Place helps Towanda give Canton their first loss.
By: Brian Fees | Towanda Daily Review | April 30, 2013 | Photo courtesy Brian Fees
2013 NTL and District 4 News
WYSOX - Nick Place had pitched one of the best games of his life on Monday.
He had thrown seven full innings, struck out 10 and limited unbeaten Canton to just one run on Monday afternoon.
However, the Black Knights needed more. With the game tied at one with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, Towanda needed another run or the game was headed to extra innings and Place's chances to get the win on the mound would be over.
"Coach (Karl) Raffin said I was done after seven innings," Place said. "If I wanted the complete game, I had to get a hit."
And, that's exactly what Place did, delivering a walk-off single to bring home Jared Lines with the game winning run to hand the Warriors their first loss.
"I just knew I had to step up and make it happen," Place said.
Place hit a drive down the left-field line and as he got partway to first he realized it was going to bring home the winning run.
"I was just hoping it would be far enough down the line and it was," Place said.
It was the second walk-off hit of the year for Place, who also had one against Sayre earlier this year.
As big as the hit was for Place, the sophomore's effort on the mound really stood out for the Black Knights.
Place threw more innings on Monday than he had all season for Towanda.
"I had thrown four this year," he said. "I felt good. I knew I needed to pitch well."
Place struck out 10, walked three and allowed just four hits in the game.
"It was an outstanding effort out of Nick today," Towanda coach Bill Sexton said. "He didn't throw a lot early in the year. He had some arm troubles and coach Raffin and coach Baker noticed something with his arm slot and since they fixed that he's been a lot more effective. We needed him to step up today and he did."
Both teams got runs on the board early on Monday as Canton's leadoff hitter in the first inning, Emmett Watson, walked and advanced on a passed ball, before scoring on a Kyle Landis double.
In the bottom of the first Lines got a one-out hit, advanced on a Dylan Bates walk and scored on an error.
After that the game became a pitcher's dual between Place and Canton's Garrett Wesneski, then Chase Pepper.
Towanda had a chance in the fifth inning with the bases loaded and one out, but Pepper struck out the final two batters of the inning to escape the jam.
In the top of the fifth Canton had the bases loaded themselves with two outs after three straight walks, but Place got out of the jam.
In the sixth Canton again had a runner on third, but Place got out of that.
After allowing some base runners in the fifth and sixth innings, and all of his walks in the fifth, Place came out strong in the seventh, retiring the top of the Canton lineup in order, sandwiched around Connor Route reaching on an error.
"I knew it was my last inning so I had to give it my all," Place said.
The seventh inning started for Towanda as Lines drew a walk and Dylan Bates reached on an error, before Place's hit.
"Lines has really come into his own the last couple of weeks," Sexton said. "He is seeing pitches a lot better. He worked a walk today and that was big."
For Place the game is a big confidence booster coming off struggling against the two batters he faced against Notre Dame on Saturday.
"I did not know how much confidence coach had in me after Saturday," Place said. "This is definitely a confidence booster for me. I just want to keep it going."
Sexton knew that Place wanted the ball on Monday and he delivered.
"Last week he said I want Canton," Sexton said. "Anytime a player wants the ball. Wants to pitch in a situation. Wants to hit in a situation and has that kind of confidence, you like that."
After Monday the Black Knights will likely be looking to Place more on the mound the rest of the season.
"That would be really nice," Place said.
"After the way he threw tonight, he's not just another guy, he is one of our main starters," Sexton said.
For Towanda the win on Monday was a good way to bounce back after losing back-to-back games to Notre Dame and Edison on Saturday.
"We played some quality programs on Friday, Saturday and today," Sexton said. "Probably the best group of teams we will play like that until the postseason. We didn't play especially well on Saturday so I was really concerned today with which team would show up. I thought last week we had turned a corner. We had two really good games offensively against Cowanesque and Williamson and we had a gritty win against a good Wellsboro team, and then we didn't show up on Saturday. It was really scary to see what we were going to get tonight, but they played well."
Brandon Dinelli, Lines and Place all had hits for Towanda in the game, with Place getting two hits and Watson, Landis, Wesneski and Wes Moore had hits for Canton, with the hit by Landis being a double.
Wesneski struck out nine, walked two and allowed one unearned run on one hit in 4 1/3 innings for Canton, while Pepper struck out five, walked one and allowed three hits and one run in 2 2/3 innings.
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