The Bucks County Centurions (0-4) lineup finally broke loose with 14 hits, but could not overcome their wild bullpen as pitcher Vincent Colaneri led the Union County Owls’ (4-1) to a 13-9 win on April 6 at Bucks Community College.
Colaneri pitched a solid five innings on 74 pitches while allowing four runs and striking out five for the win.
The turning point of the game came in the fifth inning when the Owl lineup scored five runs that would give them back the lead they would not relinquish.
Leading the Owl lineup was Marcus Rivera, who collected two hits and five RBI.
“It’s my teammates that go before me and get in scoring position with less than two outs that allow me to try and drive the ball into the outfield, but the situation really dictates how I am going to try and hit the ball,” Rivera said.
Centurions’ pitcher Andrew Check managed to keep the team in the game while tossing five innings and allowed five runs and walking three. Leading the Centurions offensively was right fielder Michael Klimowicz, who credited extra time in the batting cage as the reason for his three hits and three RBI.
“I just went out last with my brother and hit the cage and must have swung 150 times and that repetition definitely helped,” Klimowicz said.
Check started out pitching effectively in the first inning, but would allow the first run of the game to score off a single by Rivera to let the Owls get the early 1-0 lead.
The Centurion line up was a little lackluster to start the game as they would not be able to string enough hits together through the first couple innings.
Check would give up two more runs in innings two and three off RBIs by infielder Joe Brignoni and outfielder Sean McGovern. McGovern’s RBI came after the batter before him walked on a 3-2 count that allowed him the opportunity to give them the 3-0 lead.
The Centurions would finally break through Colaneri’s pitching with four runs in an exciting bottom of the third. Klimowicz came through with the big hit on a double that helped Bucks grab a 4-3 lead.
With his lineup providing no immediate response Colaneri dug in to strike out the side in the bottom of the fourth.
Colaneri’s inspired play seemed to spark the Owls as they took back the lead in the top of the fifth after sending seven men to the plate. Union County would receive RBIs from outfielder Nick Pace and Rivera off a single and a sac-fly for a 5-4 lead.
After a visit to the mound Centurions’ manager Jeff Cochran decided to leave Check in to attempt to finish off the inning. Yet, Cochran’s choice to stick with his starter would haunt Bucks an inning later.
The Centurion lineup would remain on their heels and a tired looking Check would allow two runners to reach base before being pulled for reliever Matt Creevey. Not his usual reliable self, Creevey’s lack of command resulted in five runs in one inning of work.
The big blow came from the bat of Owls’ infielder Jon Gribbin who plated two baseruns with a single that would help give his Owls a 10-4 lead.
“We started out trying to do too much and our game is not trying to hit home runs, but just try to get on base and move people around. So I think they settled down and started playing our game,” said Owls head Coach Jon Lewis after the game.
In the top of the seventh, Creevey would be relieved by Michael Zeglinski who would not fare much better. Iike Creevey, Zeglinski couldn’t find the strike zone and the Owls took advantage sending seven batters to the plate which resulted in three more runs. Rivera again came up with the big hit, a two-run single to extend the lead to 13-4.
In the bottom of the sixth the Centurion lineup would get fired up, scoring five runs while feasting on the Owl bullpen. While the rally would excite the home crowd it was cut short by a Centurion base running blunder.
After the game, Cochran seemed encouraged by the late inning rally, but said, “We came back strong, but just came up short. We just didn’t make the plays, you can’t give four or five outs an inning because you will never win that way.”