Connellsville opens Legion tourney with 4-1 win
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Connellsville second baseman Cole Shearer awaits the throw from catcher Cade Warrick as Hopewell’s Jake McGovern slides into second base in the top of the first inning of Friday’s Region 6 American Legion Baseball Tournament first-round game at Hutchinson Field. Shearer applied the tag in time for a caught stealing.
Connellsville starting pitcher Jake Ansell strides to the plate in the first inning of Friday's Region 6 American Legion Baseball Tournament first-round game against Hopewell at Hutchinson Field.
Hopewell's Josh Miklos dives back into the bag as Connellsville first baseman Nolan Porterfield awaits the pick-off throw from pitcher Jake Ansell in the top of the first inning of Friday's Region 6 American Legion Baseball Tournament first-round game at Hutchinson Field.
Hopewell's Tyler Pigoni pushes off the rubber in the bottom of the second inning during Friday's Region 6 American Legion Baseball Tournament first-round game against Connellsville at Hutchinson Field.
Connellsville's Brody Bonadio leads off second base in front of Hopewell shortstop Tyler Beck in the bottom of the first inning of Friday's Region 6 American Legion Baseball Tournament first-round game at Hutchinson Field.
Connellsville's Jake Ansell steps on the plate to score the second run in the bottom of the first inning as teammate Kyle Ridle watches the play during Friday's Region 6 American Legion Baseball Tournament first-round game against Hopewell at Hutchinson Field.
HOPWOOD — What appeared to be a laugher after the first inning turned into a nail-biter in the seventh as Connellsville held on for a 4-1 victory against Hopewell in the opening game of the Region 6 American Legion Baseball Tournament held at Hutchinson Field.
Connellsville advances in the winner’s bracket and will play the Uniontown-Ambridge Baden winner Saturday at 7 p.m.
Hopewell slips into the loser’s bracket and faces the Uniontown-Ambridge Baden loser Saturday at 1 p.m.
Hopewell had Connellsville on the ropes in the top of the seventh inning, but relief pitcher Elijah Small left the bases loaded when he got Casey Jones to ground out to end the game.
Connellsville starting pitcher Jake Ansell reached the 105-pitch limit when Josh Miklos flied out to right field for the second out with runners on first and second.
Small replaced Ansell and Connellsville manager Joe Bonadio opted to intentionally walk No. 3 hitter Mitchell Heranic to load the bases and bring the go-ahead run to the plate.
“He’s the best hitter on the team. He hit two to deep right field. Elijah doesn’t throw as hard as Jake. We checked to see what the kid (Casey Jones) did after him,” Bonadio said of the decision.
“We didn’t get the big one, the big hit,” said Hopewell’s Dave Deniston. “We had a couple of opportunities.
“We’ve come back in some games to get big wins. Give them credit. They got the hits when they needed them.”
Hopewell’s first two batters reached base on a walk and infield single to open the game against Ansell, but Jake McGovern was caught stealing and Miklos was stranded at first base.
Connellsville’s offense wasted little time getting to work against Hopewell starting pitcher Ethan Woodling, sending nine batters to the plate. Although, the home team didn’t necessarily hit the cover off the ball in doing so.
Brody Bonadio walked to start the bottom of the first. Ansell was hit by a pitch, that would’ve been ball four, otherwise. Bonadio moved to third on a wild pitch and Ansell then stole second, but Woodling managed to strike out Cade Warrick swinging for the first out.
The wind was blowing out at Hutchinson Field, and the deepened outfield allowed Nolan Porterfield’s fly ball to left-center field to drop in between three defenders for an RBI double.
Austin Petraglia followed with a single that landed nearly in the same spot as Porterfield’s. Ansell scored on the play and Porterfield moved to third.
Kyle Ridley kept the line moving with a sacrifice fly to center field. Cole Shearer walked and Jake Frick was ruled safe after the throw to first pulled McGovern off the bag.
Woodling enticed Tanner Orndorff into an infield pop fly to end the inning.
“It’s nice to put runs on the board right away. We had the bases loaded (in the bottom of the first). We score two more runs and it could’ve been over at that point,” said Connellsville manager Joe Bonadio. “We score runs in the first inning and then fall asleep. That’s been our season.
“But, we hung in there.”
Ansell retired the side in the top of the second and stranded a runner after McGovern’s two-out, bad-bounce single in the third.
Hopewell finally cracked the scoreboard in the top of the fourth inning. Heranic opened the inning with a walk. Jones followed with a single and both runners advanced a base on Tyler Sabo’s sacrifice bunt.
Heranic scored on Tyler Beck’s ground out to second base.
Hopewell had runners on in both the fifth and sixth innings, but Ansell stranded all three. The fifth inning was extended on an infield error with two outs, as was the top of the sixth.
Connellsville added a much-needed insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Petraglia opened with a single and chugged all the way home on Shearer’s double to the fence with one out.
“That last run we got was huge,” said Bonadio. “We tack that one run on and make them score that extra one.”
Both managers had praise for Ansell’s effort.
“It would’ve been nice if Jake could’ve finished the game,” said Bonadio. “He moved the ball around and kept them off balance.”
“They threw a kid that pitched well. He threw strikes,” said Deniston.
Hopewell’s ace Joe Rock was unavailable for the tournament because he was out of town at Ohio University.
“He’s a big lefty, an excellent pitcher. He went off to college at Ohio in the beginning of July and there was no way he could be here in time to sign in,” explained Deniston.