Six-run 6th sends Martella's Pharmacy over O in JCBL playoff opener
Jul. 15—SIDMAN — Martella's Pharmacy's six-run bottom of the sixth inning didn't include towering homers or scorching line drives.
Instead, the Johnstown Collegiate Baseball League regular-season champions used fundamental baseball and good approaches at the plate to break open a semifinal round contest against fourth-seeded O on Friday at Forest Hills Junior-Senior High School.
Two well-placed bunts. A sacrifice fly. A two-run single through a drawn-in infield.
The Martella's Pharmacy rally would have made a baseball purist proud in a 7-5 comeback victory over a resilient O squad in Game 1 of a best-of-5 series.
"What led to the six-run inning was situational baseball," said Martella's manager Kerry Pfeil, whose team will play O in Game 2 at 7 p.m. Saturday at Sargent's Stadium at the Point.
"We had guys on first and second. I put on a bunt. (Zach) Ramach puts down a beautiful bunt and we get the bases loaded. I thought we did a nice job that sixth inning on sitting more on the breaking ball.
"We didn't always hit the ball hard that inning, but we were able to hit it hard enough and get it into the grass in the outfield and move the runners around the bases. We really took command in that inning, but unfortunately that was really the only inning we did anything."
O played without ace pitcher Jake Kramer, who led the league with five wins and was among the leaders with a 1.54 ERA and 36 strikeouts. O manager Ken Ashbrook said Kramer is on vacation and won't be available in the series.
Still, starter Andrew Root was effective, especially through the first five innings.
Six of his 11 hits allowed came in the Martella's Pharmacy sixth inning.
"With Root, we got a lot of two-strike counts and we just couldn't capitalize on that third strike," Ashbrook said. "They were able to barrel the ball up and find a spot out there on the field for it. Other than that, he did well."
O led 1-0 on back-to-back doubles by Jake Bredl and Joshua Gerken in the fourth inning.
Martella's Pharmacy tied it at 1-all with an unearned run in the fifth after singles by Tyler Alexander and Jared Dowey, the latter plating Konnor Pittman, who reached on a throwing error.
Martella's Pharmacy right-hander Michael Marinchak, a Seton Hill University pitcher and Ligonier Valley graduate, had another strong outing in his fourth straight year as the playoff opening-game starter.
"Coming in, I thought actually I underperformed in the first playoff game the last three years," said Marinchak, who won the past two openers. "The big emphasis today was on getting ahead, trusting my teammates behind me, keeping it close so that we could get that lead. It paid off."
Marinchak struck out five, walked three and allowed three hits in six innings for the win.
"This is the fourth year in a row that we've started Mike Marinchak in Game 1 of the playoffs," Pfeil said. "He did exactly what we thought he would do. The run he gave up, I thought both of O's hitters hit good pitches and got back-to-back doubles. He didn't let that rattle him at all."
Martella's Pharmacy's big inning started somewhat innocently, as Root hit Andrew Weaver with a pitch. Nick Fleming singled to right. Ramach put down a well-placed sacrifice bunt attempt that he beat out for a single to load the bases.
Pittman singled in a run.
Another scored on a wild pitch. Then, No. 9 hitter Alexander worked a six-pitch at-bat before singling to right field through a drawn-in infield to plate two runs.
"I was looking to put the bat on the ball, move the runner and it went in our favor," Alexander said. "We ended up scoring two runs on it, runners on second and third. It contributed and allowed the inning to keep going."
Garrett Greco bunted for a single and Dowey drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Steve Budash's run-scoring single chased Root in favor of Brycen Sechler, who tossed 22/3 scoreless innings.
"Ty is a baseball rat. He loves baseball. The only thing he's been doing since he's been in the crib, he's been doing baseball," Pfeil said of Alexander's big hit. "We talked to him about his approaches at the plate.
"When he takes it in and we get into the approaches we want him to get into, he's 140 pounds but he can make things happen."
O scored three times in the seventh off reliever Garrett Emerick before Martella's Pharmacy's third pitcher, Mark Wechtenhiser, induced an out. O left the bases loaded.
O added one more run in the ninth, but stranded two runners in each of the final two frames — 12 left on base overall.
"That seems to have been our MO all this season," Ashbrook said. "We just have that one bad inning. Today, we had eight good innings."
Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5083. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.
