Leslie leads Lehigh Township

Brandon Leslie goes 5-for-5 with 5 RBI and gets the "W" in a 12-7 win over Tri-City.

By Steve Smull

    SCHERERSVILLE -- Brandon Leslie was a one-man show, going 5-for-5 with five RBI and getting a complete game victory to boot -- with eight strikeouts -- to lead Lehigh Township to a decisive 12-7 victory over Tri-City. The Brewers now lead the best-of-five semifinals series 2-1.

    Leslie was, in fact, one strike away from a 12-4 win, with just three earned runs allowed, but he got a fastball up to Tom Williams, who deposited a three-run homer just over the fence in left to make the score more respectable. Although Leslie did get plenty of help from his Brew-Crew friends.

    However, Tri-City seemed destined to take this game early, as they came out firing with two outs and nobody on in their half of the first inning. Ben Swatsky got hit by a pitch for the second time in as many games to start the two-out rally. Josh Perich then singled, and Brendan Witkowski fisted an RBI single down the left-field line to open the scoring. Matt Godusky then rifled a single to right to plate Perich, and the Fleetwings suddenly had a quick 2-0 lead after an inning.

    The Brewers played some small-ball in the second to get a run back. Steve Unger singled off a diving Dan Dillon's glove to start the inning and Jeremy Bartha was promptly hit by a 1-2 pitch. Omar Torres dropped down a sacrifice bunt and Shawn Andrews followed with a sac fly to right and the Fleetwings' lead was cut in half.

    The Brewer's bats had more to say in the fourth inning. Steve Unger drew a leadoff walk and Jeremy Bartha decided not to play small-ball, but instead dial long distance as he lined a 1-0 offering over the left-field fence to give the Brewers a 3-2 lead. And just when you thought the inning was over after a flyout and a groundout, Mike Trimble singled, Charlie Torres grounded an infield single to deep short, Brandon Leslie lofted a RBI flare to center and Joe Bubba capped the four-run outburst with an RBI infield single down the third-base line to make it 5-2 Brewers. 

    As the rain fell harder in the fifth, Lehigh Township decided to dampen any hope of a Fleetwings' comeback as they had another rally brewing. Unger reached on an error to start the frame. After Bartha lined out to left, Omar Torres hit a hump-back liner to center and Dennis Kinney then entered the game in place of Mike Palos. Andrews greeted Kinney unkindly, ripping Kinney's first offering to right for an RBI single and a 6-2 lead. After a Trimble safety squeeze resulted in a fielder's choice out at the plate, Charlie Torres was then plunked on the knee to load the bases. The man-of-the-hour, Leslie, helped his cause with a two-run single to left and it was 8-2 Brewers.

    As the rains subsided a bit in the bottom of the fifth, the Tri-City bats seemed to awaken from a three-inning slumber. Matt Marcks swatted a no-doubt-about-it home run to right-center to leadoff the inning and it was now an 8-3 game. Ben Swatsky singled, and Josh Perich reached on an infield error as Swatsky took third. Still no outs. After a strikeout, Matt Godusky collected an RBI single to make the score 8-4. But Leslie settled down to get the final two outs, the last one, a laser-beam by Jeremy Arner that was tracked down by Unger deep in left to strand two big runners on base.

   After a relatively quiet sixth inning, the Brewers decided they were not done scoring in the seventh. Andrews worked a tough, one-out walk, then Trimble singled and Charlie Torres pushed a beautiful bunt single past the pitcher to load the bases. Leslie collected his fifth single, and his fifth RBI, knocking in two to make it 10-4, then Bubba ripped a RBI double to left center and Eric Schmitt capped the Lehigh Township scoring with a sac fly to center. It was now 12-4 Brewers.

    Leslie got two more strikeouts in the seventh sandwiched by walks to Witkowski and Arner, before the aforementioned three-run dong by Williams ended the scoring for the night at 12-7. 

    The Brewers take their 2-1 series lead to Berlinsville on Sunday, where they hope to close out the Fleetwings' season. Game 4 starting time is 5:00.

    For Lehigh Township in this game, besides the marquee performance by Leslie, Bubba was 3-for-5 with two RBI, while Mike Trimble was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and Charlie Torres was 2-for-3. For Tri-City, Matt Godusky was 3-for-4 with two RBI and Ben Swatsky was 2-for-3.