For the first time this season, senior lefty Clint Wilson had trouble commanding his fastball.
And for the first time this season, Tyrone’s defense played bad.
Really bad. Six errors bad.
Combined, those factors were all the Eagles needed to blow a three-run lead and surrender a season-high in runs yesterday in an 11-7 loss to West Branch in Allport.
But they weren’t the only factors. In most respects, the Eagles played a late Monday afternoon game like it was 6 o’clock Monday morning, and despite glimmers of verve Tyrone spent most of the game picking sand from its eyes.
Tyrone batters struck out a season-high nine times, four times taking a called third strike. Nine runners were stranded on base, including seven in scoring position. Five different Eagle fielders committed errors.
So even when the Eagles had opportunities from the midway point on, there was no pulse to indicate that a small rally would ever turn into trouble for the Warriors.
Reliever Ted Little made sure of that. He came on with one away in the fourth and West Branch leading 9-7 to put the clamps on the Eagles with a lively fastball and unconventional delivery. The Eagles had already scored two that inning on Buddy Stotler’s second double of the game, but Little retired the first two batters he faced to shut down the side, and allowed only three base runners the rest of the way.
Kevin Hubler started the game and went 4 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs on nine hits, to pick up the win.
Wilson went 5 2/3 innings, allowing seven earned runs, walking three and striking out seven.
It was Tyrone’s second consecutive loss after starting the season 3-0, and it dropped the Eagles to 1-2 in the Mountain Athletic Conference. Tyrone cracked double-digit hits for the fourth time in five games, but after a quick start it was key hits to start or continue a rally that Tyrone was missing most. Twice over the last three innings, Tyrone had a runner on second with one out, and on both occasions the Eagles came away empty-handed.
But things couldn’t have started better for Tyrone after jumping to a 3-0 lead in its first at-bat. Brit Mingle and Wilson each had run-scoring singles, while Tyler Gillmen plated another with a double to left.
The Warriors made most of that back in the bottom of the frame when Grady Luzier and Dylan Viehdorfer each scored with two away.
Eight-hitter Jim Moslak tied it on the first pitch of the second inning with a home run to center, igniting a five-run rally that had West Branch up 7-3.
Stottler made it 7-5 in the third with the first of two RBI doubles, but the Warriors responded in the bottom of the inning with two unearned runs to go ahead 9-5.
Stotler’s double in the fourth plated Matt Morrissey and Tyler Gillmen to make it 9-7, but Little came in one batter later to retire the side.
Tyrone’s best chance to get back into the game came in the sixth when Little walked aboard Derrick Soellner and Stotler, but Thad Graham and Tyler Golden struck out for outs two and three, ending the inning.
The Warriors got two more unearned runs in their next at-bat to put the game away.
DIAMOND NOTES: Stotler now has five doubles this season … Ben Gummo has hit safely in every game … sophomore Jamie Levinson pitched to one batter in the sixth, recording his first varsity strikeout … Little and Viehdorfer each had three hits for the Warriors … Tyrone plays Claysburg Wednesday in Claysburg.
West Branch 11 Tyrone 7
TYRONE – Mertiff, ss, 3-1-0; Gummo, 2b, 5-0-1; Mingle, rf, 3-1-1; Wilson, p, 4-0-1; Levinson, cr-p, 0-1-0; Soellner, c, 3-0-1; Morrissey, cr, 0-1-0; Gillmen, 3b, 4-2-2; Stotler, 1b, 3-1-3; Myers, lf, 2-0-1; Graham, ph, 1-0-0; Clark, cf, 0-0-0; Golden, dh, 4-0-0. TOTALS: 32-7-10.
WEST BRANCH – Little, cf-p, 5-0-3; Demchak, cr, 0-0-0; Christensen, rf-cf, 3-1-0; Luzier, ss, 2-2-2; Viehdorfer, c, 4-1-3; Husted, cr-rf, 0-1-0; Peters, lf-cf, 4-0-2; Gaines, 3b, 4-1-1; Hubler, p-1b, 3-2-0; Moslak, 1b-2b, 3-2-2; Quick, 2b-rf, 0-0-0; Shire, dh, 3-1-0. TOTALS: 31-11-13.
TYRONE 302 200 0 – 7-10-6.
WEST BRANCH 252 002 2 – 11-13-4.
2B: Little 2, Viehdorfer, Gillmen, Stotler 2.
HR: Moslak.
RBI: Viehdorfer 3, Little 2, Peters, Moslak, Stotler 3, Mingle, Gillmen, Wilson.
K: Wilson 7, Hubler 3, Little 6, Levinson 1.
BB: Wilson 4, Hubler 3, Little 3.
WP: Hubler LP: Wilson S: Little
