Raiders rally to rout Chiefs 19-3

Utility player Josh Johnson has career day, going 3-for-3 with 2 homers and 8 RBI.

By Steve Smull

    SPRINGTOWN -- Josh Johnson wears many hats for the Silver Creek Raiders. He'll play 3B, OF, C, 2B or anywhere Silver Creek skipper Dylan Dando has a need for him. But Saturday, Johnson was also sporting two more hats for Dando: Soothsayer and Slugger. After the top of the fourth, Johnson, his team trailing by three runs, yelled, "Now we score some runs". Although Johnson may not be ready to replace the Amazing Kreskin any time soon, his forecast for fourth-inning runs would have made any prognosticator proud. Johnson also backed up his words with a three-run homer that tied the game in the bottom of the frame and his RBI single later in the same inning added another tally to a nine-run, fourth-inning outburst. Right on cue. The Raiders never looked back, trouncing Upper Perk 19-3 to take a 1-0 lead in this best-of-three First Round playoff series.

    Upper Perk is playing postseason baseball for the first time since 1997, and although they were missing perhaps their best player, Scott Gehringer (who was finishing out a 4-game suspension), they did not show any rust early on, holding a 3-0 lead exactly halfway through the contest.

    Ryan Mark drew a one-out walk in the first and then Jeff Moyer singled. After a passed ball, Dave Nowicki reached on an error and it was 1-0 Chiefs. Steve Burdan hit a sac fly and Upper Perk led 2-0 after half an inning. Moyer then helped his own cause further by lifting a solo homer to right in the third and suddenly, it seemed like the Chiefs were poised for a possible upset. Although the Raiders had base runners in each of the first three innings, they were unable to dent the plate against the southpaw Moyer.

    But that changed quickly in the fourth.

    Pat Hollander drew a five-pitch walk, Kevin Thompson singled and the multi-talented Johnson then lofted Moyer's second offering to him a few feet beyond the CF fence to tie the game at 3-3.

    The Raiders were just getting started.

    Joe Bubba singled to right-center and Kirk Mueller singled to left. After a John Stezenko liner was caught in left, Pat Higgins laced an RBI single to right to give Silver Creek a 4-3 lead. Then Jeremy Bartha lined a homer to left that took about a second-and-a-half to leave the park and it was quickly 7-3 Raiders. Moyer seemed to labor at this juncture, as a walk, error and Thompson single loaded the bases again for Johnson.

    Exit Moyer, enter Mike Brannen.

    Johnson greeted him with an RBI single to left-center and Joe Bubba's RBI fielder's choice capped the scoring in the fourth as the Raiders now led 9-3.

    Stezenko led off the fifth with a homer to center and Pat Hollander added a two-run shot that went even further to center, and the competitive phase of this game basically ended as the Raiders were now in total command 12-3.

    Since Rob Medlock was in cruise control after a 1-2-3 sixth, allowing just one hit since Moyer's leadoff homer in the third, it appeared as though we might have a 12-3 final after the first two Raiders were retired in the sixth. But then the next 10 Raiders' batters reached base safely, turning a relatively respectable score into something that the cat may have thrown up.

    Pat Higgins and Jeremy Bartha were both hit by pitches. Mike Bortz then doubled to left-center, plating Higgins. Hollander walked to load the bases and then Thompson grounded to short to apparently end the inning, but the ball was booted and it was 14-3 Raiders, sacks still juiced for our star of the game.

    Johnson didn't waste any time, hitting Brannen's first offering to the exact blades of grass where his first homer landed over the fence in CF for a Grand Slam and now the rout was really on as the Raiders led 18-3.

    Exit Brannen and enter Matt Quatrani.

    Three straight walks and a Higgins' RBI single to right made it 19-3, as ten consecutive Raiders reached base before an innocent fly-out to right ended the carnage. Jim Eilenberger recorded a 1-2-3 seventh, and Silver Creek now owned a 1-0 lead in this series.

    Upper Perk hopes the return of Gehringer to Game 2 can give them a spark as they have a long, uphill climb ahead of them if they hope to win this series. Game Two goes Sunday night at 7:00 at Upper Perk.

    Moyer took the loss but went 2-for-3 for Upper Perk with a homer. Johnson went 3-for-3 with a Grand Slam, three-run homer and eight RBI, while Higgins chipped in with a 3-for-4, Stezenko and Bartha were both 2-for-5 with a homer, Thompson finished 2-for-5 and Hollander added a two-run shot for Silver Creek.