Cranberry Township evens Eagle County title series with Mars
ADAMS TWP — A matter of feet separated Mars from a brand-new ballgame in the home half of the seventh frame Tuesday evening.
With Dan Berty standing on first and one down, pinch hitter Scott Ventura smashed an offering deep to left at the Mars High School baseball field. The drive threatened to level the scoreboard, if not do even more damage.
“Scotty drilled that ball off the bench, and it looked like it was going to be our chance,” Mars player/manager Brendan Malone said. “It just went a little bit foul.”
It also helped preserve a 3-2 win for visiting Cranberry Township in Game 2 of the Eagle County title series. Starting pitcher Robby Randolph put the stamp on a complete game by getting Ventura to ground into a fielder’s choice, then forcing a fly-out to finish matters thereafter.
“He made us get our hits, and we really didn’t hit very well today,” Malone said.
The effort was just enough for the visitors, who tied the best-of-five competition at one game apiece, in no small part due to stout defense.
“Everybody balled out and played well,” Cranberry Township player/manager Bill Clinefelter said. “Plays were being made, Robby pitched a great game, kept us in it. Nothing more you can ask.”
Randolph also kept walks to a minimum, issuing just one free pass on the evening. At first base, Clinefelter stabbed a ball off Ray Scala’s bat to put a double play in motion in the bottom third. Backstop Brandon Pouch chopped down base-runners in the second and fifth frames.
“Right place at the right time,” Clinefelter said of his show of athleticism, which followed a lead-off infield single by AJ Pagone.
A fielding error allowed Jesse Clary to open the scoring for Cranberry Township (20-10-1) in the initial half-inning. A mix-up in the batting order put Zach Murray at the plate twice in a row in the bottom first, his second try resulting in an infield single. Dave Lemley’s run-scoring hit pushed across Malone — a pinch runner — in the next at-bat.
Cranberry Township’s Dayln Brickner led off the second with a single, then stole second and third before Nash Matson’s single scored him. An insurance run in the fourth — courtesy of a Clary single — kept the guests ahead when Mars (22-5) managed a score in the sixth.
“I didn’t think either offense was very stellar,” Malone said. “At the end of the day, we made more errors than they did and lost the game by one run. That’s pretty much the difference-maker there.”
Cranberry Township’s performance came without a number of contributors, absent because of either work schedules or vacations.
“You can only have nine guys on the field at a time. This is our second baseman,” Clinefelter said, motioning to Ben Murray. “He’s injured, so he’s out. That wasn’t anticipated. He did that over the weekend, so that’s another man down.
“The bench is thin. ... You play with the guys that show up. You just go through it and play for tomorrow. That’s kind of where we are right now.”
Even short-handed, can the win turn the momentum against five-time defending league champion Mars?
“It can,” Clinefelter said. “And we’re hoping that it does. You’ve just got to take it one at a time, as cliche as that is. But, that’s what you’ve got to do. One at a time and now it’s a best-of-three.”
The teams will meet up for Game 3 on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at North Boundary Park.
“I mean, this is our 15th year in the championship,” Malone said. “So, we’ve been here before. We know what to do.”
Cranberry Twp. 110 100 0 — 3 8 0
Mars 100 001 0 — 2 8 1
W: Robby Randolph 7IP (2K, 1BB). L: Jake Seymore 7IP (8K, 4BB).
Cranberry Township (20-10-1): Nash Matson 2B 1B RBI, Jesse Clary 2-1B RBI R, Brandon Pouch 2-1B, Dalyn Brickner 2-1B R, Bill Clinefelter R
Mars (22-5): Ray Scala 1B, Zach Murray 2-1B RBI, Dave Lemley 1B RBI, Noah Gabriel 1B, Dan Berty 1B, AJ Pagone 2-1B R, Brendan Malone R
Wednesday: Mars at Cranberry Township, North Boundary Park, Game 3
