For most of his senior season of high school baseball, Jesse Hertzler found himself coming off the bench or not playing at all. Hertzler began the summer season batting near the bottom of the Tyrone Legion lineup, but after a recent hot streak with the bat that has risen his average to .345, Hertzler found himself batting second Friday night.
With two runners on, down a run in the bottom of the sixth inning, Hertzler did what he has done every time he has been given a chance to, and that’s succeed.
Hertzler’s two-run single plated Tyler Conrad and Justin Schopp to give Tyrone a 7-6 lead that held up and gave Tyrone their seventh straight victory.
“Jesse has been such a solid hitter this year,” Tyrone Legion Manager Mike Boytim said. “He has been the most consistent hitter throughout the entire season, and it was nice to see he can cap off a rally as well as start one.”
Jamie Levinson went the distance on the mound a day after Tyler Gillmen threw nine innings in a 8-4 Tyrone win over Locker Room. Levinson struck out four and allowed only three earned runs.
Levinson got things started offensively for Tyrone as well. His one-out single in the second served as the spark plug as the Legion took a 4-0 lead. Doug Morrow followed with an infield single, and Levinson scored after a bad throw to first. Andy Ashcroft reached on an error, and Mike Romano walked to load the bases before Conrad hit a RBI ground out. Schopp capped the rally with a two-run double down the left field line.
“What was most impressive to me was that rally was basically done by the bottom of our order,” Boytim said. “It’s a perfect example of how just putting the ball in play can get an offense going.”
Hoss’s picked up two unearned runs in the third inning before tying it in the top of the fifth when Brandon Marasco hit a RBI triple and scored on a Lucas Harrella sacrifice fly.
Gillmen and Tyler Hoover manufactured a run in the bottom half of the fifth inning to re-capture the lead for Tyrone. Gillmen singled, stole second and went to third on a throwing error before Hoover hit a sacrifice fly.
Three consecutive two-out singles by Hoss’s gave them a 6-5 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.
“The last two days it has been really nice to see different people step up and really contribute to helping this team win,” Boytim said. “Our last two wins have been a complete team effort, and those are the wins you are really proud of as a manager.”
With Gillmen and Levinson unavailable to pitch Saturday, Tyrone will be facing the daunting task of extending their win streak to eight against Martin Oil, one of the top teams in the George B. Kelley Federation, with a depleted pitching staff.
“If the last two days have shown anything, it’s that we can play well no matter who is in our lineup,” Boytim said. “It will be a tough game tomorrow as it always is against Martin Oil, but we’ll play our hardest.”
The first pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Tyrone.
Sprankle’s Auto Outlet Notes: While Hertzler starred on the field, his brother Zane did an excellent job retrieving each foul ball in the brush behind home plate… Levinson has allowed only three earned runs over his last 11 innings pitched… Schopp has killed opposing team rallies in each of the last three games by throwing runners out trying to steal.
Tyrone Legion 7 Hoss’s 6
HOSS’S – Smith, cf, 4-0-0; Caputo, ss, 4-1-2; Wimbush, 1b, 4-1-2; Marasco, c, 4-2-3; Harrella, 2b, 3-1-1; Eckard, lf, 4-0-1; Bettwy, 3b, 3-0-0; Breon, p, 4-1-2; Holsinger, rf, 3-0-0. TOTALS 33-6-11.
TYRONE LEGION – Schopp, c, 3-1-2; Hertzler, 3b, 4-0-1; Gillmen, ss, 4-1-1; Hoover, 1b, 2-0-0; Levinson, p, 3-1-1; Morrow, rf, 3-1-2; Ashcroft, 2b, 3-1-0; Romano, cf, 1-1-0; T. Conrad, lf, 3-1-0. TOTALS 26-7-7.
Hoss’s 002 022 0 6-11-6
Tyrone Legion 040 012 X 7- 7-4
2B: Schopp
3B: Marasco
RBI: Schopp 2, Hertzler 2, Hoover, T. Conrad, Caputo, Wimbush, Marasco, Harrella, Eckard
SO: Levinson 4, Breon 3
BB: Breon 4, Levinson 2
WP: Levinson LP: Breon
