The Tribune Democrat, Johnstown, PA

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August 10, 2009

Livonia levels Toledo

BY JIM PENNA

ST. MICHAEL — Livonia flexed some Day 1 AAABA muscle by pounding out a 14-4 win over tournament first-timer Toledo on Monday that lasted only seven innings thanks to the 10-run mercy rule.

Livonia Manager Rick Berryman was pleased with the outcome and the short nature of the game.

“Are you kidding? To get a Day 1 win is big, but a mercy rule and not having to go into our bullpen for any pitching help gives us a big leg up in this thing,” Berryman said.

Tom Hansen went the distance for the Michigan Rams, giving up four runs on just five hits. While Hansen’s pitching was impressive, it was the bat work of Livonia that was the real story of the day. The Rams cranked out 13 hits, including nine in the first three innings.

Livonia led 11-2 by the end of the fourth.

Brett Mazmanian had the best of the big day, going 4-for-4 with six RBIs and two runs scored. Mazmanian had a hand in eight of the 14 runs, which came as no surprise to Berryman.

“He is a big-game player,” Berryman said. “He is. He played in this AAABA last year and batted like .300 or .400, so anything he does at the plate does not surprise me.

“The whole team batted well,” Berryman said. “This is the best we have hit all year, and if we can apply that kind of pressure to pitchers all week we are going to be tough on a lot of teams.”

Toledo struggled on the mound, issuing eight bases on balls. Compounding the control problems was the fact that five of the walks were issued to the bottom half of the Livonia batting order, which set the table for a hot-hitting top half.

“We don’t walk guys. We just don’t,” Toledo manager Dale Gray said. “This is not how we play, not how we have played all season, and all you can say is it was just one of those days.

“We have been a good pitching team all year. It is how we win ballgames, how we have won a few tournaments along the way and went unbeaten in our regional. We just did not throw strikes (Monday).”

Nate Sarkissian accounted for half of the Toledo hit total with a pair of singles in four at-bats.

Gray feels confident his players can put the bad day behind them and bounce back quickly.

“Well, No. 1, we have to, but No. 2, we have played a lot of baseball and we all know there are days things just don’t break your way,” Gray said. “(Monday) was a bad one for us, but we are a team capable of winning a handful in a row, so I know we will be back (today).”

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