Though the Latrobe-Derry Area Teener League regular season ended on Wednesday, the league wasted no time in getting the postseason started, with the first two matchups taking place on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The double-elimination playoffs began with the fifth-seeded VFW Warbirds taking on the fourth-seeded Derry Ukes, followed by the regular-season champion St. Joe\u2019s Owls facing off against the eighth-seeded Cooperstown Vets.<\/p>\n
Both games were thrilling in their own rights, with the Warbirds taking down the Ukes in a 2-0 pitcher\u2019s duel, while the Owls staged a dramatic comeback to defeat Cooperstown 9-8.<\/p>\n
three hits in 2-0 shutout<\/p>\n
The opening game of the LDATL playoffs was a defensive battle between the league\u2019s fourth and fifth seeds, with VFW eventually edging out the Ukes.<\/p>\n
Though the scoring would be hard to come by, VFW didn\u2019t take long to get the first run on the board. Leadoff hitter Trey Zemcik kicked things off with a single, then stole second before advancing to third on a Cohen Bittner groundout. From there, Zemcik was able to dash home on a balk to put VFW up 1-0.<\/p>\n
The inning kept going with Luke Ament drawing a walk and Izeyah Weightman recording a single, but neither would come around to score. The two teams would then combine to record nine consecutive outs.<\/p>\n
That streak would finally be broken by the Ukes in the bottom of the second inning when Palmer Chimino and Elias Smith recorded back-to-back singles. However, VFW would rally to record the inning\u2019s final out and preserve its 1-0 lead.<\/p>\n
The top of the following inning saw the Warbirds come up with a chance to add to their lead by loading the bases with one out gone. This time, it was the Ukes\u2019 turn to squash the scoring threat, ending the frame with a double play.<\/p>\n
The next pop of offense wouldn\u2019t come until the top of the sixth inning, where VFW scored what would be the final run of the ballgame. Deacon Everett got aboard with a walk, stole second, took third after tagging up, then scored on a single from Weightman to make it 2-0.<\/p>\n
Derry\u2019s best remaining chance would come in the bottom of the seventh. Down to the final three outs, the Ukes\u2019 Mark Firment would single and work his way to third base after a wild pitch and a groundout. Chimino drew a walk to join him on the bases, taking second on defensive indifference to put the tying run in scoring position for the Ukes.<\/p>\n
However, the Warbirds would stand tall, with VFW converting a ground ball into the game\u2019s final out to secure the win.<\/p>\n
Weightman was the lone batter on either team to record multiple hits, going 2-3 with an RBI for VFW. Zemcik, Bittner, Tycen Kail and Timmy Kail all added hits to VFW\u2019s cause in the win.<\/p>\n
Derry\u2019s Mark Firment, Chimino and Smith all recorded one hit in the defeat.<\/p>\n
Everett started and earned the win on the mound for the Warbirds. He tossed 5.2 strong innings, holding the Ukes scoreless on two hits and two walks while also striking out four. Ament was VFW\u2019s lone relief pitcher utilized, tossing 1.1 innings with one hit, one walk and one strikeout to preserve the shutout and earn the save.<\/p>\n
Mark Firment suffered the loss for the Ukes despite a solid outing. He pitched 5.2 innings with two runs scoring on six hits and three walks. JoJo Monios pitched the final 1.1 innings for Derry, holding VFW scoreless on one walk.<\/p>\n
Owls complete comeback, walk off Cooperstown<\/p>\n
The LDATL regular-season champions were on the ropes in their opening playoff contest, with the Cooperstown Vets giving the St. Joe\u2019s Owls all they could handle. In the end, the Owls proved why they finished on top, staging a furious rally to storm back and walk off the Vets.<\/p>\n
The first half of the ballgame was pretty much all Cooperstown. The Vets opened the scoring in the top of the first inning, with a pair of runs scoring on a Zach Krall double and a Jaxson Gibson single.<\/p>\n
St. Joe\u2019s would eventually respond in the bottom of the second inning, but would only get one run back, thanks to singles from Paxton Roddy and Mason Long. The Vets would quickly respond in the top of the following inning, with Chase Anderson scoring on an error to make it 3-1.<\/p>\n
After another quiet inning from the Owls in the bottom of the third, Cooperstown blew the game open with a five-run fourth inning.<\/p>\n
Zach Dinger and Logan McClain began the inning with back-to-back walks, setting up for back-to-back singles from Brody Schleicher and Cameron Thomas to each score a run. Now leading 5-1, the Vets\u2019 Matthew Naggy loaded the bases with a single. Anderson was then hit by a pitch, with his free trip to first scoring Cooperstown\u2019s sixth run of the ballgame.<\/p>\n
The onslaught continued with a single from Henry Reinbold that scored another run. Cooperstown tacked on its last run of the inning as Cash Lukon hit into a fielder\u2019s choice to score Naggy and make it 8-1.<\/p>\n
With the odds suddenly stacked against them, the Owls got the response that they desperately needed in the bottom half of the frame.<\/p>\n
Anthony Petalino drew a walk and Dawson Huber came through with a single to get things started. Cameron Underwood then lined a double, driving in Petalino to make it 8-2. A groundout and passed ball would allow the Owls\u2019 base runners to keep advancing and eventually score, with both Huber and Underwood coming home for St. Joe\u2019s to make it 8-4.<\/p>\n
