Montclair Wins as Caldwell Comeback Falls Short

Montclair reliever Keith Harrison escaped a jam in the top of the eighth inning when Caldwell placed runners on first and second with two outs. But Harrison struck out Matt Graziosa to end the inning and Montclair's Junior American Legion team squeeked out a 9-8 victory Thursday.

Caldwell relief pitcher Colin Bohnert, however, wasn't as fortunate after relieving John Gallagher in the eighth inning as Montclair's Pat Fallon smacked a base hit into center field that scored Brandon Taylor with the winning run.

Caldwell had jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the game, scoring three runs with two outs in the top of the second inning. After Gallagher walked to force home Graziosa with Caldwell's first run, Chris DallaRiva and Mark Mattheiss followed with hits to score Chris Hauser and Mike Carnevale for a 3-0 lead.

After Montclair grabbed a 4-3 edge, Caldwell regained the lead with a three-run fourth inning, highlighted by a Mattheiss RBI triple. Bohnert also recorded a hit and Post 185 took advantage of a couple of errors that allowed Mattheiss and Mike Kmon to score for a 6-4 advantage.

But Montclair bounced back to score four times in the bottom of the fourth to grab an 8-6 lead before Caldwell scored twice in the sixth to tie the game once more.