By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
BRADFORD, PA – Despite a self-inflicted wound early, the Bradford Post 108 Legion baseball team remained unrattled, rallying late as they completed a 4-1 comeback over St. Marys Senior Legion.
Assembling in the middle of May, Bradford has spent the past few weeks putting their pieces together. As the season approached, the chemistry built.
“The practices have been great. The guys have been really gelling together,” said Bradford Post 108 head coach Jim Henry. “We got a couple college athletes that have kind of taken control and everything is good.”
Out of the gates, Bradford had to work to get their legs under them. After giving up a lead-off walk, two consecutive passed balls would prove to be costly. Facing a man on third and only one out, St. Marys’ Paxton Herzing would put the ball in play with a shot to Post 108’s shortstop. While Bradford was able to get the out at first, St. Marys managed to bring in the first run of the day.
Despite being down 1-0, Bradford would find themselves chasing the lead for the next several innings as their bats failed to get past St. Marys ace, Benjamin Yale. Post 108 would be dispatched in six combined batters through the first and second frames which saw five Yale strikeouts and although they managed to put a man on first in the bottom of the third, Bradford’s continued search for contact at the plate failed to yield hits.
“(Yale) was just hitting spots. I think we were trying to over-do it a little bit,” said Henry, who is an assistant coach for Bradford during the spring. “We saw him in high school and we hit him decently in high school, but he just had our number early today.”
However, what they lacked in the batter’s box, Post 108 made up for on defense. After their initial stumbling’s, Bradford clamped down, denying St. Marys anything more than a pair of walks through the top of the fourth. Then, it would be Post 108’s turn to take the reins.
Brody Haviland takes a swing at the plate during Post 108’s comeback win over St. Marys on Sunday. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
In the bottom of the fourth, Ethan Obergfell reached first before stealing his way to second. Despite suffering their first out via K, Nik Manroe stepped up to the plate and smacked a full-count single, driving in Obergfell to bring the game back to even. Although they ultimately left men stranded on second and third at the end of the frame, the pressure lifted from Bradford’s shoulders.
“We just had to relax at the plate,” said Henry. “Relax at the plate and be patient.”
Both squads’ respective defenses led the charge through the fifth, each retiring the other in just three batters. Bradford continued the trend in the sixth, when they held St. Marys at bay with a man on third, but wouldn’t be contained during their next at bat.
Leading off once again in the bottom of the sixth, Obergfell crushed a shot deep into the outfield, granting himself real estate on second base. A wild pitch moved him to third before he was joined on base by Trey Buchholz, who then beat a tag out as he stole second. With two men in scoring position, Monroe tallied his second RBI of the day with a ground out at first, putting Post 108 in front by a single run.
Suffering out No. 2 on a fielder’s choice at home, Bradford put a man on second with a Brody Haviland single and subsequent passed ball before Ben Woodhouse added to Post 108’s lead with an RBI single. One batter later, Bradford added another runner to the diamond, setting the stage for Lucas Miller. Unable to produce a hit in his only other appearance, Miller found some redemption as he crushed a double over the head of St. Marys’ left fielder for one last, game-sealing score.
After putting themselves behind early, Bradford had finally erased their mistakes and now sat atop a 4-1 lead. All they had to do to put a tally in the win column was continue their staunch defense, an effort that came sooner rather than later. Buchholtz added to his no-hitter with one more K while Post 108’s infield sent St. Marys back to the bus in defeat with a play at first and a pop out.
Trey Buchholtz makes a pass to first baseman Nik Manroe as Bradford retired St. Marys in the seventh. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
Obergfell ended 1-for-2 with two runs scored while Manroe finished 1-for-3 with a pair of RBIs. Miller recorded an RBI during his 1-for-2 day in the batter’s box while, Buchholtz, who plays second base for Finger Lakes Community College fanned 11 batters during his seven innings on the mound.
Post 108 will have just one evening to rest on their laurels as they take to the road on Monday to face Kane VFW Post 1132 at 6 p.m.
“I’m very happy with how these guys are playing,” said Henry. “We’re doing good, the team chemistry seems to be there and I’m very excited to see what the season brings.”
AT BRADFORD
R H E
Bradford 100 000 0 1 0 1
St. Marys 000 103 X 4 3 0
BRD: Buchholtz (11 SO, 4 BB) and Haviland
SMA: Yale (10 SO, 3 BB), Zayden (5) (2 SO, 2 BB) and Lease
