Let Tyrone play Penns Valley every day of the season and there’s a chance they would rewrite all of the offensive records kept at their school. For whatever reason, they play the Rams’ extremely well.
But yesterday’s 10-8 victory over Valley – Tyrone’s second over the Rams this season – may have had more to do with a move made a day earlier than with a match up advantage which, at least for this season, seems to be in Tyrone’s favor.
Eagle manager Dustin Schoening sat out seven starters on Tuesday in an 11-1 loss to Philipsburg-Osceola after the players missed a practice on Monday.
Call it coincidence, but in the wake of that move, the Eagles had their best hitting day of the season, cranking out 13 hits against the Rams, including three hits for extra bases. Every Tyrone batter that stepped to the plate had at least one hit, and six different players drove in runs.
“I see it from them in practice all the time, and it’s nice to see it in the game,” said Schoening. “We ran the bases well and executed well, but really it was clutch hitting more than anything.”
For the first time in a long time, Tyrone hitters delivered with runners in scoring position. They also worked as well as they have all season at getting runners into scoring position. The Eagles had three sacrifice bunts to move runners – led by Doug Rudy’s two – while two other hitters bunted for base hits. Donnie Hunter drove in another run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
“If you can (bunt) correctly, it’s a tough play to defend,” Schoening said. “It’s a play that’s really good for keeping defenses on their toes.”
The Eagles improved to 3-9 this season, and it wasn’t a coincidence that sophomore Eric Desch was on the hill. The left-hander picked up his third victory as well, striking out five in his third complete game of the season.
It wasn’t the sa me dominating performance Desch had when he fanned 10 Ram batters in a win over Penns Valley earlier this year in Spring Mills, but instead a chance for Desch to showcase his competitive drive. Without his best stuff, he pitched out of several jams, and never panicked when the Rams scored three runs in the seventh before Tyrone had recorded an out.
“When he’s on the mound, there’s no one tougher,” Schoening said. “He hung in there and really bared down when he needed it. He was very poised.”
Desch was good enough to strand 13 Penns Valley batters, twice leaving the bases loaded, including a jam in the fourth when Valley packed the bags with one out. In response, Desch struck out the next two batters looking to close the side.
Desch’s teammates gave him the run support he needed with eight runs in the third inning to go ahead 9-3. Johnny Shaffer, one of four Eagles with two hits, got it started by doubling home Mike Moore, and later tied the game at 3-3 when he scored on a single to right by Matt Brooks.
Donnie Hunter made it 5-3 with a double that plated Brooks, and Brock Anders put an exclamation mark on the inning when he drove the first offering he saw from Valley starter Kevin Montminy deep over the fence in left field for his first career home run to make it 7-3.
Hunter’s sacrifice fly in the sixth that scored Rudy had Tyrone up 10-4, but Valley made a run at it in its final at-bat, stringing together three straight hits, capped by an Adam Brown double that scored a pair. He later scored on a single by Kyle Palm, cutting Tyrone’s lead to 10-8, but Desch retired three of the next four batters he faced to end the threat.
“We need to do the next two days what we did today,” said Schoening, whose team will now play Williamsburg at home today before playing a double-header at Bellwood-Antis Friday.
Tyrone 10 Penns Valley 8
Penns Valley – Neiderer, 2b, 4-1-1; Kieffer, lf, 5-1-1; Brown, 3b, 5-1-3; Wingard, cf-p, 2-0-0; Montminy, p-rf, 4-0-1; Palm, 1b, 4-0-1; Luse, rf-cf, 0-0-0; C. Sweeley, dh, 1-2-0; T. Sweeley, dh, 1-0-0; Zerby, c, 4-1-1; Homan, ss, 3-1-1; Wolf, ph, 0-1-0. TOTALS: 33-8-9.
Tyrone – Cunningham, cf, 4-0-1; Moore, 2b, 3-2-1; Shaffer, 1b, 4-1-2; Taylor, dh, 3-2-1; Desch, p, 0-0-0; Brooks, rf, 4-1-2; Rudy, ss, 2-1-2; Hunter, lf, 2-1-1; Anders, c, 4-0-2; Brush, cr, 0-1-0; Hoover, 3b, 2-1-1. TOTALS: 28-10-13.
Penns Valley 030 010 4 8- 9-4.
Tyrone 018 001 X 10-13-5 .
E: Moore, Rudy, Shaffer, Hoover, Anders, Wingard, Brown 2, Homan.
2B: Brown, Shaffer, Hunter.
HR: Anders.
RBI: Moore, Shaffer 2, Brooks, Rudy, Hunter 2, Anders 2, Neiderer, Kieffer, Brown 2, Palm.
SO: Montminy 1, Wingard 1, Desch 5.
BB: Montminy 2, Wingard 1, Desch 7
WP: Desch LP: Montminy
