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.
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