Fonda-Fultonville holds off Broadalbin-Perth
By BILL CAIN, The Leader-HeraldArticle Photos
BROADALBIN - When Justin Minnick's warm-up pitch smacked home plate umpire Rick Collar without warning in the bottom of the seventh inning, Fonda-Fultonville and Broadalbin-Perth's game was over.
With darkness falling, FFCS led 12-10 with one out in the bottom of the seventh. B-P had Rob Douglas on third base and Nico Butcher on second, with Rudy Breyo coming to the plate. Breyo was 2-for-3 on the day with two RBIs, a run and two stolen bases.
He never saw a pitch, as FFCS coach Rick Palumbo made a pitching change, bringing in Justin Minnick from third base.
Minnick is moving to the area from Florida and started playing with the summer team.
"Broadalbin made a nice comeback. Lucky for us, it got dark," Palumbo said. "I think the play of the game was Justin Minnick hitting the umpire. That was the winning play of the game."
Catcher Harley Fountain said he was having trouble spotting the pitch as it came in, then one hit Collar and sealed the deal.
"I was getting pegged on the arm," Fountain said. "I couldn't really see the ball."
Minnick would have been the fourth FFCS pitcher. Starter Matt Sheehan got through five innings with a 10-4 lead, but B-P came back with three runs in the sixth and another three in one-third of the seventh.
Comebacks have become old hat for B-P, coach John Samples said.
"We've done this many times," he said. "They've pulled it off. During school, they were down 9-0 against Johnstown and came back to win."
Both teams posted three runs in the first inning. B-P took a brief lead with a run in the fourth, but FFCS answered with seven in the fifth inning, all unearned.
With two outs, Fountain came through with a triple to right field. Dan Sheehan hit what would have been the final out of the inning, but B-P second baseman Paul List booted the ball and Dan Sheehan was safe at first, Fountain at the plate.
Jason Biasini made B-P pay for the mistake with a double that chased Dan Sheehan home and kept the rally rolling. After the second out of the inning, the next eight batters reached base safely, seven of them scoring. B-P made three errors in the inning, all on ground balls.
"I think the best thing you can ever tell your kids to do is put the ball in play," Palumbo said. "A pop fly is an easy play. When you put the ball on the ground, anything can happen, and it did."
Palumbo also said there were two big hits to jumpstart the scoring. Fountain said he thought his triple and Biasini's double made the hitting contagious.
"I think it started off with a big hit, then everybody else got some confidence in them," Fountain said. "That boosted everyone and got us up."
Fountain was 2-for-4 with two runs and a stolen base. Dan Sheehan went 2-for-4 with three runs and a stolen base. Biasini added two walks, a run and an RBI to his double. Charles Parslow walked twice, drove in two runs and scored once on a 1-for-3 day and Nate Craig added a double and a run.
The Braves had just nine players with several away for vacation, Palumbo said. They were playing with a lot of youth and just two players in their normal positions.
The Patriots (5-7) got a 2-for-3 day from Butcher with a double, a run and an RBI. Nick Wiltey was 2-for-3 with two runs and two stolen bases. Shortstop John Samples was 1-for-3 with an in-the-park home run in the seventh inning on a hard grounder down the first-base line, which drove in Wiltey.
Wiltey got the start on the mound, allowing three earned runs.
"Nick Wiltey pitched a great game," coach Samples said. "We wanted him to let them put the ball in play and make plays. They did that, then in the fifth inning with two outs, one error broke it open for them. Another one kept it going. I guess when you fall apart, you fall completely apart."
B-P will play at Gloversville in the semifinals of the league tournament at 10 a.m. and FFCS will play at Johnstown at 10 a.m. in the other semifinal. At 1 p.m., the winners will play at Husky Field in Gloversville and the consolation game will be played at Johnstown High School.
Fonda-Fultonville 12, Broadalbin-Perth 10
Fonda-Fultonville 300 072 0 - 12 10 5
Broadalbin-Perth 300 103 3 - 10 9 3
M. Sheehan, Craig (5), Parslow (6), Minnick (7) and Fountain; Wiltey, Douglas (6) and Rogers.
