Altoona Regional Sunday Scores
July 31, 2011 - It was a memorable day in Altoona as the regional field was narrowed down to two. Cleveland improved to 3-0 with a win against Buffalo, and Schenectady eliminated host Altoona. The day ended with a classic battle, as Buffalo and Schenectady exchanged 35 hits and 32 runs in a wild elimination game that saw the Nickel City come out on top.
Cleveland 15 - Buffalo 5 (7 innings)
After stranding runners with the bases loaded in the early innings, Buffalo scored twice in the top of the fourth to narrow the score to 4-3. However, the now-favorite Cleveland team drove in 6 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks, forcing Buffalo to use three pitchers in the inning. The Blizzard added four more runs to mercy-rule Buffalo in seven.
"We couldn't throw strikes and everything just snowballed from there," said Buffalo manager Pat Barrows.
With the win, Cleveland reamins the lone undefeated team at 3-0. It forced Buffalo to play in the afternoon against Schenectady in order to earn the right to challenge Cleveland for the championship on Monday.
Schenectady 11 - Altoona 4
Host Altoona Red Bull was favored to win the regional after a very successful regular season, but they were tripped up by Cleveland on opening night. Altoona looked to rebound against a spirited Schenectady team, but surrendered an early lead and were eliminated 0-2 in the regional. Altoona had 3 errors in the game.
"We didn't execute and play baseball the right way, and that's why we lost," said Altoona manager Jeff Miller. "The errors were costly."
Red Bull lead 4-0 before an error in the fifth put the PNA Eagles on the board. In the sixth, the Eagles pulled away with 6 runs and added 3 in the eighth for insurance.
"Matt Pause came up huge in the sixth and that led up to Jason Osborne hitting a double for us," recalled Schenectady manager Zak Mayo. "It was a huge inning, we really needed it, and we got it."
Altoona receives a direct bid to Johnstown because they are hosting a no-cost regional. Coach Miller believes that his team played with intensity even though they were already qualified, but also knows that they've learned a lot about the competition in the AAABA tournaments.
"We gave up 21 runs in two games, which I don't think we did all season long," said Miller, "and one of those two teams [that beast us] isn't going to Johnstown. So, we're aware that this tournament is no joke; there's some good baseball there."
Red Bull will regroup with three hard practices this week in preparation for the national tournament beginning on August 8th. The team had two weeks off prior to this regional.
Buffalo 18 - Schenectady 14
With the home plate umpire calling a tight strike zone, and Buffalo starter James Tronolone giving up 5 walks in the first inning, fans knew they would be in for a long game. But no one was expecting the 32-run barrage that followed in the 3 hour 15 minute game. Schenectady jumped out to a 6-run lead after three innings, but Buffalo clawed their way back to within 1 run ater 5 innings. In the bottom of the sixth, Buffalo plated 6 runs to take a big lead.
The teams exchanged two runs each in the seventh before Buffalo piled on four more in the eighth. With their season on the line, the Schenectady Eagles never gave up hope put their final at bats to good use, scoring five runs to make the score 18-14. However, it was too little and too late as Buffalo hung on for the win.
The game saw 9 different pitchers, 9 strike outs from the Buffalo pitching staff, 24 men left-on-base combined for both teams (inlcuding bases-loaded three times), 35 hits and 5 errors, and 21 walks. Highlights includedseveral plays at the plate (all in favor of the runner, as you can tell), a great sliding catch and out by Schenectady second baseman Ryan Bellomo in the seventh, followed by a great diving catch in center by Buffalo's Charles Mosey in the eighth, and a seventh inning solo home run by Buffalo's Brian Barry to deep centerfield.
We'll have more on this game tomorrow once all the numbers are crunched.
Click here to visit the Altoona Regional page on this site for scores and standings.