MIDDLEPORT — The clouds parted and the rains halted Tuesday over Schuylkill Valley Stadium. A torrential downpour gave way to streaks of sunlight and buzzing mosquitoes.
The abrupt transformation in the weather that allowed Schuylkill Valley and Tamaqua to play their Schuylkill-Berks Legion League game became indicative of the contest itself.
Pete Baddick’s three-run home run over the left-field fence in the sixth inning handed the Blue Sox a 15-4 win over the Falcons, invoking the 10-run rule in a game that was tied before the inning began.
Matt Roberts continued his good form for Tamaqua (6-7), finishing 3-for-4 with a double, a run and an RBI.
“I think it took a little while to get the timing down today,” Baddick said. “We were a little sluggish. Toward the end, we figured it out and really used the length of the game. Seeing so many pitches, I think we all got our timing down and put it where we needed to put it.”
Connor Hartung, Harold Moll and Brad Fedor all walked to start Tamaqua’s 11-run sixth inning before five straight singles drove in five runs to turn a 4-4 tie into a 9-4 Blue Sox lead.
Baddick drove in the first two runs on a bloop single to shallow center field with the Schuylkill Valley infield up. Nate MacDonald next slapped an RBI single to
shallow right and Casey Rother later delivered a two-run single down the left-field line.
Nine batters into the inning, Falcons left fielder Hunter Johns made a diving catch for the first out and Schuylkill Valley reliever Ayden Erbe induced an infield fly from Hartung in his second at-bat of the inning.
However, Moll and Fedor drove in three more runs on back-to-back singles to set up Baddick’s game-ending homer.
“We ran out of gas quick,” Schuylkill Valley manager Ed Vaz said. “But that’s what happens when we’ve got a young team.”
Schuylkill Valley (2-9-1) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third inning with Jeff Yordy singling to set up Erbe’s sacrifice fly and run-scoring singles by Ian McCole and Jordan Dziczek.
McCole led the Falcons’ offense, going 3-for-3 with two doubles, two RBIs and a run scored.
Tamaqua got a run back in the bottom of the third on Roberts’ two-out, RBI single to left. The Blue Sox then took a 4-3 lead in the fourth courtesy of a two-run single by No. 9 hitter Brandon Rex and a run-scoring single by MacDonald.
The fourth inning was the only real blemish for Schuylkill Valley starter Derrick Reese. He needed just six pitches in the fifth and got a sparkling defensive play from McCole at short to retire the Blue Sox in order. But his night ended after his leadoff walk to Hartung to start the sixth.
Schuylkill Valley had a chance to stake Reese more runs in the fourth with runners on second and third with one out, but the runner at second broke on a groundout to short and was tagged out scrambling back to the bag.
The Falcons tied the game at four on McCole’s double to the left-field fence in the top of the fifth.
Tamaqua was the home team for the contest, which was originally scheduled to be played at Tamaqua.
Tuesday’s performance has become all too common for Schuylkill Valley. The Falcons are scoring runs, averaging more than four runs a game in their last eight outings. However, they’re 1-6-1 during that stretch and haven’t won since a 4-3 victory over Kutztown on June 11.
“We run out of pitching steam,” Vaz said. “And there’s only so many kids we can throw out there. But they’re trying their best and they are improving. They’re getting better. I think, come playoff time, maybe we’ll surprise some people.”
Tamaqua, meanwhile, is headed in the opposite direction. Tuesday’s win keeps the Blue Sox in first place in the North Division. They’re holding off Valley View atop the standings and shook off a four-game losing streak in early June.
“I’m glad they started warming up here finally,” Tamaqua manager Todd Heisler said. “That’s what we’ve done almost every year I’ve been here. When we get close to the playoffs, we start — which is alright. That’s when you want to be hot.”
The Sox have won 3-of-4 and scored 41 runs in the process, splitting a doubleheader with Valley View on Sunday before Monday’s 8-3 win over Pottsville.
“All credit to the team,” Baddick said. “Everybody is stepping up when we need them to step up. The coaches are really doing a good job with some good calls on the bases. It’s just team baseball. We have the talent to do some good things and when things come together like today, you can see just how good we can be when we play together.”
Valley View 19
Pottsville 11
Hunter Bordner and Ben Rautzahn both homered in the West Enders’ wild Schuylkill-Berks Legion League win over the Lions at Steidle Field.
The game ended too late to publish further details. A full write-up will appear in Thursday’s edition.
13 Prep League
Pottsville 6
Exeter 0
Jake Ferhat tossed a complete-game, three hitter, while Josh Daubert had two hits and two RBIs to lead Pottsville to a shutout of Exeter.
Ferhat finished the game with eight strikeouts and two walks.
Daubert had RBI singles in the both the fifth and sixth as Pottsville scored three runs apiece in each inning. Damon Yost and Albe Evans also had two-out, RBI basehits in the fifth, putting Pottsville on the board.
Exeter (3-5) 000 000 0 — 0 3 2
Potts. (7-2) 000 033 x — 6 8 1
Strohman, Geist (7) and Buser; Ferhat and Daubert. W — Ferhat. L — Strohman.
HITS: Exeter — Hinkle, Geist, Kopf. Pottsville — Barnes, Yost, Daubert 2, Robison, Ferhat, Kalinich, Evans.
Game Summary
At Schuylkill Valley Stadium
Middleport
SCHUYLKILL VALLEY (4) — Yordy cf 2 2 1 0, Erbe 2b-p 1 0 0 1, McCole ss 3 1 3 2, Dziczek 1b 3 0 1 1, De. Reese p-2b 3 0 0 0, Bernitsky rf 0 0 0 0, Middleton dh 2 0 0 0, Johns lf 3 0 1 0, Dy. Reese 3b 2 0 0 0, Knerr c 1 1 0 0. Totals 20 4 6 4.
TAMAQUA (15) — Baddick 2b-ss 5 2 2 5, MacDonald ss-p 4 1 2 2, Roberts c 4 1 3 1, Rother rf 4 1 1 2, Heery p-1b 0 0 0 0, O. Bates dh 2 2 1 0, A. Bates 3b-2b 4 1 1 0, Hartung 1b-3b 2 1 0 0, Lehman cf 1 1 0 0, Moll cf 1 2 1 1, Rex lf 1 1 1 2, Fedor lf 1 2 1 2. Totals 29 15 13 15.
Sch. Val. (2-9-1) 003 01 0 — 4
Tamaqua (6-7) 001 30(11) — 15
2 outs when game-ending run scored.
E — Schuylkill Valley 0, Tamaqua 1. DP — Schuylkill Valley 0, Tamaqua 2. LOB — Schuylkill Valley 4, Tamaqua 5. 2B — McCole 2, Roberts. HR — Baddick. SB — Yordy, Knerr, MacDonald, O. Bates, Hartung, Moll. S — Erbe, Dy. Reese. SF — Erbe.
Sch. Valley IP H R ER BB K
De. Reese L 5 5 5 5 3 0
Erbe .2 8 10 10 2 0
Tamaqua IP H R ER BB K
Heery 4.1 4 4 4 2 0
MacDonld W 1.2 2 0 0 0 2
De. Reese pitched to 1 batter in the 6th
HBP — by De. Reese (O. Bates, Lehman), by Heery (Knerr). T — 1:52.