Raiders’ bats too much for Falcons
Waynesburg Central’s Joe Monica (8) pitches during the game against Brownsville at Waynesburg. (Photo by John F. Brothers)
John F. Brothers/HeraldStandard.comcom
Brownsville’s Ryan Novotney (8) is forced out by Waynesburg Central second baseman Willie Ziefel (7) during the second inning at Waynesburg’s Meadowlark Park.
John F. Brothers/HeraldStandard.comcom
During the bottom of the second inning at Meadowlark Park, Colton Lippencott scores Waynesburg Central’s first run of the game as Brownsville catcher Phil Gnus waits for a throw that does not come.
WAYNESBURG — Most teams can only wish to load the bases in the top of the first inning with one out.
Brownsville did exactly that, as Waynesburg Central pitcher Joe Monica walked three out of the first four batters to load the bases.
But Monica bailed himself out of the jam, catching a line drive and tossing the ball to third for an inning-ending double play as Waynesburg went on to win, 10-2, as the Raider bats came to life.
“We were in good shape in the first inning with the bases loaded,” said Brownsville coach Skooter Roebuck. “Our runner at third had a good lead, but Monica made a great play.”
It was a shaky start for the Raider ace.
“That was the first time Joe threw off this mound,” said Waynesburg coach Kevin Pincavitch. “He made a heck of a play to get us out of the first with the score still 0-0.”
“It took a little bit to get into a groove,” said Monica, who has pitched for the Raiders at the Waynesburg University field, which has a synthetic infield. “Once I settled down, I was able to find the strike zone.”
The Raiders got on the board in the second inning when Colton Lippencott, who reached base on a walk, scored on Willy Ziefel’s grounder to right field for a 1-0 lead.
Waynesburg pulled away in the third and fourth innings, scoring seven runs and chasing Falcon starter Derek Johnson after three innings of work.
“This was our third game of the week and our top two pitchers were used up from those games, so we were down to our number three pitcher,” added Roebuck. “Derek’s arm was a little tight out there, but he was able to gut out three innings. The other two pitchers we used today hadn’t pitched in a game yet this season, so they got some work.”
After Johnson, who took the loss, forced a pair of ground outs in the third, three straight Raider doubles to left center, including the first of two by Bo Hampson, made the score 3-0. Aaron Hill singled to drive in another run. Johnson finished the game with three walks and a strikeout.
“Guys started hitting when we had guys on base,” said Pincavitch.
“The whole team hit well today,” added Monica. “The middle and bottom of the order carried us today.”
Hampson was the leader of the offense, hitting 3-for-4 with four RBI and a pair of runs scored.
“They hit well today,” said Roebuck. “There weren’t any cheap hits today.”
In the fourth, Ziefel walked and Monica reached base on an error before Alex Swauger doubled for a 5-0 lead. Hampson doubled again to score two more runs.
A pair of hit batsmen and a wild pitch put runners at the corners, which led to the second pitching change. Aaron Hill hit a sacrifice fly to deep right field to plate Hampson for an 8-0 lead.
Brownsville got on the board in the fifth when Noah Saxon hit a grounder up the middle to score Fred Heiser.
Waynesburg rounded out its scoring in the bottom of the inning when Monica doubled and Steve McCaw walked to put runners at first and second. A fielder’s choice advanced the runners and Hampson added to his total with a single to left that made the score 10-1.
That was more than enough offense for Monica, as the Falcons added one more run in the sixth when Phil Gnus doubled to score Ryan Novotny.
“Steve (McCaw) called a great game behind the plate,” said Pincavitch.
“He always does a good job behind the plate,” added Monica. “He calls a good game and frames pitches well. He gets in front of the pitches that land in the dirt.”