Canton rallies to edge Athens in eight innings.
By: Brian Fees | Towanda Daily Review | April 19, 2012 | Photo courtesy Brian Fees
2012 NTL and District 4 News
ATHENS - Down two runs, the Canton Warriors fought back to defeat the Wildcats in eight innings on Wednesday.
Down 2-0 entering the sixth inning, the Warriors scored runs in the sixth and the seventh to tie things up.
In the bottom of the seventh it looked like Athens might end the Warriors comeback hopes as Mike Estes hit a one-out triple.
However, Canton switched things up defensively, putting five infielders in and it paid off as Emmett Watson caught a pop up for the second out.
Estes tried to go home on a passed ball with two outs, however Canton catcher Jacob Butcher quickly got to the ball and threw to pitcher Garrett Wesneski who made the tag for the final out of the inning.
"I wasn't sure he was going to go, but I covered just in case," Wesneski said. "Out of the corner of my eye I saw he hesitated and I knew we had him.
"That saves the game for us. It kept us alive and gave us a chance."
In the eighth inning with one out Ryan Ball reached on an error and a wild pitch allowed him to move to second.
Canton made the move to bring in Ryan Kutz to pinch run and he came in and moved to third on a wild pitch and came home on a Butcher sacrifice fly.
"I'm used to doing that," Kutz said of coming off the bench to run. "I've been doing it since freshman year."
Because Ball had already re-entered the game earlier he was out of the game and Kutz stayed on the field and that proved crucial in the bottom half of the eighth.
With one out Justin Schlosser hit a long fly ball to right and Kutz made a leaping catch for the second out.
"I misjudged it, but I knew I had to make the play," Kutz said.
As he came down out of the air Kutz just wanted to make sure he held onto the ball.
"It was kind of scary, but I knew I had to do it," he said.
After Trey Patton walked, Canton got the final out as Scott Rockwell got a called strike three to end the game.
"I just was thinking I had to get the final out," Rockwell said.
For the Warriors this was a win they know they had to have.
Athens had gone up 2-0 in the third when Chris Pack had a one-out single and stole second and Schlosser got a two-out walk. Patton and Craig Moore followed with back-to-back RBI singles.
Canton got their first run in the sixth after Wesneski singled and scored on a triple by Ball.
In the seventh with one out Ben Pepper walked and he moved to second on a Rockwell single and scored on an Emmett Watson single.
"It is always nice to win on the road," Rockwell said. "I keeps us alive in the NTL."
The Warriors know that they need to play better for the entire game.
"We've got to work on getting better early and not waiting until the seventh or eighth inning to do something," Rockwell said.
Wesneski and Rockwell combined on the mound for Canton and Adam McCauley went the distance for the Wildcats. He struck out nine and walked four, while allowing six hits. Wesneski went seven innings, striking out four, walking two and allowing five hits, before Rockwell struck out one and walked one in a scoreless inning.
Rockwell had two hits and Watson had a hit and an RBI. Wesneski had a hit and Tim Bassett scored a run.
Ball had two hits and an RBI and Kutz had the run scored, while Butcher had an RBI and Pepper had a run scored.
Pack had a hit and a run scored for Athens and Patton and Craig Moore each had hits, while Estes had the triple. Patton and Moore each had RBI.
Waverly 11, Newark Valley 0
Pat Bronson had another dominant performance on the mound as the Wolverines picked up the win on Wednesday.
Bronson threw a three-hit shutout, striking out 11 and walking three.
"This was a really good team win," Waverly coach Kyle McDuffee said. "We are ready for the second half of the season. Pat Bronson pitching will play a big impact on our run for the division."
Cody Marchese had a hit, a stolen base and two runs scored and Anthony Girolamo had two stolen bases and two runs scored.
Dylan Perry had three hits, two steals, three RBI and three runs scored and Dylan Gutierrez had three hits, with two triples, three runs scored, three RBI and two stolen bases.
Matt Lee had two RBI, Ken Evans had an RBI and Bronson had a hit. Brighton Wood scored a run in the game.
Waverly won the JV game 12-6.
Odessa-Montour 6, Tioga 3
Odessa-Montour scored three runs in the fifth to down the Tigers on Wednesday.
Ryan Vergason worked six innings for Tioga, striking out seven, walking two and allowing six hits and six runs, just two earned as five errors hurt Tioga.
"We should have given him more support," Tioga coach Bob Seymour said. "He should have got a win there."
Vergason scored a run and Eric Zwierlein had two hits, with a double and a triple and a run scored. Jake Howland had a hit and an RBI and Peter Simmons had a hit and a run scored. Dakota Skinner and Cody Bennett each had hits, with Bennett getting a double and an RBI.
Brad Hornbrook was 3-for-4 with three runs scored for Odessa-Montour.
Ryan Gardner and Tanner Dupuw pitched for 0-M with Dupuw getting the win, the first of the year for Odessa-Montour.
Tioga hosts Newfield on Friday.
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