Boulders Hold on in 5-4 Thriller

July 27, 2012 - Canadian American League (Can-Am)
Worcester Tornadoes News Release


After two hours and fifty-eight minutes of back-and-forth baseball the Tornadoes final rally fell just short, as Brandon Pinckney's throw beat Cam Kneeland to first with the tying run crossing the plate. Despite tallying 14 hits and battling back from a 4-0 early deficit, Worcester dropped the opener of their seven-game homestand by a 5-4 score.

Ryan Brockett,Jerod Edmondson and Chris Torres each had three hits for the Tornadoes who loaded the bases in the ninth inning with one out. Brockett started the rally with a single with one out and was joined on the base paths by Torres (single) and Welch who was hit by a pitch on a controversial call that originally was ruled a strike. But with one out and the bases loaded, Adrian Martin forced Alex Nunez to pop out and Kneeland grounded out to second.

The initial rally made sure that Dan Sausville wouldn't go out a loser. The Tornadoes starter struck out a season-best eight batters over seven innings, while allowing four earned runs on seven hits. After giving up four, four out runs in the first four innings, Sausville kept the Boulders in check in the sixth and seventh to keep the Tornadoes in the game.

Rockland jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning after Sausville nearly worked himself out of a jam. Qualon Millender and Keith Brachold singled with one out, before Ryan Scoma loaded the bases with a walk with two down. Facing off against Brandon Pinckney, Sausville's 2-2 pitch ended up getting by Torres for a wild pitch to score Millender, before Sausville struck out Pinckney on the next pitch.

The Boulders tacked on two runs in the third on a Phillip Cuadrado two-out, two-run homer, before making it 4-0 in the fourth when Billy Alvino singled up the middle to score Ryan Mollica.

It wouldn't take long for the Tornadoes to answer, as they scored at least one run in each of the next three innings.

In the fourth, Johnny Welch doubled with one out and moved over to third base on a Nunez infield single. Kneeland proceeded to make it 4-1 with a single through the left side to plate Welch.

Worcester made it 4-2 in the fifth inning, when the Tornadoes got back-to-back-to-back hits from Edmondson, Brockett and Torres. With one out and two runners on, Torres fisted a ball into left field to easily score Edmondson.

Edmondson would play a large role in the game-tying sixth inning rally as well. With one out in the inning, Mike Samela bunted for a single and raced all the way around from first on a Tony Patane double to make it 4-3. With two outs and Edmondson and a 1-0 count, Edmondson popped a ball up in the infield that looked like an easy third out. Instead Ryan Scoma, Billy Alvino and starter Gustavo Chacin all looked at each other as the ball bounced in between the three and Patane slid into home to tie the game at four.

That would signal the end for Chacin who continued to struggle against the Tornadoes. The former major leaguer allowed four runs on 12 hits in five and two-thirds innings, despite striking out a season-high 10 batters.

Neither team would threaten in the seventh, but Rockland grabbed the lead back in the eight against Matt McDonald. Scoma slashed a triple into the left-field corner to lead off the inning and scampered home on a Ryan Mollica RBI single to center. McDonald would get out of the inning, but still took the loss, falling to 1-3 on the season.

Worcester had one final rally in them in the ninth inning against the Rockland closer. After Edmondson struck out, Brockett and Torres single and Welch reached first after a long, heated discussion between the umpires but it would't be enough.

The Boulders and Tornadoes will continue their series Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. with Kevin Cooper and Pat Moran facing off. The Tornadoes welcome all fans to come out and bring their dancing shoes to help the team set two world records during the course of the game. Check out worcestertornadoes.com for more information, tickets are still available.



Canadian American League Stories from July 27, 2012


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