Beucher sparks Mill Run win
Sam Beucher came on in relief and shut the door on New York Pizza to lead Mill Run to a 5-3 win in Game 2 of the Fayette County Baseball League best-of-5 semifinal series Tuesday at Mill Run.
Jason Halfhill was strong over the first four innings, but got into trouble in the fifth, when New York Pizza’s Brian Sankovich smacked an RBI double to draw NYP to within a run, 4-3. Beucher struck out the next batter with runners on second and third to end the threat.
“Jason had four walks, but he kept us in the ball game,” Mill Run manager Ray Orndorff said. “Sammy really came through for us, though, with that strikeout in a very key situation.”
Mill Run added an insurance run in the sixth inning before Beucher finished up with a clean seventh inning. Beucher struck out five with no walks in his 2.1 innings of relief.
The win gives Mill Run a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 series, with Game 3 set for tonight at Hutchinson, with the first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. John Malone will pitch for Mill Run.
Malone and Matt White had two hits each for Mill Run Tuesday, while Grant Witt drove in two on a single in the three-run Mill Run second inning.
It was another notch in the Mill Run belt after the team started the season with five straight losses.
“It’s nice to be in this position,” Orndorff said. “After starting the season 0-5, we have had a big turnaround to get to this point, where we are one win away from the championship series.”
Elmer Engle took the loss for New York Pizza and Sankovich’s double was the only extra base hit of the game.