Mitch Waters knew all he had to do was keep Thursday’s game close. Keep it close and the Canton Stallions would eventually bunch some hits together and score enough runs to remain in the winners’ bracket in the 2008 Stan Musial World Series.
Masterfully, Waters did his job and his teammates from Ohio did their job, too.
The Canton Stallions rallied for four runs in the top of the eighth inning to overtake the Bayamon (Puerto Rico) Vaqueros 7-4 at Don Sanders Stadium.
“I was very confident that we would get some runs,” Waters said after reliever Rob Rose worked out of a jam in the bottom of the ninth and notched a save. “Up and down our lineup, our guys can all hit the ball. I’ve seen it all season. It doesn’t matter if it’s one or nine in the lineup, they all do it for us.”
On Thursday, it was the bottom of the lineup that did most of the damage for the Stallions.
Five-hole hitter Jamie Palumbo, a 34-year-old outfielder who played at Youngstown State, went 3-for-5 and scored three runs, including the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth.
Cleanup hitter Kurt Davidson scored the tying run on a slow-rolling single off the bat of designated hitter Tim Parker. Palumbo then put the Stallions ahead for good when nine-hole hitter Joe Pukansky looped a single into center field.
The Stallions scored two more runs, one on a fielder’s choice grounder and another on a Rob Arnold sacrifice fly.
Waters, who weathered a rocky first inning in which two errors led to a pair of unearned runs, said Thursday’s win was big because the Stallions stayed in the winners’ bracket.
Canton plays the winner of Thursday’s late game between the host Northwest (Houston) Wildcats and the Dallas Royals. First pitch is scheduled tonight at 7 at Don Sanders Stadium at Sam Houston State.
“That’s very important in any tournament,” Waters explained. “If you stay in the winners’ bracket you don’t use near as much of your pitching, plus you don’t have to play as many games.”
Waters hung tough after the Vaqueros tagged him for two unearned runs in the bottom of the first. He settled down and allowed only four hits over seven innings. Vaqueros designated hitter Jose Velazquez cranked a solo homer over the right-field fence in the bottom of the sixth to put Bayamon on top 4-3, but Canton never quit.
On Wednesday, Canton beat the Rockdale (Ga.) A’s 5-3. The Lombard (Ill.) Orioles, defending champs of the Musial World Series, stayed alive by blanking Rockdale 4-0 Thursday in an elimination game at Kate Barr Ross Park.
Northwest (Houston) Wildcats 5, Easton (Mass.) Huskies 0
Sonny Garcia fired a four-hit shutout late Wednesday night, leading the host team from Houston to a 5-0 victory over the Easton (Mass.) Huskies at Don Sanders Stadium. Garcia struck out eight and walked none for the Wildcats, a finalist in last year’s Stan Musial World Series.
The Wildcats scored single runs in the first and sixth innings, then broke the game open with three more runs in the bottom of the eighth.
Mike Wilson doubled in the first and scored on Brandon Caraway’s sacrifice fly. In the sixth, Caraway scored on Stuart Musselwhite’s sacrifice fly.
Caraway, who went 2-for-3, started the eighth-inning rally with a single. Brad Sullivan, who went 3-for-3, was hit with a pitch before Musselwhite beat out an infield single to load the bases with none out.
Reliever Andrew LeBrun, who came in after Corey Phillips threw 130 pitches, retired former Sam Houston State Bearkat with the bases loaded. LeBrun got Krailo to bounce into a fielder’s choice with third baseman Sean Riley throwing out Caraway at the plate.
LeBrun then surrendered a three-run double to left-center off the bat of catcher Danny Massiate to put the game out of reach.
Sports
Stan Musial World Series: Stallions rally past Vaqueros
Reigning champs hold off elimination
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OUTGUNNED: First-place Mavericks shoot down Sam Houston, run winning streak to 14
Texas-Arlington had an answer for every Sam Houston run Wednesday night on the way to a 75-63 victory over the Bearkats. It was the Mavericks’ 14th consecutive win and improved their Southland Conference record to 10-0.
The last team to start league action with such perfection was Sam Houston in 2010, a team which won the conference’s regular season as well as the postseason tournament championship. -
Championship salute
The Southland Conference champs from Sam Houston State received special recognition on Wednesday night for the most successful football season in school history.
Huntsville Mayor Mac Woodward, SHSU President Dana Gibson and Walker County Judge Danny Pierce were among those who honored the Bearkats during halftime of the Bearkats’ basketball game against Texas-Arlington.
Woodward declared Feb. 8 Bearkat Pride Day. -
Bearkat women win again, 61-45
Britni Martin scored 18 points, including four 3-pointers, to lead Sam Houston State to a 61-45 Southland Conference women’s basketball victory over UT-Arlington on Wednesday at the new UTA College Park Center in Arlington.
All four of Martin’s field goals were 3-pointers and the junior forward from Conroe went 6-of-6 from the foul line to post her 17th double-figure scoring performance of the season. -
Alive and kicking
For the third consecutive game, the Hornets played like a team that does not want basketball season to end anytime soon.
Desperate to notch another victory over Willis, the Huntsville boys jumped on the Wildkats early. The Hornets used their muscle and started pulling away in the second half, then when Willis made a late rally, Huntsville’s hungry bunch had enough energy left to hold off the Wildkats in a wild 76-63 victory at the Paul Bohan Hornet Gym. -
Lady Hornets roll through district undefeated again
The Lady Hornets did it again. For the second consecutive season, the Huntsville girls basketball team rolled through District 18-4A play without a loss.
On Tuesday night in Willis, the Lady Hornets closed out another perfect 14-0 district campaign with an 86-33 win over the LadyKats. -
New Waverly seniors close out regular season in style
In their final game of the regular season, the Lady Bulldogs just enjoyed themselves in a 60-46 win over Anderson-Shiro.
This was a team New Waverly beat on the road earlier in the season and a win in “Bulldog Country” would be the appropriate way to send out seniors Myeisha Williams, Morgan Eastland, Whitney McCullough and Alex Abbott. -
Streak stoppers?
The hottest team in the Southland Conference visits Johnson Coliseum tonight, riding a 13-game winning streak and sporting a perfect 9-0 league record.
Sam Houston State has a difficult task on its hands facing Texas-Arlington, a team which had its way with the Bearkats on Jan. 11 at Texas Hall. The Mavericks rolled to a 66-40 that night in what was Sam Houston’s worst loss in conference action all season. -
Bearkats to hold celebration befitting a championship team
A championship celebration unlike any in Bearkat history will take place tonight at Johnson Coliseum as part of the festivities for the Bearkats’ basketball game against Texas-Arlingon.
Walker County, the city of Huntsville and university officials will join with SHSU alumni, students, faculty-staff and fans in saluting the 2011 Southland Conference champion and NCAA Division I football national finalist Bearkat football team. -
Big week ahead for Bulldogs, Lady Bulldogs
To say that this is an important week for the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs basketball team would be a big understatement. With the regular season winding down, much is at stake for the New Waverly boys and girls.
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Bulldog lifters gain experience at Shepherd meet
Looking back on his lifters’ performance at last Saturday’s meet in Shepherd, New Waverly powerlifting coach Mike Carolan lauded his team’s efforts. Senior Tucker Saxton won the 220-pound classification and freshman Dillon Silvis took fifth in the 114-pound division.
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