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By Scott Huff
HOLLAND – The odds on Council Rock South pitcher Greg Welsh striking out the side in the top of the seventh inning to win his start over Neshaminy were astronomical.
The odds makers might have had it at least a 1000 to one after Welsh was roughed up for five runs in the first two innings.
However, Welsh was on the mound in that seventh inning, striking out the side and closing the door on a Redskin rally as Rock South defeated Neshaminy 8-7 in a Suburban One National Conference game,
Redskin catcher Mike Kusters had blasted a grand slam home run in the first inning, and Rock South coach Greg Young had action going in the Golden Hawk bullpen.
And in the second inning, the Redskins scored a single run on an RBI single by Tyler Orr and were poised to score two more. And the Rock South bullpen was at it once more.
“Sometimes when you get somebody down in the bullpen, it can motivate a pitcher to stay into the game,” smiled Council Rock South coach Greg Young. “It was his first start and he was a little amped up.
“I don’t know, maybe he needs to throw a little more in the bullpen to get ready for the game,” continued Young. “When he is right, he can really throw the baseball.”
The Golden Hawks rallied back from that 5-0 deficit to cut the lead to 5-3 in the third inning.
Paul Difede opened the inning with a walk and moved to third in a single by Bill Fleming. Difede scored on an RBI double by Max Wieler and Fleming scored on an RBI double by Eric Ebert. Wieler scored the third run of the inning on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Tom Boyd.
“If you are going to fall behind 5-0, the best time to do it is at the beginning of the game,” said Neshaminy coach Dennis Cox. “Council Rock South is a good team that plays the game the right way. You have to give them credit, and we didn’t take advantage of our chances, and they took advantage of their chances.
“This loss puts a horrible taste in our mouths,” added Cox. “But we still have 12 games left in the season, and a lot of good things are going to happen.”
The Hawks sliced the lead to 5-4 with a single run in the fifth inning. Fleming was safe on an error to open the inning and scored on a sacrifice fly by Mike Tomeo.
Neshaminy scored what looked like a big insurance run in the sixth inning to secure a 6-4 lead. Pinch hitter Dean Fritz worked a walk and scored on an RBI single by Brian Fiocco.
Rock South worked some two-out magic in the last of the sixth inning to take its first lead of the game.
Alex Tomlinson walked and Difede singled with two outs to set the stage for the biggest Rock South hits. Fleming blasted a triple to plate both Tomlinson and Difede, and Fleming scored the lead run on an RBI double by Wieler to give Rock South a 7-6 lead.
“I just wanted to put a good swing on the ball,” said Fleming of his three-bagger. “When we fell behind 5-0, I knew that we would had a good enough lineup to come back.”
“I just went up there with the idea of making solid contact,” said Wieler. “We had confidence that Greg would settle down, and I knew that we could come back.”
Wieler scored what would prove to be the winning run when he advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a throwing error to give the Hawks an 8-6 lead.
Neshaminy would not go quietly, though.
Orr opened the seventh inning with a single and went to second on a throwing error. Orr moved to third on a double by Rick Brebner – and scored on a balk with Brebner, as the tying run, moving to third.
Welsh then struck out Kusters – who had hit the slam in the first inning – but walked John Burns to put runners on the corners with one out.
Those runners stayed there and Welsh used some big time velocity to strike out the next two hitters to earn the victory. Welsh finished the contest with 11 strikeouts.
“I was a little nervous in the last inning,” said Welsh who had to have thrown over 150 pitches over the course of the game. “I was getting by on adrenalin.
“The first two innings were rough,” continued Welsh. “And I saw that coach had someone throwing. I was just hoping that he would let me finish.”
There was bullpen action in the first two innings, but with the game on the line in the seventh inning, Welsh didn’t have to look over his shoulder.
The game was his to win or lose. And he won it.
Neshaminy 4 1 0 0 0 1 1 - 7
CR South 0 0 3 0 1 4 x - 8
Neshaminy: Brian Fiocco 2b 2 1 1 1; Tyler Orr cf 3 2 2 1; Rick Brebner ss 4 1 2 0; Mike Kusters c 4 1 1 4; John Burns 1b 2 0 0 0; Ray Hydurick p 4 0 0 0; Brian Cleary lf 4 0 0 0; Matt Wenclewicz rf 2 0 0 0; Dean Fritz ph 0 1 0 0; Jake Luff 3b 1 1 1 0. Totals 26 7 7 6.
CR South: Bill Fleming ss 4 3 2 2; Max Weiler dh 4 2 2 2; Eric Ebert 3b 3 0 1 1; Mike Tomeo rf 2 0 0 1; Tom Boyd lf 2 0 0 1; Justin Thomas 1b 2 0 0 0; Alex Tomlinson c 1 1 0 0; Rich Garcia 2b 2 0 0 0; Jared Mulderig ph 1 0 0 0; Paul Difede cf 2 2 1 0. Totals 23 8 6 7
2B – (N) Brebner (CRS) – Wieler (2), Ebert 3B – (CRS) Fleming. HR – (N) Kusters.
INN H R ER W K
Welsh (W) 7 7 7 7 7 11
Hydurick 5.2 7 7 6 5 4
Wiatrowski (L) 0.1 1 1 0 0 0
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