by TYLER HATHAWAY
PENFIELD, N.Y– Braman Post 1229 (6-4) rallied back from a 5-3 deficit to force extra innings, and Ethan Light swiped home base after Braman Post drew a pick off attempt in the 11th inning to give it a 6-5 walk off win over East Rochester Post 1917 at Penfield High School on Friday night.
It’s the third come-from-behind win for the team this season.
“We’ve been the comeback kids,” said coach David Pasternack. “We’ve been scoring a lot of runs late in games. It’s a little bit nerve-wracking, but it’s just fun to be with this group.”
“I mean it was great,” said Joey Bianchi about the win. “Even though we dug ourselves into a hole, we came back. Everyone battled. To walk it off, it’s just an awesome feeling.”
Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Brady Wadsworth connected on a ground ball that resulted in an error that scored Dominic Denecke to cut the lead to one. On the second pitch in the seventh, Bianchi powered a ball over the fence in left center field for a lead-off solo-shot that knotted up the score.
“Joey’s been hitting like that all year that long,” said Pasternack. “I mean, for him to come through like that in the seventh was great.”
“Prior to the at-bat, everyone was telling me we just need a single,” Bianchi explained. “I’ve been known for power from all the years I’ve played baseball, so I just took one big swing and it went out.”
“We were grinding through all of our at-bats, to get their starter’s pitch count up,” said Pasternack. “He had to come out, and Joey kind of surprised them. He can hit it, that was his second home run of the year. He’s been doing a great job.”
Both teams threatened in extras, with each team getting the go-ahead run 90 feet away at least once but great defense prevailed until the 11th inning. After Denecke and Wadsworth each walked, Light, the extra-innings designated runner, stole home after Wadsworth drew a pick off attempt.
“These guys really like each other,” said Pasternack of his team. “They get on each other, and they hold each other accountable.”
The victory snapped a two-game losing streak.
“This will give us a lot of momentum,” said Bianchi. “It will give us a lot of confidence going into these next games, playing our hardest and just seeing if we can win.”
Bianchi delivered Braman Post their first run of the game with an RBI double in the opening frame to knot the score at one. He finished 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and a walk. Landen Belliard had RBI singles in both the first and third inning to help Braman Post build a 3-1 lead. He pitched four one-hit innings of relief in extras and struck out two batters.
Jacob Murray ended 2-for-4 with a double, a run, and a walk. Kevin Donalty got the start and struck out five batters over seven innings. Denecke singled twice, walked, and scored. Light singled and scored the winning run. Elliott Johnson walked and scored.
For East Rochester Post (3-4), Max Bowers ended 3-for-5 with a double. Sean Griffin, Emmett Tehan, and Ryan LaRocco each singled, scored, and had an RBI. LaRocco also walked. Alex Wright had an RBI single, while Drew Calabrese singled and scored. Liam White-Scuderi had a base hit and drew a walk. Colin DiCicco walked twice.
Noah Wollschleger pitched the first six innings and struck out three batters. Donovan Kindberg pitched three innings of relief and had a strikeout. Nolan Russell struck out four over an inning and a third of relief work.
Braman Post’s next game is Monday against Cottreall-Warner Post 942.
“We got some tough games coming up,” said Pasternack. “Being able to build off this win, with the emotion of it, is gonna be huge. I think we’re gonna be happy going into the game on Monday.”
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