Miners sweep doubleheader with Grays on Gourley walk-off triple.
ROSSITER — Having already won the first game of a doubleheader against the Brookville Grays 6-4 on Tuesday night at Shaffer Field, the Miners seemed doomed to a split entering the final frame of Game 2, trailing by a pair of runs.
But after the Miners loaded the bases without recording a hit, Rossiter first baseman Matt Gourley had other plans. He drove a bases-clearing triple to deep left-center field to propel the home team to a 6-5 win and a sweep of the Grays.
The inning started with leadoff hitter Adison Neal reaching on an error, and after Isaac London lined out to left field, Pete Meterko and Daren Byers each worked walks against Brookville pitcher Nathan Bonfardine to load them up for Gourley.
Gourley added an RBI single to his ledger in the second game to drive in a total of four for Rossiter, and London had a sacrifice fly for the team’s only other RBI.
The Miners’ only other hits against Bonfardine were back-to-back singles by Tyler Richardson and Anthony Maseto in the second inning, and both of those runners came around to score as well — Richardson on a throwing error on a Cory Geer sacrifice bunt and Maseto on London’s sacrifice fly.
Geer earned the win for the Miners by pitching the final four innings. He allowed one earned run on two hits and two free passes and struck out five. Dylan Kachmar pitched the first inning after working the final two of the first game and was tagged for four earned runs on five hits.
To open the second game, the Grays rattled off four first-inning runs to stake a big lead thanks to three straight singles by Joe Lopez, Hunter Geer and Bonfardine. Thomas Plummer kept things rolling with a hit by pitch, and Jamison Rhoades drove one in on a fielder’s choice before Tanner LaBenne doubled another home to make it 4-0.
Their only other run came in the top of the fifth when Hunter Geer singled to center, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an error when the throw to third sailed into left field.
Bonfardine was tagged with the loss, with his line showing 4-1/3 innings of work and six runs allowed — only three of which were earned — on four hits and four walks.
The Grays also had the first lead of Game 1 when they scored a single tally in the top of the second and added another two in the top of the third. The first run came after Bryce Rafferty walked, moved up to third on a single by Drew Pirritano and scored on a wild pitch
In the third frame, it was Rhoades, Palmer and Lopez rattling off three straight one-out singles to get things rolling, with Rhoades scoring on Lopez’s hit. After that, Geer plated Palmer on a sacrifice fly to deep center to make it a 3-0 game.
The Miners took the lead for good, though, scoring five of their six runs in the home half of the third inning despite recording just two hits, thanks in large part to four walks.
Zeke Bennett walked to lead things off, and London and Meterko did the same with one out to load them up. Daren Byers singled home Bennett to break the ice, and Gourley picked up an RBI on a hit by pitch before Richardson was walked with nowhere to put him to even the score at threes.
The Miners weren’t done yet, though, as Ashton Stonbraker singled home Byers with a hit to center field to put his team ahead by one, and Maseto added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly to deep center making it 5-3.
Rossiter also tacked on one more run in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a leadoff single by Neal, who then stole second and took third on a wild pitch before scoring on a two-out single through the left side by Byers to make it 6-3.
The Grays got one back in the top of the fifth after Lopez singled, then traded places with Geer on a fielder’s choice. Geer moved up one station on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a groundout by Bonfardine and came in to score on an RBI single by Plummer. Two runs was as close as it would get, though, and the Miners held on to win 6-4.
Byers picked up the win by pitching the first three innings and allowing three runs on five hits and a walk. Kachmar was credited with a two-inning save, allowing one run on three hits and two free passes and striking out one.
Hunter Geer was handed with the loss. He worked 2-1/3 innings and allowed five earned runs on four hits and four free passes while fanning two hitters. Lopez pitched the final 1-2/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk.
The Miners, who have lost just one game so far this season, picked up wins 5 and 6 on Tuesday, while the Grays dropped back to 5-5.