SIDMAN — A lineup snafu on the part of its opposition enabled the Altoona Cumming Motors team to finish 2-1 in pool play on Wednesday, but unable to advance to today’s quarterfinal round in the All American Amateur Baseball Association Tournament.

Cumming Motors manager Chris Sanders detected the Cleveland lineup mistake in the fifth inning of Wednesday’s third-round Pool D matchup between the two teams at the Forest Hills High School baseball field, and informed home plate umpire Jeff Day that he would be playing the game under protest.

It had initially appeared that Cleveland had overcome an 8-3 fifth-inning deficit to score six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and go on for an apparent 11-9 victory. But Sanders lodged the successful protest after the game with the AAABA National Tournament committee, which ruled in his team’s favor, and the final score was reverted back to an official 8-3 victory for Cumming Motors in five innings.

The victory did not move Cumming Motors (which finished 2-1 in pool play) into today’s quarterfinal round because it lost out on a tiebreaker with New Brunswick and Johnstown Mainline Pharmacy.

All the confusion began with Cleveland in the field and Cumming Motors at the plate in the top of the fifth inning.

Cleveland had started the game with designated hitter Jerry Atwell batting in the pitcher’s spot in the order, and Curtis Maier filling the lineup’s extra hitter spot, which is new on a trial basis for the AAABA this season. When Cleveland relief pitcher Lucas Shaffert left the mound after the fourth inning with an injury, Maier was moved from the extra hitter spot to second base, and second baseman Owen Tornow was brought in to pitch.

However, the game went on with Maier, Tornow and Atwell all continuing to bat, which Sanders protested as a violation of the rules. He informed home plate umpire Jeff Day that he was going to file a protest, and he was successful in doing so when he reported the violation to the tournament committee after the game.

“The league implemented a new EH rule this year, and their coach used the EH like he is allowed to, but he later brought the EH into second base and the second baseman in to pitch, after starting the game with a designated hitter who was batting for the pitcher,” Sanders said.

“That’s a rule infraction,” Sanders said of the three players all continuing to hit in the lineup. “I filed a protest with the tournament committee after the game and they ruled in our favor, so the final official score of the game was 8-3 in our favor in five innings.”

Altoona AAABA President Matt Cursio was sitting in the bleachers watching the game, and said he encouraged Sanders to go ahead with the protest.

“What (Cleveland) was mistakenly doing was using two batters in its lineup where there should only have been one batting (after the fifth-inning position changes),” Cursio said. “I’m comfortable that the protest, and the committee’s official decision, were handed down correctly.”

In the official box score for the game, catcher Braylan Vrable had the big hit for Cumming Motors, a three-run, bases-loaded double in the second inning off Cleveland starting pitcher Hewitt Wilt that keyed a five-run outburst and gave the Altoona team a 6-1 lead.

Wilt walked five batters in the second inning, including Altoona High School graduate Aidan Steinbugl with the bases loaded to force home a run.

Another Altoona High grad, Aaron Smearman, had an RBI single in the first inning, and a run-producing sacrifice fly in the third inning for Cumming Motors.

Right-hander Gabe Jansen picked up the pitching victory by officially working five innings, allowing six hits, three runs, and striking out four batters.

Cleveland manager Jeff Winrod – whose team officially finished the tournament with an 0-3 record — was interviewed on the field by the Mirror after the game, but before the protest had been upheld.

Winrod believed incorrectly that Sanders was arguing that the extra hitter Maier had started the game at second base, and then re-entered there later, which led to the protest by Sanders.

“That didn’t happen,” Winrod said. “This might change the way the EH is used at this level. This is the first year that it’s been used in this tournament, and it’s used differently here than how it is used when we play in our league back home.

“I’ve talked to a lot of the coaches here in Johnstown, and many of them don’t like the extra hitter (concept),” Winrod added.

The Mirror made unsuccessful attempts to reach AAABA National Tournament chairman Jay Elliot, who rendered the decision to uphold the Sanders protest.

ALTOONA CUMMING MOTORS (8): Green cf 221, Steinbugl 2b 120, Schimony dh 111, Vrable c 201, Jansen p 000, Smearman dh 201, Vancus ss 311, Cooper 1b 301, Kormanic 3b 210, Albright lf 211, Angus rf 200. Totals – 20-8-7.

CLEVELAND (3): Petrecca ss 312, Rothislisberger 3b 221, Morris slf 101, LaVigne cf 202, Cachowski c 200, Square 1b 200, Maier eh-2b 200, Wilt p 000, Shaffert p 000, Atwell dh 100, McKenna rf 200, Tornow 2b-p 200. Totals – 19-3-6.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Altoona Cumming Motors 151 10X XXX–8-7-0

Cleveland 102 00X XXX–3-6-2

E–Cachowski, McKenna. 2B–Vrable, Vancus. RBI–Vrable 3, Smearman 2, Albright, Morris 2, Cachowski. SB–Albright. SAC–Albright, Angus. SF–Smearman. HBP–Vrable by Shaffert. LOB–Cumming Motors 6, Cleveland 4. DP–Cumming Motors turned 2 (Vancus to Steinbugl to Cooper; Jansen to Steinbugl to Cooper); Cleveland turned 1 (Rothislisberger unassisted).

PITCHING:

Altoona: Jansen (W) 5 IP, 6H, 3R, 3ER, 3SO, 2BB.

Cleveland: Wilt (L) 3IP, 5H, 7R, 7ER, 1SO, 6BB; Shaffert 1 IP, 0H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 0SO; Tornow 1 IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0SO, OBB.

WP–Jansen, Wilt 2.

Umpires: Jeff Day (plate); Jeff Page (bases).

Records: Cumming Motors (2-1); Cleveland (0-3).