The Tyrone Golden Eagles may have picked the worst day to try to break their two-game losing streak against.
While Bald Eagle Area may have been best described as opportunistic in terms of offense, with pitcher Justin Koleno on the bump, all they needed was a run or two. And by the second inning, BEA had more than enough to deal Tyrone and its faltering offense its third consecutive loss.
Koleno took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and did not allow an earned run in a dominating performance. He ultimately allowed just two hits in Bald Eagles’ complete-game 7-1 victory, dropping the Golden Eagles to 1-4 and keeping them winless at home in 2008.
“(Koleno) did a good job of changing speeds, throwing strikes, and bearing down,” said Tyrone manager Dustin Schoening. “You have to give him credit. It’s tough. We couldn’t hit him hard. At the same time, we’ve got to be more productive. We’ve got to improve on hitting the ball more solidly.”
To Shoening’s point, Koleno and BEA held Tyrone without an extra-base hit for the second time this season. Through five games, the Golden Eagles have managed just seven hits for extra bases, four of which came in last week’s 10-0 win over Penns Valley.
The lack of pop in Tyrone’s offense has put extra pressure on the Eagles’ starting pitching and magnified their defensive miscues. That was never more apparent than yesterday for sophomore Eric Desch, who allowed just three earned runs while fanning four, but was yanked in the fifth inning after Tyrone fell behind 6-1.
“He pitched well. I thought he did a great job,” said Schoening. “They scored four of their six runs against him with two outs and three were unearned, so that’s a pretty tough way to take a loss.”
BEA scored its first run in its first at-bat without registering a hit. Desch hit Koleno, who later stole second base. With two outs, second baseman Randy Hoover misplayed a sharply hit ball by AJ Robinson, allowing Koleno to take home.
It was 2-0 by the third inning when, with two outs, catcher Brock Anders missed a change up for a third strike Derek Noll. The play went down as a strike-out and wild pitch and put Noll on first base. Tye Bennett followed that up with a single, and Tyler Lucas drove in both base runners with a base hit up the middle to make it 4-0.
Lucas doubled home Miles Etters in the fifth to make it 6-0 and knock Desch out of the game.
Tyrone’s lone run came in the fourth inning without the aid of a base hit. Shortstop Doug Rudy drew a lead-off walk, moved to second when John Shaffer reached on an error at third by Bennett, and went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Anders. Matt Brooks followed with a sacrifice fly to right, making it 4-1.
The Golden Eagles would get no closer, although they made some noise in the sixth and seventh, stranding three runners in scoring position. Jordan Taylor broke up Koleno’s no-hit bid with two outs in the sixth when he singled to right, pushing Rudy to third, but Anders flew out to center one batter later.
In the seventh, Eric Loose singled after Mike Moore reached on an error, giving Tyrone a pair of base runners with one out, but Hoover grounded out to second and Aaron Cunningham flew out to center, ending the Eagles’ comeback bid.
BALD EAGLE AREA 7 TYRONE 1
BALD EAGLE AREA – Schall, ss, 4-0-1; Koleno, p, 4-1-0; Pillot, lf, 3-0-1; Showers, ph, 1-0-0; Robinson, 1b, 3-0-0; McKee, ph, 1-0-0; Tyler, 1b, 0-0-0; Noll, 2b, 4-1-1; Womer, rf, 3-2-2; Drapcho, ph, 1-0-0; Bennett, 3b, 2-0-2; Etters, cr-3b, 1-2-1; Lucas, c, 3-1-2; Quick, cf, 3-0-1. TOTALS: 33-7-11.
TYRONE – Cunningham, cf, 4-0-0; Hunter, lf, 3-0-0; Rudy, ss, 2-1-0; Shaffer, 1b, 1-0-0; Taylor, 1b, 1-0-1; Anders, c, 2-0-0; Brooks, 3b, 2-0-0; Moore, dh-2b, 2-0-0; Desch, p, 0-0-0; Brush, rf, 1-0-0; Loose, rf, 2-0-1; Hoover, 2b-p, 3-0-0. TOTALS: 23-1-2.
BALD EAGLE AREA 112 021 0 – 7-11-3
TYRONE 000 100 0 – 1- 2-5
2B: Noll, Lucas
RBI: Brooks, Schall 2, Bennet 2, Lucas, Quick
SO: Koleno 1, Desch 4, Hoover 1.
BB: Koleno 3, Desch 2, Hoover 1.
WP: Koleno LP: Desch:
