Berwick stands in own way in loss
SOUTH CENTRE TWP. — Berwick couldn’t get out of its own way, showing that when it rains, it pours.
Committing eight errors, Berwick saw its game against Carbondale/Lakeland turn sideways quicker than Monday’s pregame and midgame thunderstorms. Post 221, meanwhile, welcomed such and poured it on with a 19-6 victory in the Region 5 American Legion tournament.
Berwick finished 12-6. The regional semifinals were the furthest any Berwick Senior Legion team had gone since 2010.
The top of Post 221’s order — Timothy McGrane, Peter Kawash and Corey Daniels — paced the offense. They went a combined 12-for-15 with 10 runs batted in and 13 runs scored.
Daniels had the biggest day — and, ultimately, the final say — turning in a performance other players would be proud to have in a week. The three-hole hitter finished a perfect 5-for-5 with a home run and a double, 9 RBIs and scoring five times.
A lightning delay and pair of runs scored in the top of the fifth extended Berwick’s season a tad longer. Post 221, though didn’t take its foot off the pedal any. Instead, it rallied to load the bases twice in the closing half.
McGrane drove in Evan Pochas on a sac-fly to left, putting reliever Xander Shaffer and Berwick one out away from playing a sixth inning. That is until Kawash had a two-strike infield single to extend the inning and load the bases for Daniels.
Shaffer had Daniels in a 1-2 hole, but Daniels managed to work the count full. Daniels then turned on a good, low pitch, sending the ball to left for a walk-off grand slam.
“That’s a good hitting team. They put the bat on the ball,” Berwick coach Rich Pinterich said. “They force the issue, but some plays were routine and we just weren’t making them. It just seemed to snowball there and couldn’t get off the field.”
No matter the score or situation, Post 221 had runners in motion all game, notching five stolen bases. It benefited greatly from that plan in the second and third innings, forcing seven errors — mostly throwing — and pushing a combined 10 runs across to take the wind out of Berwick’s sails.
Berwick gave itself a fighting chance in the top of the third, scoring three runs and closing the deficit to four. Two of those runs came via a Brayden Boone single that the right fielder misplayed when the ball rolled past him. Noah Strish and Ryan Stotler scored on the mishap. Tegan Shortlidge hit a sac-fly to center to plate Mike Lombargo for the team’s other run in the frame.
“Offensively, I thought we were OK. We swung the bats well,” Pinterich said. “We did ourselves in with too many mistakes. The kids played hard and I’m not taking anything away from them.
“They didn’t want to go home in five innings. They didn’t quit and give at-bats away, and credit to them. ... It’s just too hard to come back when you’re down that many. You spend a lot of energy trying to get back. We brought it to 8-4, but then we turned around and gave it right back.”
Post 221 got a complete-game performance from Tyler Uram. He allowed two earned runs off four hits. He struck out six and walked six.
Strish scored on an infield error for the game’s first run in the opening frame.
Berwick, with the bases loaded, also took advantage of an errant pickoff attempt at first by Post 221’s catcher, scoring Shortlidge from third. Later in the same at-bat, Alex Peters drove in Stotler on a fielder’s choice for Berwick’s final run.
Its six runs scored would typically be more than enough for Berwick. Pinterich says the team “ran out of gas” the last two days, committing 12 errors during that span.
“We’ve been in every game with pitching and defense being our calling card,” he said. “It’s been there and kept us in every game. That’s how we’ve had all the success to get to where we are now.
“Tonight, the wheels came off.”
All 11 of Post 221’s hitters either scored a run or drove in a run, and only struck out once while working six walks. All three of its five-run innings came against different pitchers — Jeff Taylor, Austin Yohe and Shaffer.
Nobody, though, will see Berwick hanging its head despite the tough ending to a great season.
“The kids played hard and gave us all they had. We had a good season,” Pinterich said. “... I’m proud of the kids, and they should be proud that they were a step away from playing in the state tournament. That doesn’t always happen — you’re not always expected to be here.”
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