Tick, Tick, Tick...went the innings, tick,tick,tick went the outs. Tick,tick tick went the time bomb, until it went off with a loud bang in the top of inning six in Saturday's battle of the unbeaten at the 2010 District 5 American Legion Baseball Tournament being played at DeLutis Field in Rome. When the tick,tick, tick stopped the clock had struck midnight for the gold and blue from Ilion (17-9).
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Whitestown's 9-3 win over the Herkimer County champs puts them in the driver's seat, for a seat on the bus that would head to Newburgh next week, if Post 1136 earns one more win over either the same stubborn Ilion team, they beat today, or fellow Division Winner, Blue that is, Utica Post.
Mother nature, who has been playing crude jokes on the teams vying for District 5 honors, forced tonight's Loser's bracket (don't call these two teams losers) game between Ilion and Utica Post to come to an all too sudden halt, with UP leading Ilion 6-0 in the second. That game will be decided Sunday morning in a brunch hour matchup at 11:00AM.
Whitestown, who looked like a team with tired arms, tired from swinging such hot bats all tourney long, was lulled to sleep by Ilion's crafty starter, tall, lanky, righthander Tyler Brien, who seemed to have hypnotized the white and red from Whitestown (21-5).
(Whitestown shortstop Mike Sullivan leaps and fires to first on a second inning double play as Ilion Post's John LeClair (8) slides into second.)
After all, if your team had scored 31 runs prior to the start of this seven inning affair, one would expect to have seen several crooked numbers staring them in the face on the scoreboard at Larry DeLutis Field.
Instead, it was Brien who used his right arm to disarm the potent Whitestown offense. Through five innings Brien was masterful, mixing a decent fastball with a great curveball to keep Whitestown out of sync and out of sorts.
Speaking of out of sorts, the loyal Whitestown faithful cheering section anchored by MHTS photographer Jeff Pexton's parents Richard and Florence were out of sorts themselves. By the way, it was my pleasure to have decided to introduce myself to the Pextons and their friends the Piehlochs, Dan and his lovely wife.
This foursome could charge admission at a comedy Cabaret and pack the house. I'm not kidding. Listening to them talk and root their way through a game, like today's, is a treat all diehard baseball fans should treat themselves to.
Along with their comedic views on the world and more importantly Whitestown Post baseball, I had the pleasure of listening to and watching these proud fans work just as hard as the players on the field, to deliver their beloved Post 1136 a key tournament win.
The mood became much lighter in our section when Mike Bunal decided to take the game over in, the tide turning, sixth inning. After Mike Sullivan worked out a well deserved walk, the Oriskany High School product strode to the dish and decided things with one fell swoop.
(Whitestown's Mike Bunal (right) clanks helmets with Mike Sullivan (left) after Bunal delivered a home run to give his team a 2-1 lead.)
With Sullivan distracting Brien with his presence on first, Brien left a big fat one out over the dish and Bunal sprung like a cobra to connect with all of his might and deposit the offering just outside the red barn door on the storage shed out behind the fence in left field.
By the way, Bunal knew it was a Getty Goner right away as he gave the bat a stylish flip up into the humid, late July air, as he broke into his homerun trot that led to him being swarmed by his ecstatic teammates.
Starter, Ryan Watson was a happy camper too, because he was more than earning his keep with a stellar pitching performance in a big spot. Ryan went six complete innings and had a better than average pitching line that goes like this, 6 innings pitched, 6 hits, 1 strikeout, 3 walks and just 2 runs allowed.
Those numbers helped add up to a (4-0) record as a starter for Watson. Back to the Bunal blast; the pressure valve was turned off and a confident Whitestown offense didn't stop until they had plated five big runs, to lead by four, with not much time left for the shell shocked Ilion Post team.
Other big hits in the five run sixth inning include a 2 RBI double by third basemen Dan Smith. Speaking of Smith, it was his defensive web-gem in the previous inning that changed the tonal quality of this game.
(Whitestown's Ryan Watson (17) follows through on a third inning pitch.)
Ilion catcher Myles Malta stepped in to start the bottom of the fifth and ripped a viscious shot toward the line at third, that Smith snared before it got behind him. The great defensive play seemed to awaken the sleeping giant and the rest, as they say, is history. Smith was also an offensive star for Whitestown, driving in 3 big runs.
The Herkimer County champs were their own worst enemy, having two runners picked off first. Watson showed his "A" move, as he caught Dan Crim leaning the wrong way in the bottom of the fourth. Matt Engler applied the slap tag and sent the shocked first basemen back to the Ilion bench.
Another baserunning gaff cost Ilion dearly as they looked to rally late. In the bottom of the sixth Dylan Todd walked and got caught in a rundown and was also erased from the basepaths.
Any chances for a big inning were hindered by the pickoff play. Ilion did score a run and later brought the tying run to the plate after John LeClair doubled and later scored to make it 5-2.
Any chance for late inning drama went up in smoke, as Whitestown, sensing a spot in the finals, tacked on four more runs to blow this one open.
Mike Sullivan does what he does best and got on base when he singled and later scored run number 6, when he stole home. Ryan Watson helped his own cause again with an RBI sac fly that sent Brendan Heitz scampering home with run number 8.
Oh, by the way, Mike Bunal singled and scored in the sixth, as well. Matt Engler had some fun of his own, doubling to drive in Watson with the ninth and final Whtiestown run.
(Myles Malta takes a cut as Dylan Gorski awaits the pitch.)
Herkimer lead 1-0 until the fateful sixth, on the strength of a first inning rally. Jeff Gysaman singled to right and later came around to score the game's fist run when John LeClair ripped an RBI single to right. Ilion also plated single runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
Whitestown and manager Paul Englehart can sleep in to get ready for a shot at a D5 crown Sunday at 2:00PM, while Little Falls skipper Eric Moreau and company need to figure out a way to come back from a six run deficit to Utica Post and hope for another shot at Whitestown Post.
Oh, by the way, save me a seat.
Whitestown Post 1136 (9) Ilion Post 920 (3)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Whitestown 0 0 0 0 0 5 4 9 8 0
Ilion 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 6 3
Offensive Stars:
Whitestown
Mike Bunal-1 single-1 homerun-2 runs scored-2 RBI
Dan Smith-2 singles-3 RBI-1 run scored
Matt Engler-1 single-1 double-1 RBI-1 run scored
Ryan Watson- 1 double-1 run scored-1 RBI
Matt Cornmire-1 double-1 run scored
Brendan Heitz-2 runs scored
Mike Sullivan-2 runs scored
Ilion
John LeClair- 1 single-1 double-1 RBI
Jamie Barr-1 RBI
Jeff Gysaman-1 single-1 run scored
Dan Crim-2 singles
Joe Gantz-1 single
