SHAWN CURTIS
For The Tribune-Democrat
JOHNSTOWN —
A big inning put Martella’s Pharmacy in a hole during Monday afternoon’s opening-round game of the AAABA Tournament at Point Stadium. It was a bigger inning that pushed the second Johnstown entry ahead in a 10-6 win over New Brunswick Greater Middlesex Matrix.
Sparked by Steve Bills’ three-run homer, Martella’s Pharmacy scored six runs in the sixth and followed up with two runs apiece in the seventh and eighth to distance itself from New Brunswick.
“I was just able to keep my hands inside, and the ball kept carrying,” Bills said. “After the home run, the guys started hitting. Even the lower guys in the lineup started getting hits, and then they started picking up confidence, and that was a big key.”
The 15-hit attack was quite a welcome sight for Martella’s, which saw its bats wake from hibernation, according to manager Chris Pfeil.
“We got great pitching today, and obviously to get 15 hits and take advantage of some of their mistakes, we’re pretty happy going into tomorrow,” Pfeil said.
With New Brunswick ahead 4-0, Mike LeViseur and Mike Pelekanos each singled off Andrew Sullivan to open the frame. Bills followed with the three-run homer that tucked itself just inside the foul pole in right.
Alex Naggy singled before David
McKolosky reached on an error at first.
Martella’s tied the score at 4 when a grounder to second was booted, allowing Naggy to score.
With two gone in the frame, Sam Watkins doubled off the base of the left-field wall to bring in McKolosky. Alex Buccilli scored a batter later when LeViseur stroked a single to right.
“The turning point was that we didn’t extend our lead to six or more when we got into their bullpen,” New Brunswick manager Glenn Fredricks said.
“That home run around the pole hurt, but we still had the lead. Our defense didn’t control the flow of the game at that point, (Martella’s) did.”
Buccilli expanded the Martella’s lead to 8-4 when he chased in Mike Kastelic and Naggy with a single to center.
Kastelic capped the Martella’s output in the eighth with a single to center that plated pinch-runners Chase Dykstra and Kyle Zambanini.
The Matrix inched closer in the ninth when Chris Grimes swatted a bases-loaded double off the screen in left field. With runners at second and third, Mike Muha popped up to the left side and reached base when the ball fell in shallow left field. The call on the field was initially an infield fly, but quickly waved off.
While reliever Landon Wahl was able to retire the next two New Brunswick batters to preserve the win for Jon Murphy, Pfeil put the game under protest.
“The situation did not dictate an infield fly, but (umpire Howard Basehoar) came out and said ‘Infield fly, the batter’s out.’ We believed at that point that when the ball landed that (Muha) couldn’t be on first base,” Pfeil explained. “We filed the protest and decided to weed it out afterwards.”
In the fifth, New Brunswick rallied for four runs on a rally that started when Jorge Rivera reached base on a dropped third strike with two gone in the inning. Matt Cesare followed with a bases-loaded single that scored Andres Vazquez.
Steve Nappe and Grimes were each hit by a pitch to score David Goodman and Rivera respectively. Cesare scored when Muha reached on an error at third.
The four runs in the inning came against starter Scott Dixon, who pitched 42/3 innings and fanned four with two walks and four hits against him.
Martella’s will play Philadelphia today while New Brunswick takes on Altoona in a consolation bracket game.
