For The Long Haul
Daniel Boone drops 14-inning marathon to Boyertown
In Daniel Boone’s eyes the game shouldn’t have even gone to 14 innings.
During Sunday’s Berks County Legion contest, the Orioles gave up three runs over the first 13 innings, and all of them could have been avoided with better defense.
But a 14th-inning basehit by Boyertown’s Corey Melchoir, who also played a key role on the Boyertown Area High School team that won the PIAA Class AAAA state championship last week, handed Daniel Boone a 4-3 loss during Sunday’s marathon contest.
“They just came off a state championship game three days ago,” Daniel Boone manager Mike Barbera said. “We outplayed them I think for the first 13 innings. We had three errors that cost us three runs. We should have shut them out.”
When the 14th inning came around and the game was still tied, Melchoir felt he needed to end it. He got his opportunity when he came to the plate with one out, the bases loaded and the Daniel Boone infield up in the bottom of the 14th inning. Melchoir hit a grounder through the hole on the right side and into right field for the game-winner.
“I was just kind of hoping to roll the ball and make something happen because that was a long game and I just wanted something to happen,” Melchoir said. “I guess the hit just kind of came through.”
A large part of the Boyertown roster is coming off a state championship run during the Boyertown Area High School team’s season, which ended Thursday in a 4-1 championship game win over Plum at Penn State University.
Because of the high school team’s run, the legion team will play 14 games over 17 days. The backed up schedule started on Friday with a one-run loss and continued with a one-run win on Saturday. Sunday was the Bears’ third one-run game in as many days.
“I think what’s tough is after the high school season, emotionally, it’s going to be a let down for a while,” Boyertown assistant coach Craig Eddinger said. “And that’s normal and we understand that as coaches, and we just have to keep them going here and get through the next two weeks playing every day.”
“We’re going to be resting people, like (J.T. Cooley) and (Mike Raineri) didn’t start today. Everyone is going to sit some games and we’re going to take these two weeks to get ready for the playoffs.”
Cooley, who was supposed to have the game off, entered in the seventh inning in left field and went 1-for-3.
He eventually scored the game-winning run when he singled with one out in the bottom of the 14th and advanced to third after the ball went by the Daniel Boone left fielder before Melchoir knocked him in.
Catcher Ryan Weller estimates he’s caught more than 20 games since the start of the high school season. The Boyertown cleanup man went out and played right field in the fourteenth inning after 13 innings behind the plate.
“We’re used to playing a lot of baseball, but for the guys who
were part of the high school team, that’s the longest high school season we’ve had so far,” Weller said. “That’s definitely taken a lot out of us. But we’re used to playing baseball all year round, so that’s not too much of a big worry.”
“We just have to be more focused when we’re practicing or doing stuff pregame because those are the little things that could have ended this game an hour and a half ago.”
Before Melchoir’s hit in the fourteenth, the Bears and Orioles went sixstraight innings without either team scoring a run. Boyertown tied the game at 3-3 in the seventh inning when Daniel Boone starter Christian Dekker tossed a bunt by Raineri over the first baseman’s head to score two runs.
Dekker went seven innings, gave up five hits and struck out seven batters, while walking none. He was followed by Jordan Goodrich who didn’t allow a hit in five innings of shutout relief.
“Christian Dekker was on all game,” Daniel Boone manager Mike Barbera said. “He pitched great. He had them off balance all game. He was painting the
corners. … Jordan came in, threw strikes. You couldn’t ask for anything more than five innings of perfect relief.”
Daniel Boone’s pitching performance was matched by Bears lefty Trevor Waldman and righthander Justin Wieand.
Waldman went eight innings, allowed five hits and struck out five batters. Most of Daniel Boone’s dam-
age against Waldman was done by center fielder Sean Bologa who went 4-for- 6 on the day (3-for-4 against
Waldman) with three doubles and two runs scored.
Wieand held Daniel Boone scoreless for six in-
nings. He got out of a bases loaded jam in the 13th inning and left a total of nine Orioles runners on base.