Playing their third straight game without Tyler Gillmen, Tyler Golden, Justin Schopp and Donnie Conrad, the Tyrone Legion trailed 11-3 when darkness suspended their game against Corporal Miller in the bottom of the sixth inning.
In their previous two games without the four starters, who are at football camp, the Tyrone Legion lost 17-0 to Locker Room and 11-1 to Martin Oil.
Derrick Soellner started on the mound for the first time in his George B. Kelley Federation career and got through the first inning unscathed with the help of a double play turned by second baseman Jeremy Myers.
As they did a day earlier against Martin Oil, the Tyrone Legion jumped out ahead 1-0 in the first inning.
Matt Morrissey drew a leadoff walk and went to second on a one-out Soellner single. Tyler Hoover brought home Morrissey with a single to give them home team the advantage.
Soellner got Casey Wombacher to fly out and struck out Alex Sisto to begin the second inning, but then a steady downpour began to affect Soellner’s control.
“The ball was hard to get a grip on, and the umpire just kept throwing wet ones back out to me,” Soellner said.
Despite the heavy rain and darkness that covered the field, the umpires decided to continue the game.
Soellner allowed back-to-back singles to Drew Gehl and Pat Gaeto before walking three straight batters and then hitting another. Andrew Criste capped the two-out rally with a two run double.
“Derrick is not a pitcher, but if it weren’t for the rain coming down so hard, he would have thrown a pretty good game to tell you the truth. I feel bad that his only start of his career had to be messed up by a situation where a rain delay should have been called,” Tyrone Legion Manager Mike Boytim said.
The Tyrone Legion got a run back in the bottom of the inning when Myers walked, went to second on a wild pitch, went to third on a Johnny Miller ground out, and scored after Brandon Oswalt walked and Morrissey grounded into a fielder’s choice.
The wet ball continued to cause control problems for Soellner in the top of the third inning. Soellner walked the first three batters, before getting three fielder’s choice ground outs to keep the Tyrone Legion in the game, 8-2.
Neither team scored in the fourth inning, but another Morrissey walk led to another run for the Tyrone Legion in the fifth inning.
Morrissey went to second on a wild pitch and scored when Soellner singled.
In the top of the sixth inning, the rain began to intensify once again, and Soellner walked and hit a batter leading to three more runs to make the score 11-3.
Before the Tyrone Legion could bat in the bottom of the sixth inning, the game was suspended due to darkness and will be continued at 5 p.m. Thursday in Juniata before the Tyrone Legion takes on Sheetz.
“Even though we are down by eight runs, the finish of that game should be interesting with Golden, Schopp and Gillmen pinch hitting in front of the top of our order,” Boytim said regarding Thursday’s final inning and a half.
The Tyrone Legion’s next action will come today when they host Dick’s Pharmacy at 6 p.m.
Legion Notes: Matt Morrissey is hitting .545 with four walks and seven runs scored in five games from the leadoff position this season… Morrissey is hitting .231 when he hits anywhere else… Golden, Gillmen, Conrad and Schopp will be returning for today’s game… The Tyrone Legion currently trails Hoss’s for the final playoff spot, but the two meet Friday in Tyrone.
Corporal Miller 11 Tyrone Legion 3 (Through 5 1?2 innings)
CORPORAL MILLER – Henderson, ss, 1-2-1; George, dh, 2-2-0; Snyder, lf, 0-0-0; Criste, 2b, 3-1-1; Wombacher, c, 4-0-0; Sisto, p, 3-0-0; Potts, cr, 0-1-0; Gehl, cf, 2-2-1; P. Gaeto, 1b, 3-1-1; Durbin, cf, 2-1-0; Smith, 3b, 2-1-0. TOTALS 22-11-4.
TYRONE LEGION – Morrissey, ss, 1-2-0; Levinson, c, 3-0-0; Soellner, c, 3-0-2; Hoover, 1b, 2-0-1; Hertzler, 3b, 3-0-0; Romano, cf, 2-0-0; Myers, 2b, 1-1-0; Miller, lf, 2-0-0; Oswalt, dh, 1-0-0; Rodland, rf, 0-0-0. TOTALS 18-3-3.
Corporal Miller 062 003 11-4-0
Tyrone Legion 110 01 3-3-0
2B: Criste 1.
RBI: Criste 2, Smith 2, Durbin 1, Wombacher 1, Morrissey 1, Soellner 1, Hoover 1.
SO: Sisto 6, Soellner 3.
BB: Sisto 5, Soellner 9.
