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BREWER – Josh Tardiff came up with the clutch hit and Shawn Smith made the clutch pitches as the Hampden Academy Broncos upset the Brewer High School Witches 6-5 in nine innings at Heddericg Field Monday night.
Tardiff’s opposite-field triple to right-center with two outs in the top of the seventh chased home Ryan McCluskey with the tying run and a throwing error on his ninth-inning grounder delivered the game-winning run.
There wouldn’t have been a ninth inning if it weren’t for Smith, who pitched out of a second-and-third, no-outs jam in the bottom of the seventh.
Hampden Academy improved to 7-5 while Brewer fell to 10-2.
“This was a huge win for us,” said HA coach McLean Poulin. “Everybody knows Brewer is one of the top teams in the league, for sure.”
Smith, who improved to 4-2, allowed 11 hits and five runs, three earned, over eight innings with 10 strikeouts and four walks.
“I can’t say enough about Shawn Smith. He’s been our horse all year,” said Poulin.
“He had a good fastball and he caught us off-guard with his changeup every once in a while,” said Brewer left fielder Dylan Fitzpatrick. “His delivery was the same so you didn’t know if he was throwing you a fastball or a changeup.”
“Since my freshman year, the changeup is the pitch I have worked on the hardest,” said Smith. “After the first inning, we weren’t going to throw inside any more, so we worked them outside and worked the changeup. That kept them off-balance.
Jacob Moore pitched a scoreless ninth for his third save.
Tardiff, who had three hits, said his triple came off a Chase Daniels fastball “that was right down the middle, letter-high. Knowing I already had a few hits made me a lot more relaxed and that’s the key.”
McCluskey had reached on a single off first baseman Prentiss Swett’s glove.
Hampden’s ninth-inning run was unearned as a pair of two-out infield throwing errors produced the run. Smith reached on an overthrow that enabled him to reach second, and a low throw to first on Tardiff’s grounder allowed Smith to score.
Sacrifice flies by Caleb Kirk, Nolan Turner and Patrick Stephens and a bases-loaded walk staked Hampden Academy to a 4-1 lead.
But Brewer tied it in the fourth when Shun Sasaki, given a second life when his foul fly was dropped, stroked a two-run single to right after fouling off five two-strike pitches, and on the ensuing throw to the plate and throw to second to nail Sasaki, the tying run also crossed the plate.
Daniels’ triple, one of his four hits on the day, and Swett’s RBI grounder gave Brewer a 5-4 lead in the fifth.
Daniels’ single and Swett’s ground rule double put runners on second and third with nobody out in the seventh.
But two strikeouts surrounded an intentional walk and then a grounder to second ended the threat.
“I tried not to think about it too much. I just went after the batters,” said Smith.
“He did a great job,” said Brewer coach David Morris.
Daniels pitched seven innings of impressive two-hit, two-run (one earned) relief with eight strikeouts and two walks.
Tardiff was Hampden Academy’s lone repeat hitter.
Besides Daniels’ four hits, Jon Thoms had two doubles and a single for Brewer, and Swett had a double, single and sacrifice fly with two RBIs.
BRONCOS 6, WITCHES 5
(9 innings)
Hampden Acad. (7-5) Brewer (10-2)
Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI
Turner, ss 4 0 0 1 White, p-3b 4 0 0
McCluskey, 2b 5 1 1 0 Daniels, 3b-p 5 0
S. Smith, p-rf 4 2 0 0 Swett, 1b 4 2
Tardiff, 1b 5 1 3 1 Higgins, dh 5 0 0
Stephens, c 3 1 1 1 O’Connell, 2b 0 0 0
Kirk, dh 2 0 0 1 Thoms, c 4 1 0
Moore, rf-p 0 0 0 0 Bissell, rf 4 0 0
Dolan, pr 0 0 0 0 C. Smith, ss 3 1 0
Miller, 3b 3 1 0 0 Fitzpatrick, lf 4 1 0
Perry, lf 2 0 0 0 Sasaki, cf 3 0 2
Lindemann, cf 3 0 0 1
Totals 31 6 5 5 Totals 36 5 12 4
Hampden Acad. 031 000 101 – 6
Brewer 100 310 000 – 5
E-Moore; C. Smith 2; LOB-Hampden 9; Brewer 9; 2B-Daniels, Thoms; 3B-Tardiff; Daniels; SF-Turner, Stephens, Kirk; Swett; SB-Stephens
Hampden IP H R ER BB SO
S. Smith (W, 4-2) 8 11 5 3 4 10
Moore (S, 3) 1 1 0 0 0 1
Brewer IP H R ER BB SO
White 2 3 4 4 4 0
Daniels (L, 3-1) 7 2 2 1 2 8
HBP- Kirk, Stephens (by Daniels); WP-S. Smith; BK-Moore; T-2:45; ATT-100 (est.)
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