Jays stay alive with wild finish

By Jim Metcalfe, The Delphos Herald
Published:  Tuesday, June 30, 2009 (7 months, 2 weeks ago)
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DELPHOS — It didn’t look good for the St. John’s ACME baseball team’s chances to extend its season in the Van Wert County tournament Monday night at Stadium Park.
The Blue Jays trailed visiting Lincolnview 9-4 with the darkness looming and entering the bottom of the seventh.
Nine batters and two outs later, Tanner Calvelage (3-for-4, 3 runs, 2 RBIs) singled sharply to right field to plate Jordan Bergfeld and seize a 10-9 triumph.
Calvelage had started it off for the Jays (7-9) with a rip to center, followed by singles from Tyler Bergfeld (3-for-4, 2 runs, 3 stolen bases) and an RBI bad-hop over shortstop Ian Bracey by Mitchell MacLennan. On back-to-back pitches, Bergfeld and MacLennan swiped bases. Both touched the dish courtesy of Chris Pohlman’s (4-for-4, 2 doubles, 3 runs batted in) 2-base rip to center.
That finished Lancer starter Taylor Hoehn (6-plus innings; 12 hits, 8 earned runs, 1 walk, 10 Ks, 2 wild pitches, 1 balk) and brought in southpaw Anthony Simpson. After a wild pitch got Pohlman to third, Joel Pohlman greeted Simpson with a fly ball deep enough to center to score his younger brother for a 9-8 scoreboard. Austin Vogt walked. Pinch-runner Brent Bowersock sole second and got to third on a wild pitch. J. Bergfeld walked. Tyler Ditto knotted it with a shot to left-center, getting Bowersock home. On back-to-back pitches, first J. Bergfeld then Ditto pilfered the last of the Jays’ 11 steals. An out later, Calvelage delivered his game-winner.
The outburst gave right-hander T. Bergfeld the complete-game victory in a 125-pitch effort (72 strikes): 11 hits, nine earned runs, five bases-on-balls, four strikeouts, one hit batter.
The Lancers got to him right away with four in the first. He plunked Jeremy Morris (2 runs), with him going to third via a single to right-center from Bracey (3-for-4, 3 runs) and the batter going to second on the throw. Both came home as Hoehn (3-for-4, 4 ribbies, 2 runs, 2 doubles, home run) rapped a double down the left-field line. Caleb Girod singled to center to put runners on the corners, with the latter stealing second. Simpson lined a shot to right to get Hoehn in and put Girod at third. Clayton Longstreth walked. Brady Niese (2-for-4, 3 RBIs) lined a knock to right to get Girod home but a Ditto-to-T. Bergfeld-to C.Pohlman relay nailed Simpson at home. Nick Leeth forced Longstreth at third and Zach Kreischer fanned to end the frame at 4-0, Lancers.
Hoehn went yard with two down in the second, going over the left-field fence for a 5-0 lead.
C. Pohlman singled to center to start the Blue Jay second and stole second but Hoehn sent down the next three quietly.
The Jays got on the board in the third. With two gone, Calvelage walked, stole second, took third on a balk and scored thanks to a ground single into left by T. Bergfeld. He then stole second but was left stranded.
With two out in the Lancer fourth, Morris walked but was gunned down trying to burglarize second by C. Pohlman.
Pohlman launched a ground-rule double to right-center to commence the home half of the fourth but once more was left there.
Lincolnview made it 6-1 in the fifth. Bracey ripped a hit into left-center and touched the dish as Hoehn clubbed a double to left-center. Girod flied out to right and Hoehn eventually got doubled-up between second and third.
The Jays retaliated with three in the bottom half. Ditto doubled down the left-field line, advanced on a 1-out wild pitch and scored as Calvelage ripped a hit to left. Calvelage swiped second and took third on T. Bergfeld’s infield hit to  second.  The  latter  swiped second  and  both  advanced  on a wild pitch, with Calvelage touching home base. An out hence, C. Pohlman knocked home T. Bergfeld with a hit to left. He went to third on J. Pohlman’s infield hit to third. The latter stole second but both were left stranded.
Longstreth walked to start the Lancer sixth but was forced on a sacrifice attempt by Niese. Bergfeld left him there.
The visitors went up 9-4 in the top half of the last frame. Morris got aboard on a big-hop single over shortstop Ryan Edelbrock and Bracey blooped a hit to right. Two outs hence, back-to-back walks to Simpson and Longstreth scored Morris. Niese delivered a sharp bash to right-center to score Bracey and Simpson and leaving runners on the corners. However, Leeth bounced out to end the threat.
In the Jays’ first game, Van Wert’s Brandt Taylor outdueled Austin Vogt in a 2-1 Cougar win.
Due to a coin flip, Van Wert was the home team.
Taylor ceded six hits and one unearned run in his complete game, fanning eight and walking two in 99 pitches (70 strikes).
Vogt also went the distance in giving up five hits and two unearned runs. He walked four and fanned a like number in 96 offerings (59 strikes).
The Jays got runners to first and second in the top of the first: T. Bergfeld (single and passed ball) and C. Pohlman (walk) with two outs.
The Cougars scored one in the home half on a leadoff single by Mitch Stauffer, an error on a pickoff play (allowing him to stay on the base), two wild pitches and an error on a ball hit by Taylor.
J. Bergfeld beat out an infield hit to second with one out in the second and stole the next base but was left there.
Van Wert left two on with one down in the second.
Vogt got out of jams in the third and fourth, leaving two runners on in each inning.
Van Wert got a key run in the fifth. Taylor got to third on a 3-base throwing miscue and scored on another error on a ball hit by Tyler Putman for a 2-0 edge.
The Blue and Gold tried to answer in the sixth. With two out, MacLennan singled to left and went to third on a bloop to right by C. Pohlman. The latter stole second but both were stranded.
The Jays got one run in the seventh. Vogt walked and was replaced by Ryan Densel. J. Bergfeld succeeded on a sacrifice bunt. A wild pitch got Densel to third, from where he scored on a booted ball hit by Bowersock. Edelbrock’s grounder forced him at second. Back-to-back hits by Calvelage and T. Bergfeld juiced the bases but MacLennan bounced out to second to end the game.
The Jays visit Wildcat Field in Delphos to take on Jefferson at 6 p.m. tonight. The game was originally scheduled for Stadium Park but was moved due to a conflict.