Pitching, defense and timely hitting.
Washington showed all three Friday in the 63rd AAABA Tournament, especially the latter.
With two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, first baseman Kevin Watkins stroked a walk-off home run to right, sending the McLean Raiders past the Philadelphia ABCO Phillies 9-8 in the first of three games played at Point Stadium.
“I thought we had it,” Phillies manager Mike Gossner said. “It’s just a tough way to lose.”
Watkins, a left-handed batter, pulled a Chris Dolan offering down the right-field line. The ball hooked inside the yellow foul pole and into the stands, a 336-foot shot.
“I was just actually looking to hit something hard,” said Watkins, who plays for St. John’s University. “Crowd the plate and hit something hard.”
The winners’-bracket game, featuring the only two unbeaten teams left in the tournament, was delayed for more than an hour Thursday by rain before being suspended until Friday, with Philadelphia leading 5-3 with one out in the top of the fourth inning.
Watkins may not have had his shot if it wasn’t for reliever Eric Alessio, who cooled the hot Philadelphia bats, throwing three scoreless innings and allowing only two hits to pick up the win.
“The pitching’s been outstanding all tournament,” Raiders manager Tim Brown said. “It’s almost been the norm this tournament, someone’s constantly stepping up and making a play. Whether it’s a play in the field, a big two-out hit, or in Kevin’s case, a walk-off. That’s heart. You can’t coach it; you can’t teach it.”
Dolan worked 41⁄3 innings of solid relief, getting out of a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the ninth with no outs after allowing a base on balls, a Robert Shields double and an intentional walk. Shields, who was 3-for-5, hit a solo homer to left-center in the third inning Thursday to tie it at 3.
Washington chipped away at the Philadelphia advantage Friday. LaDale Hayes singled to right-center and scored on Jason Kitchen’s second base hit, and Robert Harris doubled to left-center field before scoring on a ground-out an inning later. Kitchen walked and was doubled home by Watkins, who scored on a Dominic Boyles single in the sixth for a 7-5 lead.
The Phillies didn’t back down, touching up Mike Click, who was in for Thursday’s starter Kris Brown, for three runs in the seventh and an 8-7 lead. Washington tied it with a run on three hits in the home half of the inning, setting up Watkins’ extra-inning heroics.
Philadelphia’s top three hitters in the lineup, John Malloy, Mike Moceri and Frank Mercurio, each had two of the Phillies 12 hits. Eric Woodrow’s sacrifice fly scored Ryan Terry, and Mike Villari scored twice.
Washington has beaten Cleveland, Baltimore and New Orleans.
“We’ve faced quality ballclub after quality ballclub, that’s what the tournament’s about,” Brown said. “It’s a quality tournament, a deep tournament.”
Local Sports
Raiders rally for walk-off victory
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2012 AAABA League schedule
A look at this season's schedule:
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2011 AAABA in Review
A look back at the 2011 AAABA season:
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AAABA League Preview
A look at this season's Johnstown AAABA League:
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Pirates pick up fourth straight victory
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Too much thinking. Not enough attacking. -
Sympathetic Pirates add to Cubs’ slide
Andrew McCutchen and the Pittsburgh Pirates can relate to what the Chicago Cubs are going through.
Perhaps more than anyone, they know what it feels like to be on an extended losing streak
– 12 in a row, in the Cubs’ case. -
AAABA League will open after busy offseason
The AAABA League opens on Tuesday at Point Stadium with two new, but familiar managers, a new but familiar sponsor, an expanded interleague schedule and two new franchises committed to the 2013 season.
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Richland's Lumley settles for pair of silver medals
Paige Lumley was on an emotional roller coaster and seeing silver on Saturday at the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University.
The Richland senior had state record jumps twice during the triple jump competition, but ended up with a silver–medal leap of 40 feet,
1¾ inches.
Defending state champion, second-seeded junior Lanae Newsome of Brookville, won with a jump of 40-3½. -
Ridge’s Dull takes second with school-record time
Matt Dull finished his athletic career with his best on Saturday at the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University.
The Chestnut Ridge senior ran a career-best time of 38.12 to finish second in the 300 hurdles final, also setting another school record. -
Hit batsman lifts Pirates over Cubs
Matt Hague was hit by a pitch from Rafael Dolis with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates sent the Chicago Cubs to their 11th straight loss with a 3-2 victory Saturday night.
Hague took a 96 mph fastball from Dolis (2-4) in the back near the shoulder blade, scoring Jose Tabata and eliciting an incredulous look to the sky by the Cubs reliever. -
Generals return to defeat Sting
It’s been a dramatic month for the Johnstown Generals.
There were two postponed games that left the immediate and long-term future of the franchise in serious doubt just two weeks ago. - More Local Sports Headlines
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2012 AAABA League schedule
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