Junior Stampede Wins Under the Lights

The Saratoga Junior Stampede team got its opportunity to play under the lights at East Side Rec on Monday night, and they made the most of it, coming away with a 6-5 win over the Tri-County Bees.
Dylan Anderson was Saratoga’s starting pitcher, and he was quite impressive, going the distance and surrendering just two earned runs on two base hits, while walking five batters and striking out six.
Catcher Jack Keller and second baseman Sam Maxwell each helped to provide the offense, as Keller was 2-for-3, including a two-RBI double, and Maxwell singled twice and scored a run.
After a scoreless first inning, the Stampede opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning on Matt Angelini’s RBI single.
With one out, Luke Fauler looked at a called third strike, but the catcher dropped the pitch, and Fauler hustled to first ahead of the throw. Dylan Anderson’s ground out to first baseman Matt Gage moved Fauler to second, and then with two away, Angelini gave Saratoga a 1-0 lead with a base hit on the first pitch that he saw to drive in Fauler, who was running on contact.
The Bees answered with a pair of runs in the top of the third inning to take a 2-1 lead, thanks to a pair of Stampede errors.
Tri-County added to its 2-1 lead in the fourth, when a leadoff error, the fourth of the game by Saratoga, a stolen base, and a wild pitch led to a 3-1 Bees lead.
The Stampede cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the frame, as they took advantage of Tri-County’s second miscue of the contest.
With Chris Davis on first base, Ryan Coseo singled up the middle to put runners on first and second. Two batters later, Dylan Anderson helped his own cause, driving home Davis on a ground ball to make it a 3-2 game.
Saratoga would take the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth. Maxwell led off with a base hit, and then pinch hitter Nate Foster drew a walk, and the runners were on first and second. Jordan Stubblebine also walked to load the bases, and then Dale Long smacked a sacrifice fly to left field, plating Maxwell to tie the game at three. Keller followed with a double that scored both Foster and Stubblebine, and the Stampede held a 5-3 lead.
In the sixth, the Bees would pull to within a run. With one out, Tri-County played small ball, and a walk and a two-base error on Davis landed D.J. Hoagboon on third base. A beautifully placed bunt by Kurt Kowalcyzk brought Hoagboon home to make it a 5-4 affair.
The Stampede would get the run back in the bottom of the sixth. Fauler led off and ended up on second due to an error by shortstop Brandon Eutermarks. A sacrifice bunt moved him to third, but first baseman Matt Gage tried to throw Fauler out at third, and when the throw went awry Fauler cruised home for a 6-4 lead.
Angellini then reached on a two-base error, but Maxwell slapped a hard line drive to second, and R.J. Pingitore made the grab and then stepped on second to double-up Angelini and retire the side.
Two more miscues by the Stampede would make the game interesting in Tri-County’s final at-bat.
A Ryan Coseo error opened the inning, and then Anderson fought back and struck out Owen Chizek to take a little of the pressure off. The count then ran full on Pingitore, but Anderson lost him, putting a runner on second, and more importantly, the tying run on first and the go-ahead run at the plate.
Anderson then tried to pick Steve Dygon off of second, but the throw went wild and Dygon advanced to third. Jordan Kaplan then slapped a grounder to short, and Coseo flipped to Maxwell to get Pingitore, but the run scored and the Bees were within 6-5. Anderson then took things into his own hands, striking out Eutermarks to end the ball game.
Anderson pitched a fantastic ball game, surrendering just two base hits and overcoming seven of his defense’s errors to earn the win.
Now the younger guys in the Stampede program have a little taste of what it’s like to play at the East Side under the lights, and they have something to look forward to once they make it to the American Legion squad.