Altoona-based teams begin AAABA play with victories: Full lineup aids Cumming Motors
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PORTAGE -- Cumming Motors struggled with a lack of numbers during its regular AAABA season and even into its league playoff competition, but all hands are now on board for the team that, prior to being unseated by Imler's Poultry in the league championship series last week, had won three consecutive Altoona AAABA League titles.
Cumming Motors showed championship form again in its AAABA national tournament first-round game with the Brooklyn Nighthawks Monday afternoon at Haschak Memorial Field, combining excellent pitching with timely hitting for a 6-3 victory.
Cumming Motors has a second-round game against Johnstown's Martella's Pharmacy entry today at noon at Sargent's Stadium at the Point.
Cumming Motors is trying to make up for lost time this season, and lost numbers, with its national tournament performance.
"We didn't have a great regular season or a great performance in our league playoffs, but we were down some numbers because of things like injuries and travel ball,'' Cumming Motors manager Chris Sanders said. "I'm proud of the way this team came together.
"We've got our whole team back together now, and it's pretty exciting.''
Bishop Guilfoyle Academy graduate Kade Sell, a right-handed pitcher who is now playing baseball at La Roche College, turned in a gutsy 108-pitch performance to get credit for the victory, backed up by two scoreless innings of relief from right-handed submarine reliever Alex Neidig, who earned the save.
Sell spaced eight hits in seven-plus innings, allowing just three runs, striking out five batters, and walking four.
"Kade Sell threw real well for us, as he has been doing all year,'' Sanders said. "And Alex Neidig came on in relief and shut them down.''
Sell registered a very meticulous performance.
"I just tried to get ahead in the counts and throw strikes,'' Sell said. "I was trying to force weak contact from their hitters. My curve ball was spinning well, and my fast ball felt good coming out of my hand. I was using both pitches effectively.''
Cumming Motors -- which opened the game's scoring on an RBI double by Braden Hatch in the top of the first inning -- used timely hitting to erase an early 3-1 deficit that was created by Pablo Aquino's solo homer leading off the bottom of the first inning and Robert Herrera's two-run triple in the third inning.
Recent pick-up acquisition Isaac Tiracoda belted a solo homer to right field off Brooklyn starting right-hander Adrian Hernandez in the top of the fourth inning, pulling Cumming Motors to within a run at 3-2.
"Our pick-up players are very valuable and talented, and Tiracoda came up with a big hit there,'' Sanders said.
Cumming Motors pulled even in the top of the sixth inning on a clutch two-out RBI single to center field by Hollidaysburg High School grad Donald Miller, scoring Tiracoda, who had drawn a leadoff walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by another Hollidaysburg graduate, Mason Mierley.
"We just went up there in clutch situations and most of our people came through when we needed it today,'' Miller said. "I was getting fooled early on by off-speed pitches, but I saw a low, outside slider that I dropped in for a single there.''
Hernandez, who threw 106 pitches and allowed only three runs and five hits in six full innings of work, drew praise from Brooklyn manager Richard Corbo, whose team plays a second-round game at noon today against Butler at Roxbury Park.
"I give credit to my pitcher, he works so hard, and takes no prisoners,'' Corbo said. "When he gets into jams, he's able to work out of them, and he did that again today.''
Mistakes, especially on the bases, cost Brooklyn dearly Monday.
Cumming Motors pushed across the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning to take the lead for good, 4-3, with right-handed reliever Michael Martinez on the mound in relief of Hernandez.
Brady Oakes led off with a single to left field, and BG graduate Cooper Rother, now playing collegiately at Mansfield University, drew a walk. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch, and Oakes scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by Alex Ebeling.
Brooklyn baserunning mistakes in the eighth inning led to one runner being caught leaning off first base, and another being caught trying to steal second base. Another Brooklyn runner was picked off first base in the third inning, squelching a potential two-on, no-out rally.
"Mental mistakes, players not learning the signs,'' Corbo said of the miscues. "And other physical errors in the field led to our pitcher having to throw more pitches, and two runs being scored against us. All the teams in this tournament are good, and you can't be leaving the door open for any of them.''
Cumming Motors tacked on two big insurance runs in the ninth inning, on a two-out RBI single by Rother that was followed by Ebeling's run-scoring double.
"We had a lot of clutch hits today -- a lot of two-out hits,'' Sanders said.
And now it's on to face a Johnstown Martella's team that won both regular-season meetings with Cumming Motors.
"We've played them twice this year, so the teams know each other well,'' Sanders said. "We've got to continue to throw strikes, play good defense, and keep having good two-strike approaches at the plate.''
CUMMING MOTORS (6): Oakes cf 411, Rother 2b 422, Ebeling lf 301, Thornburg dh 402, Hatch 1b 501, Tiracorda rf 321, Fridley eh 301, Miller 3b 311, Helms c 300, Sacco cr 000. Totals -- 32-6-10.
BROOKLYN (3): Aquino cf 322, Herrera 2b 401, Romero c 400, Nunez lf 301, O. Martinez eh-3b 300, M. Martinez 3b-p 300, Rosario 1b 300, Tineo dh 212, Reyes ss 301, A. Hernandez 201. Totals -- 30-3-8.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Cumming Motors 100 101 102--6 10 1
Brooklyn 102 000 000--3 8 3
E--Mierley, Herrera, M. Martinez, Reyes. 2B--Hatch, Rother, Thorburg, Edeling, Tineo. 3B--Herrera. HR--Tiracorda, Aquino. RBI--Ebeling 2, Rother, Hatch, Tiracorda, Miller, Herrera 2, Aquino. SB--Aquino. CS--Reyes (Sell to Hatch); Giron (Helms to Hatch to Mierley); Aquino (Helms to Mierley). SAC--Mierley, Helms. SF--Ebeling. HR--Aquino. RBI--Ebeling 2, Rother, Hatch, Tiracorda, Miller, Herrera 2, Aquino. DP--Cumming Motors turned two double plays. LOB--Cumming Motors 12, Brooklyn 5.
PITCHING
Cumming Motors: Sell (W) 7+IP, 8H, 3R, 3ER, 4BB, 5SO; Neidig (SV) 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 2SO.
Brooklyn: Hernandez 6IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 5BB, 4SO; M. Martinez (L) 3IP, 3R, 1ER, 1BB, 1SO.
Records: Cumming Motors (1-0); Brooklyn (0-1).
Umpires: Nick Spanelli (plate); Jason Dorofey (bases).
Time of game: 2:37.