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By Cory Giger
sports@altoonamirror.com
Small ball can still play a big role in helping win baseball games, even a good old sacrifice bunt, which has sort of become a dinosaur in the modern game.
Richmond chose to sacrifice bunt twice late in Wednesday's game against the Curve, and doing so in the ninth inning helped the Flying Squirrels escape with a 5-3 win before 4,023 fans at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
Now, a whole lot went into that ninth-inning bunt, and the Curve didn't make the right defensive play a few seconds later, which also played a role in the outcome.
The bunt
In a tie game, Franklin Labour led off the ninth with a double for Richmond. Manager Dennis Pelfrey then called for leadoff batter Michael Gigliotti to try a sacrifice bunt.
Historically, it would have been a no-brainer to bunt there. But nowadays, it sometimes can seem bizarre when you see teams try a sacrifice, even when it is the right decision.
"We work on it constantly," Pelfrey said of bunting, "and we tell everybody, it doesn't matter if you're hitting in the 4 hole or the 9 hole, if there's an opportunity for us to get a bunt over or the matchup's not great for you offensively, you can create some value for yourself and for the team."
Gigliotti couldn't get a bunt down and fell into a 1-2 count, then Pelfrey didn't give the hitter the bunt sign. But Gigliotti decided on his own to bunt and did so successfully to first base, moving the go-ahead runner to third with one out.
Curve manager Kieran Mattison, however, didn't think the bunt attempt was successful.
"The last bunt was questionable," Mattison said. "He bunted that ball twice, but the umpires missed it. That's why I went out to check with (the ump). The Gigliotti bunt, that ball was bunted twice, and it should have been strike three. Unfortunately they didn't make the call.
"If we had review, I would have reviewed that play."
Get the out
The next batter, Brett Auerbach, hit a sharp ball to shortstop Jared Triolo, who had to make a quick decision with the runner barely off third base. Triolo could have gone to first for a sure second out, but instead he tried to throw back to third and see if he could get an out there.
He didn't, with the runner beating the tag.
"We work on those scenarios in the work day, and we talk about them and watch film on them," Mattison said. "I just think (Triolo) made a poor decision there.
"It's one out, and you just want to get the sure out in that situation. It's a lot different inning when you have a runner on third with two outs, compared to first and third with one out still."
Paying the price
Maybe things would have turned out differently in the inning had the runner been at third with two outs. But with runners at the corners and only one out, Richmond made the Curve pay as Diego Rincones hit an RBI double of Tyler Samaniego (1-2) for a 4-3 lead.
The Flying Squirrels added an insurance run on a fielder's choice to make it 5-3. The Curve then went down quietly in their half of the ninth.
Stats and stuff
The Curve scored three runs in the second inning, then Richmond scored twice in the third to tie it at 3-3.
Matt Fraizer went 3-for-4 for Altoona, while Fabricio Macias was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Reliever Bear Bellomy tossed 3• scoreless innings of relief, followed by two innings from Brad Case. Starter Kyle Nicolas allowed three runs -- two earned -- in 2ª innings.
Next stop
Tonight: Richmond at Altoona, 6 p.m.
Pitchers: Curve RHP Aaron Shortridge vs. Squirrels LHP Jake Dahlberg
Record: 8-6
Radio: WRTA-AM 1240 & 99.7-FM