Cumming Motors captures Minor crown

Bardell wins game with walk-off hit

Conner Bardell didn't waste any time Tuesday night in helping Cumming Motors claim the Altoona Teener Minor League Tournament title at Seitz Field.

Bardell, the No. 9 hitter in coach Chris Cacciotti's lineup, hit the first pitch he saw with two outs and Connor Cobaugh on third base in the bottom of the seventh for a 3-2 come-from-behind win over Gingrich Insurance.

"That kid has been clutch for us all year long," said Cacciotti, who watched Bardell deliver the single up the middle off reliever Brayden Winters. "We have asked him to come out and pitch for us sometimes and he has, and he has also gotten us hits when we needed them. He finds a way to get it done."

Gingrich came into the game as the No. 2 seed, having to win two games Tuesday night to claim the tourney title. It looked like it would get that second game because it led 2-1 going into the bottom of the seventh.

"When I drafted this team, I was fairly confident. There were a lot of kids that fell to us in the draft that should not have been there. They were that good," Gingrich coach Jeremy Chaplin said. "I thought we could be the team to beat, and there were a lot of coaches who thought that as well."

Tied at 1-1, Gingrich took a 2-1 lead with two outs in the top of the seventh. Logan Meyers, the team's No. 8 hitter, singled home Ethan Chaplin off Cummings reliever J.J. Boggs.

"We have moved (Logan) around in the lineup. We dropped him down but not because he wasn't hitting, but because we needed to turn the lineup over," Coach Chaplin said. "He's been a solid player for us all year."

In the bottom of the seventh, Gingrich pitcher Sam Moyer got the first out of the inning on a groundout to Meyers at third. However, a single by Zach Pier and two errors later allowed Pier to score the tying run. After an infield popup made it two outs, Bardell stepped to the plate and hit the first pitch off Winters for the win.

"We told (Bardell) you've got to be ready to hit because (Winters) is going to be around the plate," Cacciotti said.

Cumming, which finished the regular season 11-4, took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third. Caleb Gibson reached on a fielder's choice. He was later replaced by courtesy runner Stone Sral who scored on a Cumming Motors error.

"We normally play pretty sound defense, but today we weren't making the routine plays," said Cacciotti, who watched his club make five miscues.

Cumming Motors tied it at 1-1 in the third when Camden Filer walked, moved to second on a passed ball and wound up scoring on a Gingrich error.

"We dropped into the losers' bracket and played a lot of baseball here. This was our fourth game in four days. We used a lot of pitching. We played a lot of baseball, but our guys never hung their heads. The hustled through and through," Chaplin said.

Game notes: Pier finished with two of Cumming Motors' six hits. Winters had two of Gingrich's five hits. … Staring pitchers Dominic Batisti (Cumming) and Braxton Zitsch (Gingrich) were both strong. Batisti did not walk a batter in six frames, while Zitsch struck out six and walked two pitching into the fifth. Neither gave up an earned run. … Gingrich beat No. 1 seed M&T Bank on Monday night to get to the finals round.

GINGRICH INSURANCE (2): Shade cf 300, Winters ss-p 302, Sral lf 200, Sensenig lf 100, Zitsch p-1b 301, Chaplin 2b 210, Swanger rf 300, Royer 1b-p-ss 301, Meyers 3b 301, Gibson c 100, Sral cr 010, Shultz eh 200, Kessler eh-c 300. Totals: 29-2-5.

CUMMING MOTORS (3): M. Cacciotti cf 200, Boggs 2b-p 301, V. Cacciotti 1b 301, Kissell ss 300, Pier c 312, Kobaugh 3b 311, McCorkle rf 200, Billotte rf 100, Batisti p-rf 300, Filer lf 010, Bardell lf 201, Orberg eh 200. Totals: 27-3-6.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Gingrich 001 000 1 -- 2 5 3

Cumming 001 000 2 -- 3 6 5

2B--Pier. RBI--Meyers, Bardell. WP--Boggs. LP--Royer. SO--Zitsch 6, Royer 2, Batisti 2, Boggs 2. BB--Zitsch 2, Boggs 1.