Stoney Creek Beats Rochester 5-4 in Consolation Championship

Stoney Creek held off Rochester 5-4 in the Rochester Invitational consolation bracket championship game this afternoon.

The Cougars scored all five runs in the third inning, including a big 2-run home run by Anthony “Niko” Gonzalez following an error.

Players from both teams were clad in dirty uniforms after winning their respective games earlier in the day to advance to the championship.

The MVP: Ben Yax started the game for Stoney Creek and only allowed two runs to score in four innings.

Yax also put in work at the plate with two stand-up doubles.

The Turning Point: The Cougars scored all of their runs in the top of the third inning to give them a 5-0 lead.

The Falcons answered right back scoring two runs in the bottom of the third inning and had a rally in the fifth inning, but it wasn’t enough to tie the game.

The Quote: “Anytime you beat Rochester it’s a good game,” said Stoney Creek Head Coach Clint Rodger. “I just told the boys to play hard and see what happens."

Around The Horn: The umpire called the game after six complete innings because of a time limit in the tournament rules (no inning can start after 1:45 of game time).

Both coaches started their “aces” in the first game of the day for strategic reasons.  Assuming both star pitchers also start in the rematch on April 20, it will be a pitchers' duel, to say the least.

“Stoney Creek will see (Nick) Bradley at some point this season,” Rochester Head Coach Eric Magiera said.

Nick Bradley started in the 8-1 win against Southfield Lathrup this morning, and he will play baseball at Western Michigan University next year.

What’s next? Stoney Creek (3-2) begins their regular season at home against Utica Ford on Tuesday.

Rochester (2-3) starts their regular season against Avondale at Oakland University on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.