Announcement
JV Team wins in back and forth contest with Allentown Central Catholic
Posted by Rich Kinsley on
May 02 2018
at
05:00PM PDT
in 2019 Varsity
Parkland JV hosted Allentown Central Catholic under the lights. In the busiest stretch of games of the season for the young squad, the later start time helped create the largest crowd of the season for the anticipated showdown with the Vikings of Central Catholic. The weather could not have been any different than the first game played between the teams when there was a bitter cold and snow prior to the game. In this contest, with the mid 80 degree temperatures, the music playing and the smiles on the boys faces, everyone expected a fun night. Just 3 weeks ago, Parkland won on a no hitter. Today was going to be different. After 2 innings of play, the Trojan JV boys were down unexpectedly 5 to 0. Parkland hit into some tough luck in the first with a double play and a liner to centerfield that was sandwiched by a Nikhil Patel single to left. In the 2nd, down 5 to 0, a 2 out rally concluded with Luke Dauberman lining a single to centerfield scoring a run but a great thrown by the centerfielder was able to get the final out in the inning. Owen Lehr came in and pitched effectively for 2 plus innings giving up no earned runs. At this point, the Parkland bats went to work over the next few innings. Down 7 to 2, the comeback was on the way. Key hits by lanky first baseman, TJ Khela and Bryce Ratliff (2 for 3) and Parker Swartz produced runs. A long double by Nick Ernst drove in 2 more runs and some great situational hitting by right fielder, Jake Donmoyer helped keep the rally going. Owen Lehr dramatically took ball 4 on his one at bat and sped past first to get to 2nd on a walk where the ball went back to the screen. Often running for the pitcher or catcher, Chris Lessel used his base running savvy to score 3 runs to help the Trojan 9. Joe Algard was masterful behind the plate making all the key plays but had some game changing plays by throwing out a runner trying to steal 2nd base in the 3rd but more importantly catching an unexpectant Viking runner at 3rd base by gunning him out in the 5th. Ultimately that throw kept the inning from getting worse in this game that seemed to go deep into the night but ended after 5 innings due to time constraints. After throwing just one pitch before Algard’s pickoff throw, Junel Rodriquez ultimately would be the winning pitcher as the Trojans were in for a dramatic 5th and final inning. In this back and forth game with some hits but many miscues by many teams, showed Parkland tying the game at 7 and then taking an 11 to 7 comfortable lead going into the 5th, only to lose that lead in the top of the 5th. When the officials declared the 5th inning to be the final inning, a 1 out rally was needed if Parkland wanted to get the victory. Owen Lehr sharply grounded to short and reached on an error. TJ Khela walked and then another walk to Nick Ernst loaded the bases. With a noise ordinance not allowing music past 9:30pm, you could almost hear “whatever it takes” by Imagine Dragons as Lessel and Khela made sure the game didn’t end in a loss or tie as they seized the opportunity to score on back to back passed balls. Khela’s instinct helped conclude a long affair as the Trojan 9 pulled out a 13 to 12 victory. Although the game did not always have flawless execution to be considered a classic, the game was certainly interesting to watch and the late inning dramatics and coaching strategy provided a nice win and the late night drive home a little sweeter!
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