STAFFORD, VA – Not even a rain delay can stop Lynn Babe Ruth as it held on to win its second game of the 2022 Babe Ruth World Series against Stafford, Virginia, 6-5 Sunday.
Lynn got on the board first, jumping out to a quick lead in the top of the second. Shea Newhall led off the inning with a ground ball hit to short that was thrown errantly past first base allowing Newhall to reach second.
The next batter, Christian Figueroa, struck out on a dropped third strike allowing Newhall to advance to third with some heads-up base running. After Alex Lara walked and stole second, Stafford’s pitcher, Dominick Dugan, threw a wild pitch that scored both Newhall and Lara giving Lynn a 2-0 lead.
Dugan eventually got out of the inning, and his offense responded in the bottom half of the second. While Lynn was the beneficiary of an error to take the lead, an error then hurt them.
Like Lynn’s Newhall, Jackson Hamill of Stafford reached first on an error from a ball hit to short. Hamill stole second and eventually advanced to third on a passed ball. A dropped third strike was now the enemy of Lynn as it allowed Hamill to score, cutting Lynn’s lead to 2-1.
Stafford was not done there as they threatened to take the lead and loaded the bases. However, just like Saturday, Lynn’s starting pitcher came up huge. Chris Marks kept his composure on the mound and struck out Stafford’s Spencer Way looking to preserve his team’s 2-1 lead.
Lynn threatened to extend its lead in the top of the fourth, which started off with Jared Paone getting a hit but was thrown out at second trying to extend the contact. A couple of walks and some good base-running got runners on second and third for Lynn. However, they could not capitalize, and Stafford’s Dugan struck out the next two batters to escape the jam.
Stafford then was in position to take the lead in the bottom of the fourth after a couple of bloop singles, and with two runners on, Marks came up clutch again, striking out Jason Linder to keep the score at 2-1 Lynn once again.
In the top of the fifth, Lynn was able to give Marks some breathing room and extend its lead. Gilly Galva led off the inning using his speed with an infield hit. He put that speed to good use right away on a passed ball in which he went from first to third base. Galva would then score on another passed ball to make the game 3-1.
Later in the inning, Seth Sullivan walked and toured his way around the bases stealing second and advancing to third on a passed ball. Sullivan would then score on a wild pitch before Stafford’s relief arm Hamill could get out of the jam making the game 4-1 Lynn.
The game stayed relatively quiet on both sides until the top of the seventh. Lynn began the inning getting its first two batters on base — then mother nature made an appearance.
The rain, which was falling for a good portion of the game, caused a delay of over an hour before play started again.
When play resumed, Lynn’s bats awoke. Sullivan hit a sacrifice fly to center field to make the game 5-1, and Kyle Cummings hit an RBI single to give Lynn a 6-1 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.
Stafford did not go quietly into the night down to its final three outs. A couple of errors got runners on second and third for Stafford. After Relief pitcher Brendan Sack struck out Linder, a wild pitch helped Stafford crawl back into the game. The wild pitch scored Kyle Guerrero in what was an awfully close call to make the game 6-2. So close, in fact, Lynn Manager Leon Elwell simply asked the home plate umpire about the call and was ejected.
Sack settled in, striking out the next batter, and down to its final out, Stafford still showed some life. Ayden Albright hit an RBI single to left field to make the game 6-3, and Sack would allow another RBI single, leading to a pitching change with the score at 6-4.
Jake Peterson came in for Lynn, allowing an RBI single, and Lynn was clinging to a 6-5 lead. However, Peterson buckled down and came up huge, forcing Andrew Cohn to ground out with runners on second and third, sealing the 6-5 victory.
