Thu. Mar 28th, 2024
No slide
ReMax runner Anthony Williams runs into Martin Oil catcher Jake Manning on the final play of Thursday night’s 3-2 Martin Oil victory. Instead of scoring the tying run in the bottom of the seventh inning, with a must-slide rule throughout the tournament, Williams was called out and the game was over. (The Daily Herald/Stacey Manning)

In what was a long day, Martin Oil split a pair of ballgames on the opening day of the Altoona NABF Regional. Martin Oil dropped a tight 2-0 decision to Team Ontario, from Ontario, Canada, on Thursday afternoon, then came back to nip ReMax Realty 3-2 with a bizarre ending in the evening.
In the evening contest, against fellow George B. Kelley Federation team ReMax Realty, Martin Oil entered the last of the seventh with a 3-1 lead, then had to withstand a ReMax uprising that ended only when a ReMax base runner was called out at home plate when he failed to slide. The NABF, unlike Kelley Federation rules, states emphatically that on any close play at any base, the runner must slide.
J.R. Gearhart opened the inning by working a five-pitch walk from Martin Oil starter Chad Coho. Travis Hammaker reached on a error to put runners at first and second. ReMax pickup Andy Smithmyer, who struck out 17 batters in nine-plus innings in ReMax’s earlier 1-0, 10-inning loss to the Maryland Orioles, tried to bunt the runners up. Smithmyer fouled the pitch up in the air. Martin Oil catcher Jake Manning grabbed the ball on the fly for one out and fired a strike to twin brother Justin Manning at the second base bag to double up Gearhart. Then with two outs, Anthony Williams walked. Josh Weyandt, the ReMax pitcher, who hadn’t batted in the game, because the team was using a designated hitter, batted for himself, and lined a Coho pitch over the head of left fielder Trey Mock. Hammaker scored to cut the Martin Oil advantage to 3-2 and Williams attempted to score with what would have been the tying run. With the ball coming to Manning, Williams ran into the Martin Oil catcher, instead of trying to slide and was immediately called out by home plate umpire, Greg Hoover, ending the game.
Martin Oil, who had been held to just two hits in their opening loss to Team Ontario, pounded out eight hits against ReMax.
In the first inning, Justin Manning walked and stole second base. Jake Manning dropped a bunt down the third base line and beat it out to put runners at the corners. Nate Gray scored Justin Manning with the first tally of the game with a sacrifice fly.
Martin Oil added a run in the top of the sixth. Justin Miller walked with one out. Jimmy Watters moved Miller up a base with a sac bunt, before Ian Pankoke singled to right to get Miller home, and continued to second on an error by the right fielder.
Finally, Martin Oil scored what proved to be the winning margin in the seventh, when Nate Gray singled up the middle to score Jake Manning, who had dropped a looper into left and taken second  when the ball got by the left fielder and shortstop, who converged on the base hit.
“We still had a lot of trouble with the wooden bats, but we improved over the first game this afternoon. Jake Manning and Ian Pankoke both had good games with two hits, and Nate Gray had a huge hit that got us a two-run lead going into the ReMax seventh inning,” explained Martin Oil manager Ed Davis. “We got two beautiful pitching performances today, first from Nate Plummer in the Team Ontario game and then from Chad Coho against ReMax. Neither of these guys was available to pitch in the league championship series and today they showed how much we missed them.”
Coho went the distance scattering six hits, giving up two runs, one earned, while striking out six, and walking three.
In the first game the Martin Oil team playing with wooden bats for the very first time this season, and for most of the players the first time ever, a single to left by Jake Manning and a single to right by Trey Mock were the only hits Martin Oil could muster against a team that played in a wooden bat league, and had participated in several wooden bat tournaments earlier in the summer.
Nate Plummer pitched the entire game for Martin Oil, absorbing the 2-0 loss, allowing only four hits, with one earned run, while striking out seven and walking four.
Team Ontario 2  Martin Oil 0
Team Ontario – Mitchell. 2b, 4-1-1; Bignali, cf, 3-1-1; Valeriotte, rf, 1-0-1; Kissell, 3b, 3-0-1; Ruck, lf, 2-0-0; Van Pelt, p, 0-0-0; Dilks, p, 0-0-0; Martinella, dh, 3-0-0; Willera, 1b, 2-0-0; Graham, c, 2-0-0; Blair, ss, 2-0-0. TOTALS 22-2-4.
Martin Oil – Ju. Manning, 2b, 3-0-0; Ja. Manning, c, 3-0-1; Gray, ss, 3-0-0; C. Coho, 3b, 3-0-0; J. Miller, 1b, 2-0-0; Plummer, p, 0-0-0; Simpson, dh, 3-0-0; A. Miller, lf, 2-0-0; Albright, ph, 1-0-0; Kovac, rf, 1-0-0; Pankoke, rf, 0-0-0; Mock, cf, 2-0-1. TOTALS 23-0-2.
Team Ontario 101 000 0   2-4-2.
Martin Oil      000 000 0   0-2-1.
2B: Valeriotte.
3B: Bignali.
RBI: Kissell.
SO: Van Pelt 6, Plummer 7.
BB: Van Pelt 2, Plummer 4.
WP: Van Pelt   LP: Plummer  Save: Dilks
Martin Oil 3  ReMax Realty 2
Martin Oil – Ju. Manning, 2b, 3-1-1; Ja. Manning, c, 3-1-2; Gray, ss, 2-0-1; C. Coho, p, 4-0-1; J. Miller, 1b, 2-1-0; Watters, rf, 2-0-1; Pankoke, cf, 3-0-2; Plummer, 3b, 3-0-0; Mock, lf, 3-0-0. TOTALS 25-3-8.
ReMax – Hammaker, ss, 4-1-0; Smithmyer, 2b, 4-0-0; Williams, 3b, 2-0-0; Weyandt, p, 1-0-1; Vaughn, dh, 3-0-0; Smith, pr, 0-0-0; Lytle, 1b, 3-0-2; Walters, c, 3-0-0; Tomassetti, lf, 3-1-1; Novesel, cf, 3-0-0; Nash, rf, 0-0-0; Gearhart, rf-cf, 2-0-2. TOTALS 28-2-6.
Martin Oil 100 001 1   3-8-3.
ReMax     000 010 1   2-6-2.
2B: Ja. Manning, Lytle.
RBI: Gray 2, Pankoke, Gearhart, Weyandt.
SO: C. Coho 6, Weyandt 2.
BB: C. Coho 3, Weyandt 2.
WP: C. Coho    LP: Weyandt

By Rick