Steiner helps Imler’s Poultry capture Altoona AAABA title
Steiner helps team capture Altoona AAABA title
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Imler's Poultry and Cumming Motors went the distance in their best-of-three Altoona All American Amateur Baseball Association championship series, but Sunday's deciding game really came down to the first inning.
Cumming Motors got its first two runners on, but Imler's pitcher Brady Steiner worked out of it with a strikeout, a pickoff and a fly out before Cumming Motors starting pitcher Austin Harter struggled with his control -- walking two batters and hitting two more -- in allowing three first-inning runs in a 10-1 Imler's Poultry win at Vets Field.
With the victory, Imler's won the Altoona championship and the right to select which side of the bracket it will enter in the AAABA National Tournament as well as the right to pick first from the other Altoona teams (MH Electric and Alexander Financial Group) during the four-player pick-up process while finalizing rosters.
"It's a good reward for a job well done and a hard-fought season," Imler's Poultry coach Adam Plummer said. "That wasn't our goal coming into the season. Mr. (Brian) Bell did a great job before my time here establishing this team and getting the core players here, but our goal was to have fun, get some reps and set a culture that people want to come play for us. A lot of these kids didn't know each other before the season, but you would think now they have been friends for years."
Gavin Fowler and Jake Hall walked to begin the bottom of the first inning before Harter hit Nick Kraft to load the bases. Chase Plummer hit a sacrifice fly before Brayden Parsons was hit by a pitch to reload the bases and end Harter's outing.
"The control issues hurt us," Cumming Motors coach Chris Sanders said. "One thing about Austin is he works hard. I can't say enough about him. He came to us late in the season and got his work in. I have all the faith in the world in him, and I would run him out there again."
Brandon McClure drove in a run on a fielder's choice off new pitcher Dylan Ewing, and Jake Hileman scored another with an RBI single.
Hileman later made a pair of diving catches in the top of the third inning, one of which was contested by Cumming Motors.
The frustration from that call boiled over in the bottom of the sixth inning when Ty Szynal was called safe at first to load the bases with no outs after a bunt, and a Cumming Motors assistant coach was ejected.
The next batter, Fowler, hit a ball up the middle, and Cumming Motors shortstop Mason Mierley collided with the third base umpire while trying to make the play. Following the single, the umpiring crew spoke with some spectators in an effort to calm the situation.
Imler's Poultry added four more runs in the inning with the big blow coming from Kraft's two-run single that made it 8-0.
Cumming Motors scored its lone run on an RBI single by Tadd Lusk in the top of the eighth inning.
Steiner pitched all nine innings and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning.
"He threw 70 pitches a couple days ago, came back on short rest and just like he did a couple days ago -- he was a bulldog out there," Plummer said. "We had him on a short leash tonight, because he just threw, but he was grooving from inning one through inning nine."
Plummer confirmed he will add to his pitching staff through the pick-up process.
"We'll complete our roster with a couple pitchers," Plummer said. "We have our core group, but hopefully we can get a couple guys who help us in the tournament."
Sanders also will participate in that process and is also hoping to get some of his own players back.
"I have faith in my team, and I have faith in our pickups," Sanders said. "I think the guys we're going to pick up will come out and play hard. I think we'll be fine. We'll be getting most of our roster back this weekend. We were missing quite a few tonight. I think things are going to change next week."
Sanders believes, though his team lost a lot of players last year, that his players with experience playing in the AAABA National Tournament will make a difference.
"I think that's valuable going in," Sanders said. "We are experienced and know what to expect. I think the experience factor will play a big role. You have to go through 15 teams to get to the end. We have been to Friday before. We're going to play one game at a time, and our pitching is going to reset this week, and you'll see a different outcome at the beginning of next week."
This was the first season Altoona's AAABA league competed on its own outside of the Greater City League and had four teams, allowing for two semifinal series and a championship series.
"I'm ecstatic for the league that we have been able to get the fourth team and have the opportunity to play against the Johnstown teams to make us better," AAABA Altoona president Matt Cursio said. "My hope is to continue to grow the league and keep these young men here in Blair County to be able to play in the Altoona AAABA."
Imler's Poultry, a team that features many young players recently graduated from local high schools or still attending those schools, is looking forward to a big opportunity.
"They are excited," Plummer said. "They are having fun. It's never negative in our dugout. It's always positive, and they are picking each other up. We have a lot of new faces, but they fit right into a culture about having fun and picking each other up."
SUNDAY
CUMMING MOTORS (1): B. Oakes cf 402, Mierley ss 301, Sell 2b 511, Thornburg c 401, McConnell cr 000, Fridley rf 502, Harter p 000, Ewing p 000, Sacco dh 500, Murphy 1b 300, Lusk lf 401, V. Boland 3b 401. Totals -- 37-1-9.
IMLER'S POULTRY (10): Fowler 2b 422, Hall cf 320, Kraft c 402, Plummer 3b 311, Parsons 1b 321, B. McClure ss 400, Hileman rf 412, Steiner p 300, Baer cr 000, Szynal lf 210. Totals -- 30-10-8.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Cumming Motors 000 000 010--1 9 5
Imler's Poultry 301 004 02X--10 8 2
E--Steiner, Plummer, Ewing 3, Thornburg, Lusk. 2B--Fridley. 3B--Parsons, Kraft. RBI--Kraft 2, Plummer 2, Fowler, Hall, Parsons, B. McClure, Hileman, Lusk. WP--Steiner. LP--Harter. SO--Ewing 6, Steiner 2. BB--Ewing 3, Harter 2, Steiner 3.
Umpires: Tony Kline (HP); Ryan Burns (1B), Tom Bearer (3B).
SATURDAY
IMLER'S POULTRY (3): Fowler 2b 512, Hall cf 510, Kraft 3b 502, Plummer ss 311, Parsons c 400, B. McClure p 300, O. Oakes rf 400, Baer 1b 401, Szynal lf 402. Totals -- 37-3-8.
CUMMING MOTORS (4): B. Oakes cf 311, Ebeling lf 312, Sell 1b 401, Thornburg dh 411, Mierley ss 401, Fridley dh 402, Lusk rf 400, Helms c 301, Neidig 3b 311, V. Boland 2b 301, Sacco cr 000. Totals -- 35-4-11.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Imler's Poultry 011 010 000--3 8 1
Cumming Motors 000 020 02X--4 11 3
2B--Fridley, Mierley. HR--Thornburg. RBI--Plummer 2, Baer, Thornburg 2. WP--McConnell. LP--B. McClure. SO--B. McClure 1, McConnell 1, V. Boland 1. BB--B. McClure 2, McConnell 2.
Series: Imler's Poultry wins 2-1.