Stampede Nips Trumbull in Final At-Bat

Trumbull Post 141 decided to intentionally walk Erich Lange to load the bases in the bottom of the seventh, but it came back to bite them as pitcher Brett Blueweiss hit Ben Cook on the first pitch to force home Tyler Prehoda and give the Saratoga Stampede a 6-5 win on Friday night at Saratoga’s East Side Rec.
Trumbull showed off their offensive prowess right from the start, as shortstop Daren Micalizzi belted a line drive to the left-center field gap for a leadoff triple. Tim Zubrinsky then got his job done, hitting a ground ball to the right side of the infield to knock in Micalizzi for a 1-0 Trumbull lead.
Saratoga starting pitcher Levi Washburn settled down after that, and yielded just a harmless single before retiring the side.
The Stampede tied the game in the bottom of the inning. Lee Jay Pollachi singled and stole second base. Justin Wilock flied out to right field, and Pollachi alertly tagged up and went to third. Mike Allen followed with a fly ball to medium depth left field, and Pollachi came home to tie the game at one.
Neil Callahan and Scott Hladik then smacked base hits, but Kyle Baldani struck out to end the inning.
Trumbull would jump back out ahead in the top of the second. With one out, Washburn walked Anthony Vinci, and then Kurt Sieier doubled, putting runners on second and third. Colin Moore grounded out to Wilock at second, scoring Vinci to make it a 2-1 game. Sieier, now at third, then tried to steal home, but Baldani was waiting for him to apply the tag.
Saratoga was sent down in order by Trumbull starting pitcher Brett Blueweiss in order in the bottom of the inning, but Trumbull continued to build their picket fence with another run in the third.
Zubrinsky drew a walk to start the inning, and then stole second. Lou Tarantino then doubled to make it 3-1. Washburn then received a little luck, and Ben Benigno cracked a line drive right to Allen at short, and with Tarantino leaning off the base, Allen flipped to Wilock to complete the 6-6-4 double play. Washburn then got Ben Walkley to fly out to left field to end the inning.
The Stampede again were sent down in order in the third, but then mounted a serious threat in the bottom of the fourth. Three straight two-out walks would load the bases, but Blueweiss got Chris Curcio to ground out to second to end the threat.
Both teams would find some offense in the fifth. Micalizzi struck out to begin the inning for Trumbull, and a walk and an infield single put two base runners on. After Washburn struck out Benigno for the second out, Walkley ripped a double to drive in a pair of runs to give Trumbull a 5-1 lead. An error on Pollachi in center field allowed Walkley to advance to third, but Washburn stranded him there when he got Chris Bove to pop out to Allen at short.
Saratoga began their rally with two outs and Allen on first. Callahan doubled, driving in Allen and cutting the deficit to 5-2. Hladik singled to left field, holding Callahan at third, but then a wild pitch scored Callahan to make it 5-3, and sent Hladik to third. Baldani then grounded to short to retire the side.
Washburn was very sharp in the sixth, sandwiching two strikeouts around a ground ball to short.
In the bottom of the frame, the Stampede would tie the game. Lange opened the inning with a base hit to left, and then Cook followed with a double. An error on the play on shortstop Micalizzi allowed Lange to score and sent Cook to third. After Curcio popped out to shallow right, Pollachi laid down a beautiful bunt just as Cook was racing towards home for a perfect suicide squeeze to tie the game at 5-5. Blueweiss settled down after that and he got both Wilock and Allen to foul out to Walkley, the catcher, for the final two outs.
Things got very interesting in the top of the seventh. With one out, Washburn walked Zubrinsky before getting Tarantino to ground out to Lange at third. With two outs and first base open, the Stampede decided to intentionally walk Benigno to set up the force out. But instead, Washburn walked Walkley, and the bases were loaded.
The tension mounted as Washburn went to a full count on Bove, but then Bove fouled out to Baldani behind the plate to end the inning.
The base-on-balls would play a major part in the bottom of the inning as well. Callahan drew a free pass to start the inning, and then he moved to second when Hladik grounded out to first baseman Bove. A base hit by Baldani sent Callahan to third, and then Prehoda was sent in to replace him as a pinch runner.
With runners on the corners and one out, the Trumbull coaching staff then decided to intentionally walk Lange to set up a force at any base. That strategy would backfire, however, as Cook was then hit by the first pitch, forcing home Prehoda and giving the Stampede a 6-5 win.
Trumbull, the defending Connecticut State Champions, had come into the game with a 26-2 overall record, which is very impressive. With a veteran roster like they have, it made it all the more impressive that this young Stampede club came away with the win for their fifth straight in the tournament.
The Stampede will face Saugerties on Saturday afternoon, and if they win, they will go to the semi final game on Saturday night, which will determine who will play in the championship game on Sunday at East Field in Glens Falls.