LEGION BASEBALL: FCV two wins from Region 8 title

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July 25, 2012

LEGION BASEBALL: FCV two wins from Region 8 title

By Pete Chiodo Meadville Tribune The Meadville Tribune Wed Jul 25, 2012, 07:00 AM EDT

July 25, 2012 7:00 a.m. ST. MARYS — Every tunnel has a light at the end. And the French Creek Valley American Legion baseball team is closing in on that glow.

After falling to Elk County champion Wilcox 11-3 in Saturday’s opening round of the Pennsylvania Region 8 playoffs, FCV has since muscled its way into the tournament’s final day of action with three straight victories. And the team’s most recent win was one of the sweetest, as they beat Wilcox 11-6 in a key battle for life on Tuesday at St. Mary’s Berwind Park.

“That’s what it’s all about,” said FCV head coach Brandon Crum. “We talked about this on Saturday. We lost our first game and our backs have been against the wall every since. Now there’s only one way out for us, and that’s to win.”

FCV now has to win two games today to be crowned Region 8 champs and to move on to the American Legion State Championship tournament, which begins July 31 in Boyertown. At 1 p.m. today, the Creekers will face Albion in a final elimination game. The winner of that game faces Wilcox (which was undefeated in the tournament until yesterday) in a winner-take-all final.

“We took all that stuff that transpired on Saturday, and it just fired us up,” said FCV’s Luke Carter. “We took it and we put it into our game. And were going to keep trying to play our style and win more games.”

Carter had a heroic effort on the mound yesterday, throwing upwards of 150 pitches over the first eight innings. He ended up earning the win, allowing six runs (only two earned) on 10 hits with four walks and six strikeouts.

“Luke came in and from inning one he shoved it,” said Crum. “Their No. 4 hitter (first baseman Josh Mitchell), he can hit. And we talked about pitching around him. But Luke went right after him. He said, ‘I got him.’ And he went out and did it.”

Mitchell was 0-for-3 on the day.

“That just shows you what kind of pitcher Luke Carter is. You always want him on the mound.”

Offensively it was touch-and-go for FCV early on. Kyle McCray walked and scored on a two-out RBI single by Hunter Johnston to tie the game at 1-1 in the fourth.

Then trailing 2-1, FCV finally got some room to breathe, batting around in the fifth to score five runs. Kyle Wise started things off with a lead-off single to left. Two outs later, Tyler Walters ripped a double to the fence in left field to score Wise. Kyle McCray beat out a single to short, scoring Walters. Then Carter singled to put two aboard.

Relief pitcher Mitchell Holmberg then walked two straight, first loading the bases and then forcing in a run. The Scott Sada hit into a fielding error, allowing two more runs to score.

FCV struck for three more runs in the sixth inning to pull ahead 9-2. A.J. Thompson, Adam Bronson and Walters led the inning off with three straight singles. All three scored, moving around on passed balls and stolen bases.

“We were hitting the ball well, moving runners over, taking extra bases,” said Crum. “We call it passing the torch, getting the next guy up. You get five or six guys to the plate, you’re going to score some runs.”

FCV added two more runs in the eighth. McCray had an RBI triple in the inning. And Walters walked and scored.

The Creekers had 13 base its on the day. Wise, Thompson, Walters and McCray – the top five batters in the order – each had two base hits. Walters scored three times and drove in two. McCray scored three times and had one RBI.

“We’re finally getting going on offense,” said Carter. “It had been about a month since we really played our game. But we’re gradually getting there. We’re going to have to take that momentum and carry it over to (Wednesday).”

Wilcox attempted to creep back into the game, scoring a pair of runs in both the seventh and eighth innings. But FCV’s Tylor Williams, closing out the game, pitched a scoreless ninth, allowing one hit and striking out three.

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LEGION BASEBALL: FCV two wins from Region 8 title

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