GAME BLOGS: Pony Express Tournament, Day 1
by Ross Martin
Monday, April 20, 2009

I only saw the action at Phil Welch Stadium on Monday, but it didn’t leave me with a shortage of things to write about.

After seeing Savannah and Benton score 29 runs on 24 hits in Round 1 victories and Bishop LeBlond and Maryville commit 14 errors in the losses, let’s get to some of the odd baseball witnessed at slowly-rounding-into-shape Phil Welch Stadium.

— Benton led 12-6 entering the bottom of the sixth against Maryville, needing four runs to finish off the Spoofhounds early. Unfortunately, Benton coach Mike Musser thought his team led 14-6 due to a scoreboard error that briefly showed the Cardinals scoring nine runs in the fifth, not the seven they actually scored.

So, when senior pinch-hitter Dennis Thornhill’s ground ball through the right side got past right fielder Spencer Twaddle, Benton’s Scott Hedden and Colton Garton scored the “two winning runs.”

With the wrong score on the brain, Musser decided to wave his senior around third and try for home. Thornhill made it safely despite a decent throw to the plate that got away from Maryville catcher Payton Scarbrough.

Benton came out of the dugout ready to celebrate the game-ending sequence that included a feel-good moment for a reserve senior. Instead, the Cardinals had to go back to hitting.

Luckily, the miscue didn’t cost Benton. Darrin Phroper reached on Twaddle’s second error of the inning, and Ryan Pinson drove him home with the real winning run.

Musser said later, he probably wouldn’t have sent him if knew the correct score.

— Savannah’s Jared Dewey hit a pop-up on the infield with no one out and runners on first and second in the top of the fifth. The home plate umpire invoked the infield fly rule, automatically ruling Dewey as the first out.

But LeBlond pitcher Justin Schott dropped the ball trying to field it in front of home plate. Savannah’s Caleb Riekhof immediately broke for third and made it easily, while Blake McFadden — possibly confused as to the rules — made a late jump for second.

Schott threw to second base and caught McFadden in a rundown. As McFadden navigated between first and second, Riekhof broke for home and scored after a late throw. McFadden also reached second on that throw and later scored the second of three runs in that inning.

Schott was charged with an error that allowed Riekhof to reach third, and both runners then advanced on a fielder’s choice.

Dewey went on hit into another infield fly rule pop-up in the next inning with nothing out of the ordinary occurring.

— Savannah’s Brett Smith ran into your conventional 9-4-2-5-2 put-out during the fourth inning. With the bases loaded, Smith tried to score from first on Michael Scanlan’s double.

Instead, LeBlond rightfielder Kevin Shearman hit second-baseman Pat Green with a throw, and Green’s relay to the plate caught Smith in a rundown. LeBlond’s Andrew Nellestein threw to third baseman Joe Voltmer, who threw back to Nellestein to record the tag on Smith.

— Fittingly, the nightcap between Savannah and LeBlond ended on another unconventional play.

With runners on first and second and one out in the bottom of the seventh, LeBlond’s Green hit a sharp fly ball to right field. Jared Dewey easily made the catch and fired a one-hopper to third base, catching Joe Voltmer trying to tag up from second.