHING AHEAD >> Cody Clarke’s homer brought the White Sox closer, Kyle Feaster’s single up the middle tied it up at 11, and then Young’s flare to right drove in the go-ahead run.
“I was joking with Feaster,” Young said. “I said my at-bat before that, the sac fly to deep right center, was a veteran move because I moved the outfielder back so I could dink one in on the next at-bat.”
Bryan Mulhern’s RBI single padded the lead. Perky League Finals, Gm. 3 Collegeville 13, Lansdale 11