As the game moved into the fifth inning, the Owls would continue to fight their way back into the ballgame, first by holding the Vets off the scoreboard.<\/p>\n
In the bottom of the fifth, it seemed to be the Vets holding the advantage as they had two outs with Fletcher Wnek serving as the Owls\u2019 lone man on base. However, a Petalino single put runners on the corners before Huber came through with a massive three-run home run to suddenly bring St. Joe\u2019s back within a single run heading into the sixth.<\/p>\n
Things remained tense in the sixth. The Owls quickly collected two outs in the top half of the inning, but three consecutive walks, including an intentional one to Krall, loaded the bases. Ultimately, the threat would come to pass, with a flyout to center ending the inning.<\/p>\n
The bottom half of the inning saw the Vets cling to their lead, holding off the Owls to enter the final inning with a one-run advantage.<\/p>\n
In the top of the seventh, the Owls prevented Cooperstown from expanding on its lead, collecting three consecutive outs to quickly move things along.<\/p>\n
Finn Fridley got things started for the Owls in the seventh, drawing a leadoff walk. Wnek then hit into a fielder\u2019s choice, getting to first safely while the Vets took the out on Fridley at second. Wnek got St. Joe\u2019s tying run into scoring position by stealing second, before an error off the bat of Logan Boring allowed him to score and officially bring the Owls even for the first time since the fourth at-bat of the game.<\/p>\n
That error also allowed the Owls to get the potential game-winning run into scoring position, with Boring making his way to second while Wnek tied the game.<\/p>\n
Petalino joined Boring on the bases, taking first after being hit by a pitch, but the Vets got closer to forcing extra innings by snagging a fly ball in center field and holding both St. Joe\u2019s runners. However, it wouldn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n
Boring took off for third on the pitch, with Petalino following and going for second. A throw to second was too late to snag Petalino and gave Boring enough time to round third and head for home, sealing the comeback victory for the Owls in dramatic, walk-off fashion.<\/p>\n
Huber was the big offensive leader for the Owls in the win, going 2-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Underwood also had a big game, going 2-3 with two doubles and an RBI. Petalino also had two hits in the win, while Chase Schlesman, Roddy and Long all had one.<\/p>\n
Conversely, the Vets had seven hits from seven players in the narrow defeat. Krall was a consistent threat for the Vets, going 1-3 with a double, an RBI and drawing an intentional walk. Reinbold, Lukon, Gibson, Schleicher and Thomas all had a hit and an RBI, while Naggy rounded things out with a single.<\/p>\n
Huber started for the Owls on the mound and pitched three innings before giving way to Boring for the next 3.2. However, it was Roddy who was the winning pitcher after facing the Vets\u2019 final batter in the top of the seventh.<\/p>\n
McClain handled the majority of the pitching work for the Vets in the heartbreaking loss, going 6.1 innings. Zach Dinger also appeared for Cooperstown, pitching in the bottom of the seventh.<\/p>\n
With the first games of the LDATL\u2019s \u201cA\u201d bracket complete, the second-round matchups are set. The Owls and Warbirds will face off in the upper bracket on Monday at 5:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
Following that upper bracket contest, the Vets and Ukes will face off in an elimination game at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n
The winner of the upper bracket game will move on to the finals of the \u201cA\u201d bracket, while the loser will face the winner of the lower bracket game between the Ukes and Vets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Though the Latrobe-Derry Area Teener League regular season ended on Wednesday, the league wasted no time in getting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":749613,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2288],"tags":[5,2323,2314,2317,2313,92950,18389,1987,19,2310,2328,2304,2318,2308,2319,4,2305,2303,8001,2431,92949,92948,1039],"class_list":["post-749612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb-postseason","tag-baseball","tag-baseball-events","tag-baseball-finals","tag-baseball-games","tag-baseball-playoffs-and-champions","tag-chase-anderson","tag-derry","tag-inning","tag-major-league-baseball","tag-major-league-baseball-competitions","tag-major-league-baseball-playoffs","tag-major-league-baseball-postseason","tag-major-league-baseball-seasons","tag-major-league-baseball-teams","tag-major-league-baseball-teams-seasons","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-playoffs","tag-mlb-postseason","tag-national-baseball-hall-of-fame-and-museum","tag-playoffs","tag-sheffield-wednesday-f-c","tag-warbird","tag-world-series"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=749612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/749613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=749612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=749612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=749612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}