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WARRINGTON – Eric Kammler doesn’t go down looking very often.So when Rob Spragis retired Pennridge’s dangerous clean-up batter on a called third strike in the fourth inning, the Central Bucks South hurler might have known there’d be a payback.
“I was kind of angered after that,” Kammler said. “I was like, ‘I’m coming back. I’m going to rip whatever he gives to me.’”
And that’s exactly what he did.
It was Kammler’s screaming RBI double over the first base bag that knotted the score 1-1 in the sixth, and he wasn’t finished yet.
After the two teams exchanged runs in the seventh, Kammler led off the eighth inning with a booming double to deep left and scored what turned out to be the game winner when Ray Puskar roped a one-out double to right field.
The Rams went on to earn a 5-2 win in an emotionally-charged SOL contest at Barness Park on Thursday afternoon.
“This (game) was very emotional both ways,” Kammler said. “At first, you’re hyped up, you’re getting the win right here, and they came back and get that hit and you have to keep them from scoring again to stay in the game.
“It helped that we came back in the next inning and started roping the ball.”No one was exactly roping the ball for the better part of seven innings, and for a while, it looked as though one run might win it as Spragis and Pennridge’s Jared Schaffer found themselves locked in a classic pitchers’ duel.
The Titans got on the scoreboard in the fifth when Joe Mullin greeted reliever Brad Herrmann with a two-out single up the middle that plated Ryan Clark, who had walked.
That 1-0 lead was short-lived.
Herrmann was safe on a slow roller down the third base line to lead off the sixth, setting the stage for Kammler’s RBI double. The Titans escaped with the 1-1 tie intact, thanks to an inning-ending double play that saw Ryan Clark snag a fly ball in center field and fire a one-hop strike to the plate, nailing Kammler who was attempting to score from third.The Rams took a 2-1 lead in the seventh. Pete Leatherman drew a one-out walk, and he moved up to second on a balk. Dylan Tice was issued an intentional walk, and Ryan Metzler made it hurt – lining an RBI single to center.
Down but not out, the Titans battled back.
Bryan Weaver drew a walk to open the bottom of the frame, and he moved up to second on Steve Dompert’s sacrifice bunt. He found himself on third with two outs after a groundout to short, and with the Titans down to their last strike, designated hitter Gary Kleinschmidt grounded a clutch single up the middle to knot the score 2-2.
“It was unbelievable,” Kleinschmidt said. “I was trying to hang tough.
“I thought we had a chance to bring home a win. We need to start hitting better with runners in scoring position.”
In the eighth, Kammler got the ball rolling with his double to left, and one out later, he scored on Puskar’s RBI double to the right field fence. An attempt to nail Puskar at the plate on an infield grounder failed, and when Kyle Peters delivered his third hit of the day – a two-out RBI single to left, the Rams led 5-2. “They did a better job – especially late – of hitting when they had their guys in scoring position,” South coach Chris McGlone said. “They brought in a good pitcher. He did a good job – he threw strikes, and we just weren’t able to capitalize. We have done a better job of scoring runs than we did today. Yesterday we put up nine, but today it just didn’t happen. Their pitcher did a good job. You have to give him credit.”
Herrmann retired the Titans in order in the bottom of the eighth and put an exclamation point on the win by recording the game’s final out on a strikeout.
“Everything came together for us,” Herrmann said. “That last inning – we haven’t hit the kid all day, and we just started hitting him.
“Coach told me to come in and just do what I do. After they got that run, I was a little upset, but the team said, ‘Don’t worry – we’ll get you some runs.’ They got me some runs, and the next inning – it was one, two, three.”
“The defense we have right now is looking pretty good, and the team kept fighting back. It was just an all-around good baseball game.”
Coach Tom Nuneviller is counting on Herrmann to provide relief from the bullpen.
“Brad was one of our closers last year,” the Rams’ coach said. “The other day we brought him in with the bases loaded and two outs. He’s just a mentally tough kid, and he goes after it.
“He battled. They all battled – both sides.”
While the Titans saw their record drop to 1-1 in the league (3-3 overall), the Rams improved to 3-0 in league play (4-1 overall).
NOTES: Spragis gave the Titans a solid effort, allowing just two runs in seven innings before running out of gas in the eighth. “He was pitching a heck of a game,” McGlone said. “He’s had a couple of tough outings earlier in the season, and he really stepped up today. I think he knew he had to step up. He wanted to show he could be one of our top starters, and he did a good job today, good enough to be one of our top starters. We’re going to need him.”
PENNRIDGE 5, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 2
Pennridge: Dylan Tice 2b 4 0 1 0; Ryan Metzler lf 4 0 1 1; Brad Herrmann cf,p 3 1 0 0; Eric Kammler ss 3 1 2 1; Dan Wolfe c 4 0 0 0; Ray Puskar 3b 4 1 1 1; Tim Eversole dh 4 1 0 1; Jared Schaffer p 0 0 0 0; Ryan Trauger cf 0 0 0 0; Pete Leatherman rf 3 1 0 0; Kyle Peters 1b 4 0 3 1; Tyler Hockman pr 0 0 0 0. TOTALS 33 5 8 5.
Central Bucks South: Ryan Clark cf 3 1 1 0; Gary Kleinschmidt dh 4 0 2 1; Rob Spragis p 0 0 0 0; Matt Nickerson p 0 0 0 0; Joe Mullin c 4 0 2 1; Kyle McLaughlin rf 4 0 1 0; Jeff Gyza 3b 4 0 0 0; Chris Clark 1b 2 0 0 0; Dan Happ ss 3 0 0 0; Bryan Weaver 2 1 1 0; Steve Dompert 2b 3 0 0 0. TOTALS 29 2 7 2
Pennridge 000 001 13-5
Central Bucks South 000 010 10-2
E-CB South 3, Pennridge 0. DP-CB South 1. LOB-Pennridge 9, CB South 8. 2B-Kammler 2, Puskar, Mullin. SB-R.Clark.
IP H R ER BB SO
Central Bucks South
Spragis (L) 7 2/3 8 5 4 4 2
Nickerson 1/3 0 0 0 0 0
Pennridge
Schaffer 4 2/3 5 1 1 3 1
Herrmann 3 1/3 2 1 1 1 1
WP-Spragis.
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