The Warriors advanced out of pool play and into the Oak Lawn Westside tournament's playoffs after beating Wheaton by a score of 3-2 in seven innings.
The Warriors took a one run lead in the top of the second inning when Tim Carroll grounded to shortstop to score Ryan Knightly from third base. Jason Waner pitched another gem for the Warriors and held Wheaton scoreless through the first two innings. Wheaton scored a run in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game 1-1.
Controversy erupted in the top of the fourth inning. With runners on first and second base and one out, the Warriors executed a hit and run play in which Ryan Knightly singled to leftfield to score Robbie Maxfield from second base. However, the play was nullified when Ryan was called out for interference for hitting the pitch while stepping outside of the batter's box. Both runners were sent back to their original positions. The larger issue was that the batter's box was not properly marked on the field. Under Official Baseball Rules, the batter's box should have been extended two feet closer to the pitcher. I asked the umpire to get a ruling from the tournament director on this critical call, but that request was denied. After the inning was over and the Warriors failed to score, the tournament director confirmed that the batter's box as drawn should have been ignored for purposes of interference calls--but that clarification came too late. The batter's boxes were subsequently erased from all fields of play.
The Warriors would not score again until the seventh, and final, inning of play. Meanwhile, Wheaton scored the leading run in the bottom of the sixth to take a 2-1 lead into the last inning.
The Warriors rallied in the final inning. Jason Waner started things with a walk. Ryan Knightly singled to centerfield to score Jason. Sam Marc singled to rightfield. Ryan Knightly then scored when the catcher threw down to first base on a dropped third strike. The Warriors led 3-2 as the game moved into the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Warriors' starting pitcher, Jason Waner, was still in the game and going strong. After striking out the first two batters, he walked Wheaton's #2 hitter. The Warriors successfully executed a pitch out to retire the runner who was attempting to steal second to end the game.
WARRIORS: 3 runs, 7 hits, 2 errors, 6 left on base
WHEATON: 2 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 9 left on base
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The Southside Express (SSE) then eliminated the Warriors in an exciting 8-7 game at 11:15 am at Worthbrook Park.
The SSE scored twice in the top of the first inning, but left two runners stranded as the inning came to a close. The Warriors battled back with three runs in the bottom of the frame on a RBI single by Ryan Knightly and a two run hit into rightfield off the bat of Jack Lebert.
The Warriors' starting pitcher, Ryan Novak, settled in and held the SSE scoreless in the second inning after striking out two hitters in the inning. The Warriors, however, would not score again until the bottom of the sixth inning!
The SSE Express added two runs in the third inning and three runs in the top of the sixth inning to take an 8-4 lead into the final inning of play.
Anthony Lauciello tripled to deep centerfield to start the seventh inning. After Sam Marc reached on an infield error, C.J. Brucki was hit by a pitch. Tim Carroll represented the tying run for the Warriors. Tim reached with two outs on a batted ball that went through the SSE's second baseman. Tim stole second base. With the runner in motion from scoring position and two strikes on the batter, the game ended on a strikeout.
The SSE starting pitcher and former Warrior, Matt Taylor, had a very impressive performance and pitched all the way into the seventh inning (with one out) before he was relieved.
Ryan Novak pitched a courageous game. He battled through a lot of adversity over seven innings during the second game of a doubleheader. He never quit--retiring the key hitters in big innings to keep the Warriors in the game. In a rare achievement, the Warriors' starting pitchers threw two complete games in the same day--a feat probably never before accomplished in the history of OYA baseball!
SSE: 8 runs, 11 hits, 3 errors, 10 left on base
WARRIORS: 7 runs, 5 hits, 2 errors, 5 left on base
