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WILKES-BARRE — Down three runs with just one out to go against Lake-Lehman on Wednesday, Holy Redeemer found itself in a tight spot.
Fortunately for the Royals, it was a spot they were familiar with, having erased a six-run Lehman lead just a few innings prior.
Four straight two-out base hits came before the winning run scored on a swinging third strike in the dirt as Redeemer erased yet another Lehman lead, prevailing 11-10 in a wild WVC Division 2 baseball game at Gibby Field.
“There were so many ups and downs, we shot ourselves in the foot a little bit,” Holy Redeemer coach Ryan Knowles said. “Great fight from the guys, I’m really proud of our guys.”
Lake-Lehman struck first in a big way, scoring five runs in the first and adding another to make it 6-0 before Redeemer could answer. The Royals clawed their way back, taking a 7-6 lead in the bottom of the fifth, but the Black Knights answered with four runs of their own in the sixth.
After the Royals went down quietly in the bottom of the sixth, it seemed like one comeback was all the team might be able to muster.
Reliever Zach Schultz pitched a clean frame in the seventh, setting the table for another Redeemer rally, this time to seal the deal.
Dino DiMauro, who started the game on the mound for Holy Redeemer, led off with a walk. The next two batters were fanned by Lehman reliever Cole Kaiser, but then the Royals bats got hot.
DiMauro came around to score on a single from Matt Mariejczyk. Then Cole Whitman singled, setting the table for the top of the order.
After Mariejczyk stole second, Colin Whitman plated both runners to tie the game on a rocket back up the middle.
“I was just looking for a good pitch to hit,” Whitman said after the game, holding a Holy Redeemer MVP title belt bestowed upon him by his head coach.
Colin’s day wasn’t over, as he made his way to third base after a single from Cody Quaglia, and scored easily to win the game as a third strike swung at by Kaydin Stevenson got past the Lehman catcher and went to the backstop.
A huge part of Holy Redeemer’s success came from very active feet on the basepaths. The Royals initially tied the game at 6-6 in the middle innings after some good situational baserunning with men on the corners, running a double steal to perfection.
In the last inning, Colin Whitman took an extra base on his single, advancing to second when a throw from the outfield sailed any potential cutoff men, getting himself that much closer to home.
“(Baserunning) has been stressed in our practices, our game speed, that’s how we put our lineup together,” Knowles said. “We’re really happy with that, and it showed today.”
Redeemer was also aided by patience at the plate, drawing nine walks, and from some timely hits, including a long home run from KJ Grybowski to wake things up for the Royals in the fourth innings.
Lake-Lehman did much of its damage in two bursts, one early and one late, and got a ton of production from all up and down their batting order. Nick Finarelli had three hits and a pair of runs batted in, and Chris Sholtis had two RBI, as well.
Cole Kaiser, in addition to throwing three-plus innings of relief, kicked off Lehman’s rally in the sixth with a leadoff triple, scoring on the play when a throw coming into third base got by and rolled to the fence.
Holy Redeemer 11, Lake-Lehman 10
Lake-Lehman`AB`R`H`BI
C.Kaiser cf-p`4`2`1`0
Naugle 2b-cf`4`2`1`0
G.Finarelli 3b-p`5`2`2`0
N.Finarelli 1b`4`2`3`2
Sholtis rf`2`2`1`2
Evans pr`0`0`0`0
Bean ss`4`0`2`2
E.Kaiser c`3`0`2`1
Smith pr`0`0`0`0
Jones dh`2`0`0`0
Bucholtz ph`1`0`0`0
Jenkins ph`1`0`0`1
Wallace p`3`0`0`0
Totals`33`10`12`8
Holy Redeemer`AB`R`H`BI
Colin Whitman lf`3`1`1`2
Quaglia ss`3`0`1`1
Stevenson c`4`0`0`1
Revitt pr`0`1`0`0
Kopec cf`4`0`1`1
DiMauro p`3`2`1`0
C.Mariejczyk 3b`3`1`1`1
Hurst pr`0`1`0`0
Gryboski 2b`4`1`1`1
M.Mariejczyk 3b`1`1`1`1
Morgan pr`0`0`0`0
Griffin pr`0`1`0`0
Cole Whitman`3`2`1`1
Totals`28`11`8`9
Lake-Lehman`510`004`0 — 10
Holy Redeemer`020`410`4 — 11
2B — G. Finarelli, N. Finarelli, C. Mariejczyk, Kopec. 3B — Sholtis, Kaiser. HR — Gryboski.
Lake-Lehman`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Wallace`3.0`3`5`4`5`2
Kaiser`3.2`3`5`5`5`5
G. Finarelli (L)`0.0`2`1`0`0`1
Holy Redeemer`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
DiMauro`4.0`7`6`5`2`5
Mazzarella`1.1`4`4`4`2`2
Schultz (W)`1.2`1`0`0`1`2