Act Two took place between the two local federation teams on Wednesday. Tyrone Legion made it two straight with one more matchup to follow this season with a 7-4 triumph over Martin Oil at the Harry K. Sickler Athletic Complex on Fifth Street in Tyrone.
A close pitching contest developed for the first three innings between Tyrone Legion lefty Clint Wilson and Martin Oil righty Kyle Drost.
In the home half of the fourth however, some wildness by Drost and one swing of the bat turned the game around. Derrick Soellner slammed a double to begin the Legion fourth and then Drost struck out Jason Wilson and Tyler Hoover, but walked Tyler Rickards and Shane Gherrity to load the bases with two out. Ben Lynn crashed a shot to center that Martin Oil centerfielder Dustin Harris couldn’t get to for a double that cleared the bases. The three runs that crossed the plate carried Tyrone Legion from a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 advantage.
Tyrone Legion scored three more runs after that and Martin Oil scored twice, but the fate of the game hinged on the one swing by Lynn.
“Ben Lynn had a big hit,” said Tyrone Legion manager John Gummo. “He has been hitting the ball real hard but hasn’t been getting base hits. He got a big one tonight.”
Tyrone scored in the bottom of the first to take an early lead, before Martin Oil scored single runs in the third and fourth to jump into a 2-1 lead.
Winning pitcher Clint Wilson drew a one-out walk in the first for the Legion and went to second on a wild pitch. Jason Wilson singled him to third with two outs. Jason took off attempting to steal second and Martin Oil’s catcher threw the ball into center field allowing Wilson to score an unearned run.
In the third inning, Dan Graham doubled for Martin Oil with one down, stole third base and scored on a groundout by Brandon Beech to tie the score at 1-1. An inning later, Martin Oil took a short-lived lead 2-1 lead. Matt Plummer beat out an infield hit and went to second when the ball was thrown away. Chris Alley grounded out with Plummer taking third, and when the ball was thrown away trying to get Plummer at third, he scored the go-ahead tally.
That set the stage for Lynn’s heroics in the bottom of the inning.
Following Lynn’s dramatic hit, Martin Oil came right back in their next at bat to load the bases with just one out in the top of the fifth. Ryan Kenawell, Beech and Graham reached on singles to load the bases. Wilson reached back for something extra however, getting Andy Brisbin on a strikeout and Matt Albright on a pop up to end the threat.
Tyrone Legion tacked on two runs in the fifth. Barry Gummo was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a groundout. Soellner got Gummo home with a single to left. Soellner was thrown out, catcher Matt Albright to shortstop Dan Graham, trying to steal second base for the second out of the frame, but Jason Wilson walked and scored all the way from first on an error by Harris in center field on a ball hit by Rickards.
Martin Oil got one of those back in the sixth when Alley was safe on an error and Drost singled to score Alley from second base.
Each team added one more run in their final at bat.
Tyrone Legion scored in the bottom of the sixth, with Harris on the mound for Martin Oil. Shane Gherrity opened the inning with a single, but was thrown out by Albright attempting to swipe second base. Lynn walked, went to second on a error and scored on a single to left by Barry Gummo.
“Its a shame. That’s twice now Kyle has pitched against Tyrone and has two losses,” said Martin Oil manager Ed Davis. “He really threw a nice ballgame both times. We just didn’t give him support in the field. Plus, even though we outhit Tyrone, we still couldn’t get the key hits. We left way too many runners in scoring position. We are not being smart at the plate, not swinging at good pitches and letting good ones go by. It costs you when you play a team the caliber of Tyrone, you have to swing at strikes, not swing at balls.”
Martin Oil needed four runs in the top of the seventh, but Wilson limited them to just one. Beech and Brisbin opened the frame with singles and a groundout by Plummer scored Beech. Alley followed with a single, but Wilson got Drost on a fielder’s choice to end the ballgame.
“Brandon Beech played a nice ballgame for us tonight. Chris Alley had another nice game with a couple hits. Ryan Kenawell had a super night at the plate again. And I can’t say enough about Kyle Drost’s pitching. He is a 16-year old who flat out is doing a super job for us. It’s a shame he had gotten tagged for a couple losses in a row that should have been in the win column for him.”
Clint Wilson scattered 10 hits, giving up four runs, three earned with six strikeouts and no walks for the complete-game victory.
“Clint pitched real well,” said John Gummo. “He is getting stronger and stronger. He didn’t walk a batter and he pitched ahead in the strike zone. When Martin Oil put runners in scoring position, Clint sucked it up and pitched out of it.”
Both teams are back in action tonight. Tyrone Legion hosts Hoss’s at the Harry K. Sickler Complex and Martin Oil travels to Martinsburg for a game with Altoona First/Barkman Oil. Both contests are set for 6 p.m.
Tyrone Legion 7 Martin Oil 4
MARTIN OIL – Beech, rf, 4-1-2; Brisbin, 2b, 4-0-1; Albright, c, 4-0-0; Plummer, 3b, 4-1-1; Alley, 1b-ss, 4-1-2; Drost, p-1b, 4-0-1; Kenawell, lf, 3-0-2; Harris, cf-p, 2-0-0; Reimer, ph, 1-0-0; Graham, ss-cf, 3-1-2. TOTALS 33-4-11.
TYRONE LEGION – Ba. Gummo, cf, 3-1-1; C. Wilson, p, 3-1-0; Soellner, c, 3-0-2; Morrissey, cr, 0-1-0; J. Wilson, lf, 2-1-1; Rickards, 3b, 2-1-0; Hoover, 1b, 3-0-0; Gherrity, ss, 2-1-1; Lynn, 2B, 2-1-1; Rogers, rf, 3-0-0. TOTALS 23-7-6.
Martin Oil 001 101 1 4-11-3.
Tyrone Legion 100 321 X 7-6-4.
2B: Alley 1, Graham 1, Soellner 1, Lynn 1.
RBI: Beech 1, Plummer 1, Drost 1, Lynn 3, Ba. Gummo 1, Soellner 1.
SO: Drost 4, Harris 1, C. Wilson 6.
BB: Drost 4, Harris 1.
WP: C. Wilson LP: Drost
