JOHNSTOWN —
Mike Gossner and his Philadelphia Bandits put together a “three-peat” to earn a trip to the 66th AAABA Tournament.
The Bandits began the final day of the Altoona Regional knowing that they had to win three games in one day in order to advance to Johnstown.
That’s exactly what Philadelphia did.
Three games, three victories, one ticket to the AAABA Tournament. The Bandits will play Altoona at noon today in Lilly.
“Honestly, I’ve never played three games in one day. That was a first for me,” said Gossner, who along with representatives from the expansion Miami franchise and Altoona, had agreed a day earlier to play three, if necessary. “Going into that day, I hate to say this, but it was the old cliche of taking one inning at a time. That’s how we did it.”
Philadelphia’s pitching staff did its part.
Five hurlers combined to allow just one earned run and two walks in 25 innings during the Aug. 2 tripleheader.
“The first game we got a complete game out of Tommy Stolzer,” Gossner said of a 12-0 mercy-rule shortened win over host Altoona in the morning. “Tommy had a no-hitter going into the seventh and one-hitter going into the eighth inning. We 10-runned them and had to only play eight. He threw only 82 pitches. The second game we only used two pitchers. The third game we only used two pitchers. In three games we only used five pitchers.”
Miami opened the tournament 2-0 and appeared to be in control on Monday. The Florida team needed one win.
Miami had beaten Philadelphia 3-1 in the first game of the regional on July 31.
In Rematch 1, Philadelphia scored six runs in the first two innings of a 9-4 win. In Rematch 2, the Bandits edged Miami 4-2.
“We were worried about the kids getting tired,” said Gossner, a 17-year veteran manager. “They just kept pushing on. It was fun to watch. Miami was very good. We just got on a roll and came up with the big hits when we needed them. We only gave up two walks in 25 innings, and that will at least keep you in it.”
Stolzer, a right-hander, and Kyle Mullen, a St. Joseph’s righty who threw the opening day of the regional, are two mainstays on the mound. Seton Hall right-hander Frank Morris, who threw the clinching game against Miami, also is a possible opening day starter.
Shortstop Sean Coyle is a Boston Red Sox third-round draft pick who previously had committed to the University of North Carolina. Third baseman-first baseman Ryan Seiz, third baseman-outfielder Jim Yezzo and middle infielder Dillion Moyer, the son of 23-year major leaguer Jamie Moyer of the Philadelphia Phillies, are key position players.
“We’re all pretty pumped up heading into Johnstown,” Gossner said. “The only thing the coaching staff worries about is the layoff and a potential letdown. The coaching staff knows every week can be different. The hot team prevails.”
At Altoona, Philadelphia was that team.
“They got on that roll and they were superb,” said Altoona Regional Chairman John Austin.
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AAABA tournament: Pitching has Philadelphia rolling
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