Wiltrout finishes the deal, Bulls win 4-2

Dan Hemberger triples & scores twice and Ben Swatsky triples to give Bulls 2-0 series lead.

By Steve Smull

    LIMEPORT -- It was not "déjà vu all over again" for Matt Wiltrout and the Bulls.

    The Bulls' led the Northern Yankees 4-2 going into the top of the seventh five nights ago at Limeport Stadium during the final regular season meeting between these two teams. A game that had no bearing on the playoff seedings, which were set.

    Wiltrout started that game for Limeport and needed just three outs to finish it for a complete-game win.

    It did not happen.

    The Northern Yankees rallied for a pair of two-out runs in that top of the seventh to tie the contest and send it into extra innings. The Bulls rallied to win in eight innings, but the fact was that Wiltrout surrendered the two-run lead in the seventh.

    But he did put that no-decision in perspective after that game, when he said, "Better this happen now than in the playoffs."

    Little did he know that just five days later he would have the opportunity to redeem himself.

    And Wiltrout cashed in on the opportunity.

    This time around, Wiltrout retired the the heart of the Yankees lineup in order in the top of the seventh at Limeport Stadium to preserve a 4-2 victory to give the Bulls a 2-0 stranglehold on the best-of-5 semifinals series.

    Although neither manager believes this series has been decided, not by a long-shot.

    "We would like to end it at home on Friday," said first-year Limeport manager Pat Lane, who would prefer to get the series over with before the Yankees' bats wake up. "They have a great hitting lineup and we would rather not go back to Scherersville #5 if we don't have to."

    The Yankees also have the pitching to come back in this series.

    "We still have the pitching to do it," Yankees manager Brian Polaha said. "We'll throw [Andrew] Kulp on Friday and see if we can get one."

    The Yankees did get one, run, in the top of the first to open the scoring in Game Two.

    Joe Abeln doubled and later scored when Darrin Lenhart laced a single to center that Bulls' centerfielder Mike Cudwadie almost caught with a diving attempt.

    But the Bulls would answer in their half of the first.

    Cudwadie and Dan Hemberger both worked full-count walks to start the rally. Ben Swatsky lifted a slicing fly-ball to center to advance from Cudwadie to third as the throw to double off Hemberger at first was not in time. Hemberger stole second while Justin Godusky was working another full-count before grounding out to second, advancing both runners 90 feet and tying the score at 1-1. Tyler Lehman than ripped a base hit just fair inside of first base to plate Hemberger to give the Bulls a 2-1 lead. Yankees' right-fielder Landon Parker made a nice throw to second base to nab Lehman trying to get a double to end the inning.

    The Bulls would add another tally in the second.

    Devon Ziegenfuss smashed a lead-off double to right to lead the inning off. He was then nabbed at second on a close play on a line-drive short-hopper to Yankees' shortstop Kyle Hunter, who threw behind Ziegenfuss at second. Cary Zimmerman was now on first base with one out. Zimmerman promptly stole second and then went to third on the errant throw. On the play, Hunter had to leave the game with a sprained hand as Zimmerman had slid into him.

    Tyler Carle entered the game for Hunter, although Carle went to second and second-baseman Adam Sandt moved to shortstop. Adam Ganser then stepped up with the infield in and dribbled a weak grounder (which was a good thing for the Bulls) to Carle at second, because Carle's throw home was just barely late to nab Zimmerman at home and the Bulls now led 3-1.

    And both pitchers, Wiltrout for Limeport and Ryan Beck for the Yankees, had settled in as scoring opportunities seemed to disappear.

    Until the bottom of the fifth.

    Hemberger laced a 2-1 pitch to left-center that rolled to the fence for a leadoff triple. Swatsky followed three pitches later with a long drive to deep center that would have been out of most parks, but at Limeport, center-fielder Mike Fignar tracked it down and actually got to it on one hop. But Swatsky hit it far enough for an RBI triple and a 4-1 lead for the Bulls. Beck then walked Godusky and Lehman on six pitches each and Polaha went tothe mound to get him.

    Exit Beck. Enter Casey Cooperman.

    Cooperman had the unenviable task of trying to keep the Yankees in this game, despite coming in with a 4-1 deficit and having to deal with a bases loaded, no-out jam. But the 2010 Parkland grad did just that. Cooperman struck out the first two batters and then, despite running a 3-0 count, he induced a soft line-drive to third, that was dropped, but the put-out was still attained via the 5-3 route.

    Momentum had apparently shifted because the Yankees made some immediate noise in the top of the sixth.

    Rick Seltzer walked and Henry Concepcion singled to center to start the frame and the Yankees were in business. But Wiltrout induced a hump-back line-drive out and a fielder's choice to put runners on the corners with two outs. Cooperman then lined a first-pitch single to left to score Seltzer and cut the deficit to 4-2. Carle then also lined a first-pitch single to left to load the bases with two outs and the Limeport faithful were getting nervous. But they could rest easy for the time being one pitch later as a grounder to second ended the threat.

    Cooperman retired he Bulls in order in the sixth and Wiltrout retired the Yankees in order in the seventh and the Bulls had their 2-0 series lead.

    "[Bolasky and Wiltrout] don't throw hard, but it's leading our hitters into bad at-bats," said Yankees' manager Brian Polaha after the game. "They don't beat themselves. We're not having good at-bats and we can't seem to get that big hit in this series. But I like our team and still think we have a shot. [Cooperman] did a great job to get us out of that jam and keep us in the game."

    Wiltrout, the veteran southpaw for the Bulls, does not pretend to be a flame-thrower.

    "I throw strikes and get ahead of hitters," said Wiltrout. "I got ahead of most of the hitters tonight and when I am throwing strikes, I get batters to make outs on my pitches. That has been my M.O. since college," added the Emmaus and Bloomsburg product.

    Limeport skipper Pat Lane may have lost his closer (Mike Orban) for this series, but he has no issues throwing his veteran starters out on the hill.

    "That was just a great performance from a guy who didn't know he was pitching until 25 minutes before the game," said Bulls' manager Pat Lane as he had to scratch scheduled starter Anthony Clemens, who could not get loose before the game. "I was just hoping to get four or five innings out of [Wiltrout]. But we have veteran starters here who have done a great job minimizing the damage in this series."

    And the Bulls will have another veteran on the bump for Game 3 as Lane will throw Ryan Palos.

    Nobody had two hits for the Yankees (20-12) or the Bulls (22-10) in the contest. Game 3 will be at Limeport Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.