Tyrone manager Tom Coleman was reflective after his team\\\\\\\’s 12-4 loss to Central Saturday in the District 6-AA playoffs.
After putting the defending champs on the ropes with a two-run inning in the fourth to go up 3-1, Tyrone was outscored 11-1 the rest of the way, and limited to three hits over the last three innings.
Most of the damage was done in the fifth, when the Dragons sent 11 batters to the plate and scored eight runs to stake a commanding 11-3 lead. It was the kind of big inning Coleman had become all too familiar with over the last month of the season – five hits, two errors – and that was on his mind as his players packed up the equipment for the final time.
“We had the momentum but we didn\\\\\\\’t make the plays,” Coleman said. “It seems like it was the same in all of our losses. We have one really bad inning. We threw the ball around. They scored eight runs and that deflated us.”
It was the ninth time this season a team scored five or more runs on the Eagles in a single inning, and in every game Tyrone surrendered the big inning ended in a loss.
Tyrone had gone ahead 3-1 in the top of the fourth on a two-out double by Nick Cushion that plated Derrick and Max Soellner. But it was a short-lived lead, as Central picked up two unearned runs in the bottom of the frame to tie it. Paul Frederick reached on a Cushion error at thirdand later scored on a double by Eric Snyder, who later came home on a throwing error by pitcher Clint Wilson.
It was an inning that rallied the Dragons on all fronts. One at-bat later, Central was operating on all cylinders offensively, while starter Lee Kensinger settled into a groove that got Tyrone\\\\\\\’s bats off balance midway through the game. Kensinger finished with a complete-game victory, fanning seven and allowing eight hits.
His counterpart couldn\\\\\\\’t stay as sharp as long. Wilson labored a bit over the first four innings, taking batters deep into counts, but he threw for strikes as Tyrone stayed close. He started the fifth by allowing two singles before walking the bases loaded, giving way to Brice Mertiff.
Mertiff walked in two runs, Evan Snowberger scored on a fielder\\\\\\\’s choice, and Aaron Hazenstab brought a pair of runs home with a single up the middle. Before the Eagles cold blink, it was 8-3.
Central would score three more in the inning, two on Tyrone errors, and take an 11-3 lead that sapped the life out of the Eagles.
“Defensively, we just had to make those plays,” said Coleman.
The Eagles ended their season 11-8 and with the program\\\\\\\’s first playoff win in eight years following Thursday\\\\\\\’s 8-7 victory over Westmont.
Central, meanwhile, improved to 16-4 and advanced to the District 6-AA quarterfinals against Forest Hills.
Game Notes: Barry Gummo slapped his team-leading eighth double of the season….Brit Mingle had one hit, giving him a team-best 29 for the season….Cushion\\\\\\\’s two-hits allowed him to end the year with 21….Hazenstab had three RBI for the Dragons….Eric Snyder had three hits.
Central 12 Tyrone 4
TYRONE – Ba. Gummo, 1b-cf, 4-1-1; Be. Gummo, cf-ss, 4-0-0; Mertiff, ss-p-2b, 3-1-2; Mingle, rf, 3-0-1; M. Soellner, c, 2-1-0; Gillmen, c, 0-0-0; C. Wilson, p-1b, 3-0-1; Myers, cr, 0-0-0; D. Soellner, dh, 1-1-0; J. Wilson, lf, 1-0-1; Golden cr, 0-0-0; Maceno, 2b, 4-0-1; Cushion, 3b, 3-0-2. TOTALS: 28-4-8
CENTRAL – Hazenstab, cf, 5-1-2; Stern, ss, 1-2-0; L. Kensinger, p, 3-2-2; Snowberger, c, 4-0-2; Hale, cr, 0 2-0; Ritchey, 2b, 2-0-1; Olivieri, lf, 3-0-0; C. Johnson, ph, 0-1-0; Frederick, 3b, 4-1-1; Moyer, pr, 0-0-0; Snyder, rf, 3-2-3; K. Kensinger, 1b, 2-0-1; S. Johnson, ph, 0-0-0. TOTALS: 27-12-12
TYRONE 100 200 1 – 4-8-4
CENTRAL 100 281 X – 12-12-1
2B: Ba. Gummo, Cushion
RBI: Mertiff, C. Wilson, Cushion 2, Hazenstab 3, Snowberger 2, C. Johnson, Frederick, K. Kensinger, S. Johnson
K: L. Kensinger 7, C. Wilson 2,
BB: L. Kensinger 2, C. Wilson 2, Mertiff 4, Maceno 1
WP: L. Kensinger LP: C. Wilson
