It was apropos that a military helicopter flew over Rams Stadium as Spring-Ford right fielder Josh Cratzenberg was digging into the batter box with one out in the sixth inning as the home squad trailed Perkiomen Valley 5-3.
It was only after the fly by that the Ram bats came to life, unleashing a seven-hit, six run salvo, erasing a rather mundane two hours of baseball in which Spring-Ford fans had little to cheer about, propelling the Rams to a 9-5 PAC-10 win.
“It was huge for us to get this win,” said Ram hurler Sean Larkin. “I didn’t have my best stuff today, but my teammmates picked me up. We have confidence in each other, and we know that we are going to do what it takes to give ourselves a chance to win.”
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Spring-Ford, which improved to 2-1 in league play and 3-2 overall, recorded just five hits over the first five innings, stranding nine runners in the process, looking like anything but the PAC-10 championship contending club that they believe they are. Don't ask manager Bruce Brobst whether they panicked, though.
“These kids do not panic,” said Brobst. “We have trailed in many games. They are very comfortable coming from behind. Not to say that we want to play that way all of the time, but that’s the way this game is.”
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Vikings starter Mario Lanza ( 5IP, 3 SO, 5 BB) kept the Rams' hitters off balance through the first five innings, working every inch of the plate and changing speeds to keep the Spring-Ford bats quiet.
Lanza, however, gave way to reliever Kenny Wolfe to start the sixth. Following a one-out double by Cratzenberg, six consecutive Rams reached base.
The Rams' attack was anchored by the three-hit performance of leadoff man Pat Medley, who scored two runs and drove in another, and culminated when shortstop Ricky Gorrell (2-for-4, run scored, 3 RBI) drove in the go-ahead run with a base hit over the middle, scoring Tom Grablewski, who had tied the game by swatting a two-run single.
“We have had a tough time getting started this season and I couldn’t say why,” said Gorrell. “We know we can hit and work hard at it. If we stay patient, the hits will come and we know that. The relievers they put in threw harder, which I think worked to our advantage as we are used to seeing speed.”
Ursinus bound James Hoff, who again assumed the designated hitter role as he is still nursing his injured shoulder, followed Gorrell in the hit parade by roping a base hit down the line and advancing to second on an errant throw.
“We can’t wait to get James back behind the plate,” said Gorrell. “Ryan (Conway) has done a great job back there, but James is the leader out here and his presence on the field is huge.”
Rams righthander Larkin (7 IP, 5 ER, 6 SO, 6BB) may have surrendered nine hits, but was always just one pitch away from getting out of a jam, utilizing two double plays pulled off by his defense to end Viking threats.
“We need to win games like this,” added Larkin. “We expect ourselves to play seven innings at 100 percent and I don’t think we have had a great team game yet. We have another big game coming up against PJP on Wednesday and we have to be ready.”
“This is what’s great about this time of year,” added Brobst. “We are still finding our ryhthm, but we had some great at-bats today. The job that Tom (Grablewski) did early on and Connor (Simmons) in the sixth is what makes this team so special.”
Simmons finished out the scoring with a two-out, two-run single, giving the Rams their final margin of victory and sending the visiting Vikings home with a 1-2 league mark.
BOX SCORE
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E Perkiomen Valley 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 5 9 1 Spring-Ford 0 0 2 1 0 6 X 9 12 2
BATTING
Perkiomen Valley AB R H RBI Koffel cf 2 0 0 0 Lanza p 4 0 1 2 Kenney ss 4 0 1 0 Malantonio c 3 0 0 0 Martin pr 0 1 0 0 Struss 1b 4 1 2 0 Squartino rf 4 0 0 0 Martin lf 0 0 0 0 Leggieri 2b 2 2 1 1 Wolf dh-p 3 1 3 3 Moriarty 3b 0 0 0 0 Delaney ph 0 0 0 0 D'Ambrosio lf-p 2 0 0 0 Jabs ph-rf 1 0 1 0 Totals 29 5 9 5 Spring-Ford AB R H RBI Medley lf 4 2 3 2 Grablewski 2b 4 2 2 1 Gorrell ss 3 1 2 3 Hoff dh 4 1 1 0 Vining cf 0 0 0 0 Oczypok 3 1 1 1 Clarke 3b 1 1 1 0 Conway c 3 0 0 0 Larkin p 2 0 0 0 Simmons ph 2 0 1 2 Cratsenberg rf 3 1 1 0 Totals 29 9 12 9PITCHING
Perkiomen Valley IP H R ER BB SO Lanza 5 5 3 3 5 3 Wolfe (L) .1 3 3 3 0 0 D'Ambrosio .2 4 3 3 1 0 Spring-Ford IP H R ER BB SO Larkin (W) 7 9 5 5 5 62B-Kenney, Wolf, Grablewski, Gorrell, Oczypok, Cratsenberg. 3B-Medley. SB-Simmons.
HBP-By Lanza (Conway). PB-Malantonio 2. WP-Lanza, Larkin.
