Monday, June 29, 2015
By Greg Gulas
STRUTHERS
The inaugural Bob Cene Memorial Tournament had plenty of hitting and pitching, yet the 24-team field might most remember dodging bad weather.
With the field paired to the final four teams on Sunday and the title game an all-Class B affair, fans got a taste of what to expect this week with the regular season drawing to a close and playoffs looming.
Ryan Cvezo pitched five innings and struck out seven while Kip DeShields laced two hits and scored twice to lead Creekside Fitness over the host Astro Falcons, 5-4, at Cene Park to capture the tournament championship.
Both Creekside (5-0) and Astros (4-1) remain 1-2 in the Cene Division with Western PA Slurve and CV Colts comprising the other two tourney semifinalists.
“My curveball wasn’t working at the outset and I had some control issues as well, but everything came together at the end when I needed it most,” said Cvezo, a native of Erie, Pa.
Astro Falcons (5-0) sent eight players to the plate in the opening inning and took a 2-0 lead on back-to-back RBI singles by Kyle Benyo and Lou Cardona.
Creekside countered by sending nine to the plate in the second frame to take a 4-2 lead. DeShields led off with a double, Jon Saadey and Colin Buscoff were each hit by pitch, Tanner Stanz walked and each scored on a two-run single by Brady Minetti.
“This is a big win said it gives us confidence and momentum heading into the final week of the regular season,” DeShields added.
Creekside made it 5-2 in the third after DeShields lead off the inning with a single, then trotted home after the third walk of the inning.
Astros got a run back in the fourth when Ed Crump singled to lead off the inning, went to second after Matt Gibson followed with a single, was sacrificed to third by Hunter Snyder and then strolled home on Riley Campbell’s sacrifice fly.
They added a run in the final frame on Lou Cardona’s RBI single, his third hit of the game.
“We’re still struggling to get everyone here so a win like this is a great confidence builder,” Creekside manager Terry Landis said.
Creekside’s Mitch Woods was named the tourney’s outstanding hitter while Astros pitcher Mike McDonough was the tournament’s outstanding pitcher.
Astro Falcons 2, Slurve 1
Riley Campbell’s walk-off double in the bottom of the seventh scored Matt Gibson with the winning run.
In the top of the inning, Slurve took the lead when Zack Burkhart’s double scored Ryan Lauster with the game’s first tally.
Astros tied the game in the bottom of the inning when Hunter Snyder’s sacrifice fly scored Jim Standohar with one away.
Winning pitcher Michael McDonough scattered three hits and struck out nine for the Astros.
Creekside Fitness 11, CV Colts 8
Trailing 8-5 after four innings in the other semifinal, Creekside scored the last six runs with Ben Coffman posting the win in relief.
Mitch Wood had two of his team’s 11 hits, including a double with two runs batted in while Brady Minetti scored three runs.