Midlik dominating as Uniontown Legion routs Waynesburg
WAYNESBURG – If the object of the game were to produce strikeouts and not runs, this one would have been a cliffhanger. After the Uniontown and Waynesburg American Legion baseball teams mowed each other down with 12 strikeouts apiece, it was Uniontown’s pinpoint hitting and pitching that made the lopsided difference. Led by a dominating outing from starting pitcher Nick Midlik and clutch hitting from Aaron Lowden and Greg Palladino, Uniontown cruised to an 11-1 win Monday at Madison Field in Waynesburg.
Midlik kept Waynesburg guessing the entire game with 12 strikeouts and one walk in eight shutout innings, before giving up an unearned run in the ninth.
“I can’t believe we scored 11 runs and they had that many strikeouts against us,” said Uniontown coach Ron Popovich. “But Nick’s a smart pitcher and he keeps the ball low. We needed the win and Nick was the guy.”
Midlik, a first-year player for Uniontown, went the nine-inning distance for the first time at the Legion level. He scattered six Waynesburg hits and got out of his only jam in the seventh inning by striking out two batters with runners on second and third.
“Any time you go nine innings, that’s quite a feat,” said Waynesburg coach Herb Carpenter. “We just couldn’t solve him. He had a deliberate wind-up and the ball just exploded on us.”
Eric Churney led off the sixth inning for Waynesburg with a double, while Aaron Carpenter and Anthony Calvario both singled to lead off the seventh. Midlik retired the side, squandering any scoring threat.
“We are struggling at the plate,” Carpenter said. “This is our fourth straight game with one run. We aren’t hitting well, but if we keep pressing at it good things will happen.”
Andrew McLaughlin went 2 for 4 as the only Waynesburg player with multiple hits. Uniontown (2-1) didn’t struggle at the plate. The sticks collected 15 hits, including Palladino’s two-run single in the third inning. His grounder through the left side scored Andre Rolaf and Justin Luckey to open the scoring.
“That started the game for us,” Popovich said. “He’s a good hitter under pressure, and that initial lead was important.”
Palladino was one of four Uniontown players with two hits, as he went 2 for 6 with two RBI, two runs scored, and a leadoff triple in the eighth inning. Lowden, Brennen Dayton and Eric Darr also slapped two hits apiece. Lowden hit his second double of the game in the ninth inning when he plated Frank Faust and Josh Guittap with a deep shot to right center.
“The bats just started rolling,” Popovich said. “We hit the ball hard today.”
Waynesburg (0-4) held Uniontown in check early, as starting pitcher Ricky Stansberry struck out five in 4 1-3 innings. Two defensive meltdowns and eight Uniontown hits on Stansberry forced him out of the game in the fifth inning, as Churney came in to pitch 1 1-3 innings, before Carpenter pitched the final three innings.
Including Stansberry’s five K’s, Churney whiffed four, and Carpenter sat down three, as Waynesburg combined for 12 strikeouts.
According to Herb Carpenter, that’s uncharacteristic of his team.
“We’re not used to being a strikeout pitching team,” Carpenter said. “(Uniontown’s) an aggressive team, so they swung at some bad pitches.”
Uniontown still managed to reach base with clutch hitting. Dayton and Darr hit RBI singles to leftfield capping off a three-run fifth inning giving Uniontown a 7-0 lead. Uniontown would sit on the lead until the eighth inning when Faust cracked a double down the leftfield line scoring Palladino. Faust later scored on a wild pitch.
Waynesburg will host Colonial tomorrow for a doubleheader, while Uniontown travels to Charleroi.