Mistake-filled game between Penns Valley, BEA baseball suspended by darkness
Penns Valley coach Jon Bowersox threw his arms out and smiled in disbelief after watching his team score 10 runs and still fail to put away Bald Eagle Area on Monday.
The Rams and Eagles were tied 10-10 after seven innings of a game that was suspended by darkness. Four Bald Eagle Area pitchers combined to walk 19 batters, and Penns Valley committed six errors, including two miscues to help the Eagles erase a two-run deficit in the final inning.
The teams will finish the game on April 21, the same day they’ll meet for their second regular-season matchup.
“When you score 10 runs in a baseball game, you need to win that game,” Bowersox said. “We just didn’t put ’em away. We didn’t make the plays when we had to.”
Penns Valley led 10-8 going into the bottom of the seventh inning.
A Rams throwing error with one out allowed BEA to pull within one run, and another error and a walk loaded the bases for BEA’s Hunter Eminhizer, who sent a ground ball to Penns Valley second baseman Calvin Russell. BEA’s Grant King beat Russell’s throw home to tie the game 10-10, but Penns Valley pitcher Keith Butts got out of the jam with a popout and strikeout.
It was a missed opportunity for the Rams, who were plagued by poor defensive performances during a 4-14 season in 2016.
“They seemed to come at bad times again just like last year,” Bowersox said of the errors.
Meanwhile, the Eagles pitching staff struggled to find the strike zone.
BEA starting pitcher Brian Egan walked eight in two innings, and Eagles reliever Ty Walker allowed three walks in 1/3 of an inning. Garret Barnhart walked five in 2 2/3 innings, and Tanner Kresovich walked three in the final two innings.
“It’s a simple game if you execute the basics, and basic No. 1’s throwing strikes,” BEA coach Jim Gardner said. “We made it a very difficult game today.”
The Rams host Bellefonte on Thursday, while BEA takes on Philipsburg-Osceola on the road Thursday.
This story was originally published March 27, 2017 at 10:18 PM with the headline "Mistake-filled game between Penns Valley, BEA baseball suspended by darkness."