May 13, 2004 By Kevin Harrison For The 4 min read

REPUBLIC -Brownsville faced a simple scenario against Waynesburg Central on Wednesday afternoon in their Section 1-AA baseball match-up: Win and it would make the playoffs. The Falcons started slowly, but recovered from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Raiders, 11-6, to clinch no worse than a tie for second place.

Winning pitcher Dom DeCarlo not only tossed a complete game, but stroked three hits on the day, driving in two runs. The Falcons (9-6, 6-4) also got a two-run homer from Ron White in the sixth inning.

“Coming into the season I thought we had a legitimate chance to win the section,” Falcons head coach Scott “Skooter” Roebuck said. “I didn’t think it would take us until the last section game to make the playoffs. These guys have worked hard during the season, and I think we’re starting to find our groove.”

It appeared Waynesburg (7-7, 4-6) would end Browns-ville’s playoff hopes early, putting up three runs in the first inning. Andrew McLaughlin led-off with a double and Derek Gifford got aboard on an error, which allowed McLaughlin to score. Aaron Carpenter followed with a base hit to plate Gifford. Zach Patton then drew a walk, but was erased when designated hitter Adam Palmer hit into a double play. Anthony Calvario delivered a two-out single to drive in Carpenter.

“We started really well and should have scored a few more runs,” Waynesburg coach Herb Carpenter said. “No lead is safe here. Brownsville is a quality team and a good hitting team. They had a lot on the line today, so you’ve got to give them credit.”

Brownsville began chipping away at the Waynesburg lead, scoring two in the bottom of the second. Mike Klamerus drew a one-out walk. Scott Fraley drew another walk. DeCarlo then hit a single to left, driving in Klamerus, and Fraley stopping at third. DeCarlo was replaced by courtesy runner Mike Anderson. Josh Brown hit a ground ball to short, forcing Anderson at second, which allowed Fraley to cross the plate, making the score 3-2 in favor of Waynesburg.

The Falcons took the lead in the third inning. Chad Doman was safe on an error to lead off. He was forced at second on a bunt attempt by Brian Gates. Corey Watkins singled, moving Gates to third. Gates, who also qualified for the WPIAL 100 meters in track a day earlier, scored from third on a passed ball, with Watkins moving to third on the play. Kevin Garbutt’s grounder to second scored Watkins, giving the Falcons a 4-3 lead.

Brownsville added three more runs in the fourth. DeCarlo led off with a double to right. Anderson came in to run. Brown singled to drive in Anderson. With one out, Doman singled. Gates followed with a fly ball to left which was dropped, allowing Brown and Doman to score, increasing the Brownsville lead to 7-3.

“I felt the kids were a little tight to start the game because they haven’t been in a clutch game before,” Roebuck said. “They have been swinging the bats well recently. I think that gave them the confidence they could be down by three runs and still come back to win.”

Brownsville added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth. DeCarlo smacked his second double of the game, and was once again replaced by Anderson. With one out, White connected on a two-run homer over the left field fence, increasing the Falcons’ lead to 9-3.

Waynesburg was able to get a couple of runs back in the sixth. McLaughlin was hit by a pitch with one out. He was forced at second on a ground ball by Gifford. DeCarlo hung one up in the strike zone to Carpenter, which ended up sailing over the right field fence, to make the score 9-5.

The Falcons got those runs back in the bottom half of the inning. Klamerus had a one-out double to left. Fraley then drew a walk. On a steal, the throw to pick off Fraley at second was dropped, allowing Klamerus to score, with Fraley moving to third. DeCarlo’s ground ball to short allowed Fraley to score, making it 11-5 in favor of Brownsville.

Waynesburg was able to pick up one more run in the seventh, when Palmer was hit by a pitch. He eventually came around to score on an error. DeCarlo was able to settle down to retire the side, and the Falcons advance to the playoffs.

“Hitting is contagious, and we’ve been putting the ball in play the last three games,” Roebuck said. “We’ve scored about 40 runs our last three ballgames. Hopefully this will carry over into the playoffs next week.”