Philipsburg goes 3-1 in wood bat tourney
Monday, June 25, 2012
By Jaclyn Yingling Sports Editor
PHILIPSBURG - After getting beaten by the 10-run rule in their second game of the Bellefonte Bandits Tournament on Friday, the Philipsburg American Legion baseball team had a bitter taste in their mouths.
That could explain the Phils playing almost flawless ball on Saturday, scoring a 3-1 win over Corning and a 3-2 victory over Keystone.
Philipsburg finished the tournament with a 3-1 record, but failed to advance to one of the four spots reserved for championship-eligible teams on Sunday.
"I was pretty pleased with how we played," said Philipsburg head coach Dusty Minarchick. "We had the ball in play quite a bit and we played good defense. We have to continue to strive to do those things to stay successful."
The Phils fell behind early in their first game against Corning, as the Grays scored in the first inning.
Philipsburg tied the game at 1-1 when Curtis Baugh, who reached on a one-out single, scored on a groundout by Derek Greene.
The Phils added another run in the third inning, as Robbie Smith drew a one-out walk. Parker Watson drilled a triple into right field, scoring Smith to give Philipsburg a 2-1 lead.
Watson was left stranded at third, as Grays pitcher Talas Mahon got out of the inning with two strikeouts.
"That was a big triple," Minarchick said. "I can't say a whole lot. It was a big hit for us. It was great baserunning at the time, too. We have to continue to play like that."
Meanwhile, Watson was pitching a solid game on the mound as well. He got into a few jams, but Corning left seven runners stranded on either second or third.
Philipsburg got an insurance run in the top of the fourth inning, as Jake Belinda led off with a walk. He stole second before Greene also walked.
The Phils employed a double steal, putting runners on second and third with no outs. That chased Mahon from the game in favor of Josh Grant, who uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Belinda to score.
Grant struck out the next three batters he faced, leaving Greene stranded at third.
Watson had a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, but got into a little trouble in the sixth.
The Phils hurler, who still has some lingering effects from a high school football injury, appeared to tighten up.
But Watson worked through the issue and got out of the inning unscathed.
"He was little tight there, but for the most part he pitched a great game." Minarchick said. "He got behind some hitters, but he battled back like he always does.
Like I said before, we are very comfortable with him out there on the mound."
Up 3-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Phils got a quick inning from Watson, who got three outs after giving up a leadoff single. He needed just 14 pitches to get out of the inning.
Philipsburg improved to 7-3 overall. The Phils travel to State College at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Philipsburg 3, Keystone 2
The Phils upended Keystone in the second game behind a complete-game pitching performance from Greg Belko, who gave up just one earned run on five hits. Shane Hoover doubled and had two RBIs, and Aaron Lidgett added a sacrifice fly to provide Belko with all the offense he needed.
Game 2
Keystone-2
Shekard rf 3000, Hoover 1b 3000, Naparella p 3010, Daihl 2b 3010, K. Johnston cf 3000, Deatty eh 3110, Hostetter ss 3000, C. Johnston 3b 2100, Rohrer lf 3010, Stammel c 2012. Totals: 28-2-5-2.
Philipsburg-3
Smith 2b 2110, Watson cf 2120, Lidgett lf 2011, S. Hoover 3b 3112, Belinda rf 2000, Baugh ss 3000, Greene c 3000, Belko p 2000, Pepperday eh 2000, Matthews 1b 1000, Golemboski 1b 0000. Totals: 22-3-5-3.
Score by Innings
Keystone 020 000 0-2 5 1
Philipsburg 201 000 x-3 5 4
Errors-Naparella; Smith 2, Hoover 2. LOB-Keystone 6, Philipsburg 6. 2B-Stammel; S. Hoover. SF-Lidgett. SB-Naparella.
Pitching
Keystone: Naparella-6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO.
Philipsburg: Belko-7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO.
WP-Belko. LP-Naparella.
Game 1
Philipsburg-3
Smith c 3100, Watson p 3011, Lidgett cf 3000, Hoover 3b 2000, Baugh ss 3110, Belinda rf 1110, Greene 2b 2001, Ammerman 1b 2000, Golemboski lf 2000, Johns ph 1000, Dotts eh 3010. Totals: 25-3-4-2.
Corning-1
Locker rf 3100, Baird cf 1010, Shottenberger pr-cf 2000, Wheaton 3b 1000, Brenning 3b 1000, Grant lf-p 3011, Mahon p-lf 3000, Z. Lebarron 1b 3010, McClennan c 1000, Eckel c 2010, Christian 2b 1000, Banard ss 3030, C. Lebarron eh 3000. Totals: 27-1-7-1.
Score by Innings
Philipsburg 011 100 0-3 4 1
Corning 100 000 0-1 7 1
Errors-Hoover; Brenning. LOB-Philipsburg 6, Corning 9. DP-Corning 1. 2B-Belinda. 3B-Watson. SB-Belinda 2, Hoover, Greene. CS-Banard (by Smith). SAC-Baird.
Pitching
Philipsburg: Watson-7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 9 SO.
Corning: Mahon-4+ IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 7 SO; Grant-3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO.
WP-Watson. LP-Mahon.
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