Mike Mastovich
mmastovich@tribdem.com
JOHNSTOWN —
The City of Johnstown will host the championship round of the 66th AAABA Tournament this afternoon.
And, this time, Johnstown’s team will be on the field.
Delweld rode a strong start by Carter Lehman and effective relief work by Nate Plummer and A.J. Rievel to keep the Philadelphia Bandits in check most of Friday night in front of an estimated 2,500 people at Point Stadium.
Johnstown’s offense capitalized on the Bandits’ shaky third inning and used the momentum to collect 11 hits in a 13-4 victory over Philadelphia.
The victory earned Delweld (4-1) a rematch with undefeated Baltimore (5-0) at 1 p.m. at the Point. Johnstown needs two victories to claim the title. A Delweld win would force a second game to be played about
30 minutes after the first.
“We’ve worked hard to try to get back to this (championship round),” Delweld manager Chris DelSignore said. “I obviously feel like I have some unfinished business, personally. It’s Baltimore, too. I still have a bad taste in my mouth from 2003. But my feelings don’t really matter.”
Baltimore routed Delweld 19-0 in the 2003 title game.
Johnstown will make its fifth championship round appearance in 66 years. The host city never has won a AAABA Tournament title, finishing second in 1956 (Washington), 1995 (New Orleans), 2001 (Washington) and 2003.
“We’re not going to be just happy to be here,” DelSignore said. “We’re going to break everything down into small increments. We’re not going to worry about winning two games. We’re going to worry about winning the first inning – the first pitch and then the second pitch and so on. We want to continue to play the way we’re playing right now. If we can do that, I’ll take our chances.”
Lehman went 9-0 during the regular season and local playoffs. He had a no-decision on opening night against Cleveland despite leaving with a seven-run lead after 42/3 innings.
On Friday, the right-hander from Shanksville appeared to be in trouble early. His first few pitches were out of the zone and one even bounced into the dirt.
Philadelphia benefited from a walk and an error to score a run on Nick Ferdinand’s sacrifice fly. Delweld tied it after leadoff man Matt Donaldson drew the first of four walks, moved up on a Zach Vignero single and scored on George Roberts’ fielder’s choice.
The Bandits (3-2) answered with two in the second via doubles by Greg Olenski and Matt Maher, and a run-scoring single by Brendan Norton.
Lehman didn’t allow another run until the sixth. By then, his team was in control.
“I was a little shaky for some reason, and my fastball was a little low,” Lehman said of the first inning. “Once I got on track, it was all good from there.”
Delweld scored at least one run in each of the first four innings.
Matt Cornetti doubled and scored on an Aaron Kovach single in the second to pull Delweld within 3-2.
In the third, Philadelphia committed two errors, walked three batters and hit another.
Vignero’s solid single to left was the lone hit in a momentum-swaying four-run inning.
The half-inning lasted so long that Lehman began warming up on the sideline.
“I just don’t want to get tight in there after a long inning like that, especially with me coming off an injury,” said Lehman, who missed last season due to an arm injury and wasn’t expected to pitch this year until he had a solid spring at Mount Aloysius College.
Kovach executed a squeeze bunt that plated the inning’s last run.
Two Johnstown base running mistakes prevented the inning from being even bigger.
Delweld added three in the fourth, an inning highlighted by Ryan Sylvia’s double and a Roberts sacrifice fly.
Johnstown padded the advantage with two runs in the sixth and two in the eighth.
Philadelphia threatened in the sixth after Jimmy Yezzo doubled and Chris Branigan tripled.
Vignero went 3-for-4 with two runs. Roberts and Drew Westover continued to produce from the Nos. 3 and 4 spots in the order, respectively.
Roberts had two hits, two RBIs and scored three runs.
Westover had two hits, four RBIs and a run.
“I get on, he drives me in,” said Roberts, who, like Westover, is among seven Delweld players appearing in their third tournament. “The rest of the order is starting to hit. Matt Donaldson is a tough lead-ff and he’s getting on base almost every time. It helps a lot if me or Drew knock him in.”
Right fielder Westover is batting .478 (11-for-23) with five doubles, a triple, five runs and nine RBIs. Shortstop Roberts is hitting .435 (10-for-23) with four doubles, seven runs and six RBIs.
“Whenever he gets a hit, it gives me all the fuel I need to go up there and drive him in,” Westover said.
Lehman and his relievers made the offensive outburst stand up. Plummer worked two scoreless innings and pick-up player Rievel had a perfect ninth.
“Carter has pitched great all year,” Roberts said. “We got in a groove hitting, got people on base and drove them in.”
Lehman appreciated the support.
“All my wins this year we’ve put up runs,” Lehman said.
Losing two top players to apparent leg injuries was the only downside for Johnstown.
Third baseman Tyler Uphouse and first baseman/pitcher Austin Urban each left the game after running out grounders.
Baltimore is the most successful franchise in AAABA Tournament history with 26 championships and six runner-up finishes. Youse’s Maryland Orioles had won six straight titles from 2003 through 2008 before falling in the Altoona Regional and missing last year’s national event. The Orioles beat another power, New Orleans, 5-4, on Friday. Baltimore defeated Delweld 7-0 in the third round and has outscored opponents 37-6 so far.
“We know Baltimore is a good team,” DelSignore said.
“We need to continue to play the way we’ve been playing. We won a big game, but we don’t know the price that big win comes with. Two integral pieces of our lineup went down with injuries. We don’t know where they’re going to be. But we’re all in this together. That means somebody else has to pull a little bit harder on that rope.”
