Pizza Pub Wins 2, Moves To 3-1 On Season (05/06/14)
Pizza Pub won two games recently and moved their Clarion Little Baseball record to 3-1. Pizza Pub Manager Jason Craig shares these recaps.)
Pizza Pub vs Lions
On Friday 5/2 the Pizza Pub combined good pitching and hitting to beat the Lions 18-3. The Pub got off to a fast start, sending 12 batters to the plate in the first inning. Connor Kromer and Nate Datko each had two singles in the inning while Josh Craig and Ian Larson also had singles. The top of the first ended when Datko was trying to stretch a single into a double and was retired on an outstanding throw by Aiden Quinn. Ryan Hummell also made a great defensive play, catching a hard line drive off the bat of Mitch Knepp.
The bottom of the first started with a bang as Nick Frederick hit a solo homerun to center field. Benny Smith followed with a hard line drive single to left that made it all the way to the fence. However, Benny Murtha backed up the play from center field and made a great relay to Datko at shortstop who threw out the runner trying to score from first base. Logan Lerch finished the scoring for the inning with a single to left that plated Smith from third base. At the end of one, Pizza Pub held a 7-2 advantage.
The Pub continued the scoring in the second with 8 runs. The top of the second was highlighted with a single by Larson, doubles by Knepp and Craig and a huge 3-run homer by Datko. Quinn scored a run for the Lions in the bottom of the inning and after two, the Pub lead 15-3.
The Pizza Pub scored three more runs in the third inning on a single by Datko and a 2-run shot to center by Craig. The Lions were unable to score in the bottom of the inning and the final score was set at 18-3.
The Pub got a great pitching performance from Craig and Murtha. Craig pitched 2 innings, giving up 3 runs on 3 hits with 5 strikeouts and a walk. Murtha finished the game, pitching one inning, striking out a batter and walking a batter.
Pizza Pub improved their record to 2 – 1 on the season.
Pizza Pub vs Burns and Burns
On Sunday, 5/4 Nate Datko fired a no-hitter as Pizza Pub improved their record to 3-1 on the season with a 10 – 0 win over Burns and Burns.
The top of the first saw the Pub score three times with only one hit, a double by Nate Datko. In the bottom of the first, Burns got the first two batters on via a walk and a hit batter. Lake Staub followed with a hard ground ball hit at shortstop Connor Kromer that he was able to handle and get a force at second base. Datko settled down after that and stuck out the next two batters.
Neither team was able to score in the second inning. In the top of the third inning, the Pub was able to plate 4 more runs with solid singles by Benny Murtha and Mitch Knepp. At the end of three, the Pub held a 7 – 0 advantage.
In the final inning, Pizza Pub recorded a single by Datko and a clutch 2-RBI single by Michael Snyder. They were able to score 3 more runs to set the final at 10 – 0 in favor of Pizza Pub.
Datko went the distance for the Pub, giving up no hits with 6 walks and 9 strikeouts. The Burns and Burns pitchers only gave up 5 hits while striking out 6 Pub batters.
(Thanks to Jason Craig for these recaps.)