Livonia took Brooklyn’s best shot and got off the turf, literally, in a AAABA elimination game on Wednesday morning at Point Stadium.
The Rams scored five runs – all of them coming with two outs – in the top of the ninth to beat the Youth Service Team 6-3 and stay alive in the tournament.
Brad Herman delivered the biggest hit, a two-run double that looked very familiar to manager Rick Berryman.
“This is as exciting a finish as I’ve ever seen,” Berryman said, “but the irony is four years ago we were in the same situation, bases loaded, game on the line, and I swear the ball hit in the exact same spot for us to go ahead.”
The comeback started in strange fashion, as Tim Cross was hit in the helmet by a Joshua Reyes fastball with two outs.
After a few seconds, Cross got off the ground and tried to walk to first base, but was obviously woozy from the impact and was pulled from the game by Berryman.
Reyes tried to stay warm during the delay as Cross was checked out and replaced by pinch-runner Tom Pounders, but his next pitch plunked Dan Augustine, though not as dramatically. Reyes then walked pinch-hitter Derek Mosher before being relieved by Eric Diaz.
The left-hander got a rude welcome, as Herman ripped a two-run double down the left-field line to tie the game.
“I hadn’t gotten a hit all day and I was pretty frustrated,” Herman said. “I just went up there, and my heart was racing 120 miles per hour. I took a couple of pitches, and he left a fastball up and made him pay.”
Things fell apart quickly for Brooklyn, as shortstop Victor Aracena threw wide of first on Brett Mazmanian’s ground ball, allowing two more runs to score and give Livonia a 5-3 lead. Josh Kirsten’s RBI single added an insurance run for the Rams.
Berryman said that Cross should be fine for today’s game with Zanesville and that the right fielder was cheering on his team during the rally.
“He was excited,” Berrryman said. “We couldn’t keep him out of the sun.”
Jon Tibaudo pitched a perfect bottom of the ninth. Tibaudo, who relieved starter Brett Shankin in the seventh, earned the win despite giving up an unearned run in the eighth on Armando Guitierrez’s sacrifice fly.
Shankin pitched 62⁄3 innings, giving up two unearned runs while walking three and striking out three.
“He put us in a real good situation, only being down 2-1,” Tibaudo said.
Brooklyn didn’t get a hit off until the fourth inning, when Michael Georgio’s two-run double gave Youth Service a 2-1 lead.
“I think we played a very good game,” Brooklyn manager Rocky Medina said. “They reacted to our mistakes.”
Livonia had gone ahead in the second when Aaron Wick got an infield single and scored on a delayed steal of home as Frank Perischino swiped second base.
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