Baseball
Knights slay Wildcats, 13-5
By Stan Ross
SWINGING AWAY. York Wildcat Ryan MacGlashing takes a healthy cut at the plate in last Monday's home game against the Poland Knights.
Photo by Steve Rasche
YORK - On Monday, May 14, the Poland Area Regional Knights (9-1) came to York and rallied in the fifth inning when they sent 11 batters to the plate and scored eight runs.
York, now 3 and 6, had come from behind to take a 4 to 3 lead in the third inning. The Wildcats held the lead in the fourth thanks to a good pick-off move by starting pitcher Dan Moran to record the second out.
Then starting center fielder Matt Prewitt threw a strike to the plate, after charging a single, and catcher Kevin Maran slapped the tag on a sliding Knight runner to record the final out.
But the Knights broke the game open in the fifth inning when they combined three singles, two York errors and a bases-loaded triple by Will Griffiths that keyed their eight-run rally and finished the Wildcats and starter Moran.
York relief pitchers gave up two unearned runs in the sixth before retiring the side in order in the seventh.
After the Knights opened the scoring with three unearned runs in the top of the third inning the Wildcats clawed back with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Matt Prewitt and Jared Turner led off with walks. Matt Haight followed with a Texas League single to center to load the bases with no outs. Then Maran drove a three-run double to right and Ryan MacGlashing followed with an RBI single to center and forced the Knights to change pitchers.
Relief pitcher Griffiths retired the next two York batters and then pitched shut-out ball until he gave up a single run in the seventh.
Wildcats blanked by Greely, 6-0
Last Wednesday, May 9, the Greely Rangers (7-1) came to York on a warm, windy day and behind the hitting and pitching of Nate Mecray (3-0) shut out York (3-5) for the first time this season.
Greely scored an unearned run in the first on a lead off walk, followed by a balk, a stolen base and a York error. The Wildcats prevented further damage when catcher Maran gunned a strong throw to second baseman Haight to cut down an attempted steal.
Then shortstop David Nieves went in the hole and made a long throw to stretching first baseman Nick Mercurio to nail the speedy batter, Matt Reade, at first for the final out.
Matt Hymanson, the DH batting second for York, legged out an infield single but Haight and Maran were both retired on long fly balls to the outfield. Greely had three base runners in the second but did not score as Turner made three good put-outs in centerfield.
Greely scored again in the third when Andrew Cimino led off with a fly ball home run to center field. York loaded the bases in the third when Kal DeCato reached on an error, Turner followed with a sharp single to left, and Matt Hymanson reached on a walk, but Haight struck out and Maran flied out to center and the score remained Rangers 2, Wildcats 0 until the fifth.
Then Greely clinched the game on a lead off double, followed by a walk, a single and another three-run homer on a fly ball over the centerfield fence by pitcher Nate McCray.
Matt Hymanson used his speed to beat out another infield single in the fifth and relief pitcher Jim Kennedy doubled down the right field line in the seventh but the Wildcats were held scoreless.
