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Girard tops Liberty in 11
Photo
Girard’s Dan Graziano fields a ground ball — and a little mud — to make a play at first base during a Division III tournament baseball game Wednesday against the Liberty Leopards in Girard. The teams were tied 1-1 through the bottom of the seventh inning, then Girard’s A.J. Devore hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 11th to score Tyler Alejars and give the Indians the 2-1 win.
By Matthew Peaslee
GIRARD
He was coasting on the mound, striking out eight and allowing just one run on four hits through seven innings. But when he dug in at the plate, Jim Melfi was hard-pressed to get on base.
All he needed was his pitch.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Melfi took the second pitch he saw over the left-center field fence and onto the windshield of a Cadillac. It brought Girard to a 1-1 tie with Liberty.
“It was definitely do or die,” Melfi said. “I’ve been struggling at the plate the past few games so when I saw that pitch my eyes just got real big and I took it for a drive.”
The Leopards and Indians needed four more innings to decide it and, with two outs in the bottom of the 11th, A.J. Devore’s sacrifice fly scored Tyler Alejars for the 2-1 winner.
“This was probably the best game I’ve ever been a part of,” Girard coach Jason Johnson said. “I‘m proud of the way we dug in. We didn’t cave, we stayed strong and did what we were supposed to do.”
Except Alejars may have exceeded the basic expectations.
After leading off the 11th with a single, he advanced to second on Dan Graziano’s sacrifice bunt. Earlier in Devore’s at-bat, he stole third base to set up the winning run.
“When I was at first, I watched [the pitcher’s] leg kick,” Alejars said. “His delivery was slow so I knew I could take third easily. I had to waste no time and just take it.”
With a great jump, Alejars was already a quarter of the way there by the time Liberty catcher Nick Byce could even attempt a throw.
“We go over that 1,000 times and we work on it and he went on his own,” Johnson said. “I love my players because that right there — they pay attention. That’s how you win games.”
Liberty’s Vinny Gutierrez scored the first run in the third inning when Lou Rivera drove him in on a single up the middle. Jared Weisen was also dominant for the Leopards (11-10). He didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning and struck out six. He and Melfi were replaced in the 11th inning because the OHSAA rules don’t allow more than 10 innings in a day.
“We threw our No. 1 and they through their No. 1,” Liberty coach Gary Knittle said. “I guarantee there wasn’t a better game in the state of Ohio. You saw the best. They competed and didn’t quit.”
Liberty nearly went up 2-0 in the sixth, but Girard catcher Zane Chase corralled a wild pitch on the backstop and flipped it to Melfi covering home for the out.
“That definitely fired everyone up,” Melfi said. “We were going for everything. I was going to lay out and do anything for that out.”
Devore earned the win, escaping the 11th with two runners on as the Indians improved to 18-9.