Raiders rally past Tri-City, 4-3

Pat Hollander's 7th-inning HR and Mark Nicholas's 8th-inning single give SC a Game 1 win.

By Steve Smull

    SCHERERSVILLE -- If Game 1 is any indication to how the rest of the series will go, then this series has all the potential to be a classic. The game featured a bench-clearing shouting match, a bat being "ejected" from the game and oh yes, some fantastic defense and clutch hitting, too. With the skies darkening quickly in the top of the eighth inning, Silver Creek's Mark Nicholas grounded a two-out single up the middle to plate John Stezenko to give the Raiders a hard-fought 4-3 win and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five Semifinals series.

    Nicholas, who has easily been one of the top hitters in the BML/Trico leagues over the last 10 years (including a game-winning, three-run homer in Game 5 of the Finals at Gabelsville in 2003), actually struggled mightily before redeeming himself with the game-winner in the eighth. He stranded nine runners in his first four at-bats.

    With one out and two on in the first, Nicholas grounded into a 1-6-3 double-play to end the Raiders' half of the inning. In the bottom half of the first, Matt Marcks crushed the first pitch he saw for a double that short-hopped off the fence. After a deep flyout to right advanced Marcks to third, and a Silver Creek conference at the mound, Ben Swatsky was not pitched around successfully enough, because he launched a 2-2 pitch about 80 feet over the left-field fence to give Tri-City a quick 2-0 lead.

    The Raiders would get one back in the third. Pat Higgins laced his second single of the game to center to get it going with one out and Jeremy Bartha followed that up with another screaming liner to left. After a strikeout, Pat Hollander grounded a single to right to score Higgins and the deficit was cut to a run.

    But the Fleetwings would get that run back immediately. Ryan Palos smacked a base hit just off the glove of Nolan Neiman (more on him later) down the left-field line for a single and was advanced to second on a Scott Garger sacrifice bunt. After a strikeout and a passed ball, Justin Godusky singled to center to knock in Palos and it was 3-1 Fleetwings.

    The Raiders answered in the fourth. Kirk Mueller looped a two-out single to right and Stezenko followed that up with a laser to right-center that rolled to the fence for a RBI double and it was 3-2 Fleetwings. Tri-City ace Scott Bolasky then survived a walk and an error to leave the sacks loaded. Silver Creek would end up stranding 13 runners for the game.

    The clear-cut turning point of the game happened in the bottom of the sixth.

    Jeremy Arner drew a six-pitch walk to start the inning and Tom Williams sacrificed Arner to second. But when pitcher Nate Hritz bobbled the bunt, it allowed Williams to beat the throw to first and the Fleetwings had two on and none out. After two bunt attempts failed, a deep flyout to right advanced Arner to third and put runners on the corners with one out. Up stepped Nick D'Amico.

    And up came a play that would undoubtedly be the #1 "Web Gem" on ESPN's Baseball Tonight if cameras were rolling.

    D'Amico laced a ground ball that seemed destined for left field for an apparent RBI single, but Neiman made an all-out dive to his backhand to snag it, then popped to his feet in an instant. He had Arner caught dead between third and home and seemingly had no shot at turning two, so just when you figured he was going home to nail Arner and keep it a one-run game, Neiman inexplicably whirled and fired a missile right to the chest of second baseman Higgins who then pivoted and made a strong throw to first to get D'Amico by an eyelash for an incredible, unbelievable, dream of a double-play to end the sixth-inning threat.

    And the momentum was now clearly on Silver Creek's side when Hollander led off the seventh by launching a 3-2 pitch over the fence in right-center for a home run to tie the game at 3-3.

    The rest of the seventh came and went without incident, and with the clock striking 8:06, there was some doubt whether or not the eighth inning would even start. But there seemed to be just enough light for a quick inning so the umpires gave it a go.

    And the Raiders are glad they did.

    Stezenko ripped the first pitch for a single to left and Higgins sacrificed him to second. After a ground-out, Nicholas got his redemption with a clutch single up the middle that easily scored Stezenko and gave Silver Creek their first lead of the game.

    Swatsky grounded a one-out single to give the Fleetwings life in their half of the eighth. But one pitch later, the game ended quickly on a nifty 6-6-3 double play turned by Bartha and the Raiders drew first blood in the series, taking a 1-0 lead.

    Hritz twirled a five-hitter with seven strikeouts against a potent Fleetwings lineup and his gutsy performance against Tri-City's ace earned him "Star of the Game" honors. Stezenko finished 3-for-5 with a double, while "Mr. August", Pat Higgins was 3-for-3 and Hollander ended up 3-for-5 with his big homer and two RBI. Swatsky was 2-for-4 for the Fleetwings with a two-run homer.

    The series moves to Silver Creek (Springtown) for Game Two on Saturday at 5:00.