Sykesville Post 223 Comes From Behind, Beats Mt. Airy 8-7

The Wednesday night meeting between Sykesville Post 223 (12-16-1) and Mt. Airy Post 191 featured sloppy play early on, but the thrilling back and forth affair ended in a Sykesville win. Sykesville prevailed thanks to a go-ahead hit by Joe Rekus. Rekus’s two out single in the final inning capped off a four run outburst that gave Sykesville the lead.

It has been an up and down season for Sykesville, who has lost a lot of one run games and has played better than their record would indicate. However, Sykesville came into their matchup against Mt. Airy hoping to continue a recent resurgence of good play, having won five of their last seven games.

Early on, Sykesville starter Gabe Hindle struggled with his command, walking seven batters in just 2 1/3 innings pitched and giving up four runs (three earned). He kept Sykesville in the game though with five timely strikeouts to lead all pitchers.

After trailing Mt. Airy 4-2 after five innings, Robert Martin led off the Sykesville rally with a one out double to the right-center gap. Patrick Engle then drove a two run homer over the left field fence that tied the game at 4-4.

Mt. Airy retook the lead 7-4 in the sixth inning with a homerun of their own, which looked to be a decisive margin heading into the final inning.

Shawn McMahon led off the final inning with a single, which sparked a rally in which four of the first five hitters reached base. Bradley Martin and Robert Martin both hit timely singles that scored runs, and Joe Rekus finally gave Sykesville their first lead of the game with an RBI single. The RBI gave Sykesville an 8-7 advantage.

Shawn McMahon closed the door with a scoreless frame in the bottom of the inning to end the game, giving Sykesville a much needed win over a district rival.

Mt. Airy often looked like the better team as they left 12 runners on base in just seven innings, but they failed to produce timely hits when it mattered most.

McMahon was the winning pitcher with 4 2/3 innings of solid relief, and Mt. Airy starter J. Wills took the loss after throwing over 120 pitches over 6 2/3 innings. Bradly Martin went 2-4, and Robert Martin went 3-4 with a double. Patrick Engle also had a big impact, going 2-4 with a homerun.