PBC BASEBALL SEASON 1, EDITION 3

Koontz delivers walk-off winner in extra inning thriller

For eight innings, everything went perfectly for the Lake Wampaug Marauders.

Their offense, while not necessarily overpowering, did everything right in producing scoring opportunities and making the most of them. Walks, sacrifices, stolen bases and timely hits gave Lake Wampaug starter Zachary Hulowitz a slim but sufficient cushion early on. Other than a bases loaded jam in the second, Hulowitz cruised through the Red Barons lineup without hardly breaking a sweat, forbidding any Red Barons from even reaching third base. When Urban Koontz homered in the 6th, and James Howard Jones singled in Chuck Thurman in the 7th, it seemed the 4-0 lead would be insurmountable given the Hulowitz unhittable stuff. Inning after inning he induced easy ground outs and harmless pop ups with his deceptive slider and maddening change up. Entering the ninth with the four run lead, he had allowed a mere four hits and was poised for the first complete game shutout in PBC history. The Red Barons refused to go down easily however, and put runners on the corners with only one out. On a sharply hit ground ball to shortstop Chuck Thurman, Vinnie Knox courageously made a dash for home. After the force at second, a poor throw to the plate thwarted a chance at a game ending double play and Hulowitz’s hopes of completing the ever elusive shutout. Yet the Red Barons were not satisfied with their one run. The next two batters reached, forcing in another run to cut the lead in half.

Essex lead-off man Hal Kinnaird started the contest with a bang, delivering the very pitch from Station hurler Petey Deedhams over the left field seats in the bottom of the 1st to give his team a 1-0 lead. But both pitchers would buckle down after the early mistake, taking the one run contest into the fifth.
Anthony Peel was especially impressive, as he held the powerful Railroaders hitless through four, and retired 11 of the first 12 batters faced.