The start of the new week found the JrT in action on Monday night in Manheim, this was a game rescheduled from earlier when Manheim Central was still involved in high school playoffs. McCaskey and Central are rarely opponents during high school season, in 2021 Manheim did not play in the Midget League and a few of their players were with the JrT. I had never been to Central's ballfield before, when I arrived it surprised me that the game was actually at their junior varsity field. This was a game that proved conclusively that it's never over until the last man is out, it started as a complete dud and ended as a classic. Through six innings the JrT was down 7-0, the club had only three base hits and certainly no one could have imagined what was to happen in the top of the seventh. Jhanel Perez was the first batter, he was hit by the pitch and immediately retired trying to advance on a wild pitch. Ian Santos was hit by the pitch and Avante Webb drew a walk, Rey Ortiz followed with a double scoring Santos with the first run. Andrew Carlisle's two-run single plated Webb and Ortiz to make it 7-3, Elias Morales kept the line moving with a base hit putting runners on the corners with one out. Elliott Fluck doubled into the gap in left-center chasing home Andew and Elias, Alex Demarco followed with another two-base hit scoring Elliott making it 7-6. Janpaul Rodriguez flied out for the second out, Lars Holland was next and he was hit by the pitch putting men at first and second. Perez batted for the second time and reached on an error to load the bases, Santos walked to force Demarco home with the tying run. Webb was next, during his at-bat a wild pitch allowed Lars to hustle home putting the JrT up 8-7. Avante would be retired to end the inning but not before the club scored eight runs on two singles, three doubles, three hit batsmen, two walks, an error and two wild pitches. As incredible as it was there still remained the matter of retiring the opponent in the bottom of the inning, Morales pitched a perfect frame with two strikeouts to nail down the improbable 8-7 win. Lenny Diaz was the starting pitcher for the JrT, Santos was the winner in relief with Elias earning the save. By the time the game ended around 8:30 or so darkness was beginning to descend, since the field had no lights it was just as well. The boys are scheduled at home on Tuesday night, we'll see what they can do for an encore. Take care, thanks for reading.
