Doylestown staves off elimination
It has been a long summer of baseball for Doylestown. And by taking advantage of some miscues from Columbia (Md.) Saturday afternoon, the Tigers made sure their season extended at least one more game.
DRyOHsWRwn sFRrHG fivH unearned runs as the PatriRWs FRPPLWWHG fivH HrrRrs, while starter Jason Goldberg pitched eight strong innings as the Pennsylvania champion earned a 5-2 victory in the American Legion MidAtlantic Regional Tournament at Owls Field at Ted Palka Park.
“We’re a little emotionally drained and physically drained with injuries and stuff. But they gave us a couple of errors I guess you could say,” Tigers second baseman Ryan Gilbert said. “And we hit in some key spots and didn’t in some key spots, but we still got the job done.”
GLOEHrW finLshHG 3-IRr5 with two RBI, and Colt 6PLWh wHnW 3-IRr-4 wLWh an RBI and a run scored as DRyOHsWRwn (37-8-2) SRsWHG four runs in the top of the second.
“We’ve been playing forever, a game every single day. We’re losing guys to college, we’re losing guys to injuries,” Goldberg said. “At this point, it’s just who has the most heart, who wants it the most. And I really think that this team wants it the most.
“So, we’re looking forward to playing out this tournament and moving on to (the American Legion World Series in) North Carolina.”
GROGEHrJ rHWLrHG WhH firsW nine Columbia (24-7) batters as he allowed two runs — one earned — on four hits. He walked three and struck out one.
“I felt great,” he said. “I knew in the bullpen everything was working, so I was just ready to go out there and start throwing strikes. I ran into a little bit of control trouble throughout the game — I had three walks, which is more than I usually have, but the defense helped me out a lot and it was good stuff today.”
Ryan Clow earned the save as he pitched the ninth, walking two and striking out WwR EHIRrH JHWWLnJ D fly RuW WR FHnWHr fiHOG WR sHDO WhH vLFtory.
“I told them up there (in
the team’s postgame talk), I said, ‘vou better feel like you got away with one today.’ Because we left a lot of men on base,” Tigers coach Steve Ruane said. “vou have to get those runs in.
“Jason was the key in shutting it down and not letting them mount any rallies, but if they would have put some rallies together, different ballgame out there. But Jason was really pretty good.”
Clay Sebesky was 2-for5 with a run scored as the Tigers totaled 11 hits, all singles.
“I feel like we’ll come back tomorrow more energized, more ready to go offensively,” Gilbert said. “And our defense will probably just be pretty good, as usual.”
Starter Ben Goldsmith took the loss for Columbia, which was eliminated from the tournament with WKH GHIHDW. HH JDYH uS fiYH runs — none earned — on eight hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out three.
In the top of the second, Marty Martens led off by rHDFKLnJ firVW EDVH Rn Dn error. Two batters later, he went to third on a one-out single by Sebesky, who then stole second. Martens scored on Jon Mullin’s grounder to the shortstop, with an error on the play bringing home Sebesky for a 2-0 Doylestown lead.
With two outs in the inning, Smith’s single through WKH rLJKW VLGH RI WKH LnfiHOG plated Mullin. Gilbert followed with an RBI single to put the Tigers up 4-0.
The Patriots cut a run off WKHLr GHfiFLW Ln WKH IRurWK. Leadoff hitter Colin Dyer JRW WR firVW Rn Dn HrrRr, while Goldsmith singled. With one out, Garrett Kurtz walked to load the bases, with another walk to Ben Koffel scoring Dyer. Goldberg, however, got Brett Kohler to ground into a doubleplay on the next atbat to end the threat.
“I don’t know what happened, I just got lazy that inning,” Goldberg said. “I guess it happens to everybody, but I beared down and got that ground ball that I needed and got out of that.”
Gilbert gave Doylestown back its four-run advantage in the sixth as his RBI single to left plated Gene AOSLn, wKR KDG rHDFKHG firVW on a two-out error. Columbia pulled to within 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh as Dyer scored on Kurtz’s single.