Hodgson wins 4th straight Stenta Cup
WILMINGTON -- Jamie Treml's three-run double in the bottom of the sixth helped Hodgson Vo-Tech overcome five errors Saturday night and win 4-1 over Holy Cross, of Flushing, N.Y., in the championship game of the Delaware Stadium Corp. Henry Stenta Cup at Frawley Stadium.
The Silver Eagles won the tournament for the fourth consecutive year, defeating Howard 15-2 in the opener to reach the championship game. Treml's hit earned him the Ed Murphy Award as the tournament MVP.
The deciding sixth-inning rally started when Donnie Witte drew a one-out walk and advanced to second on a single by Dan Eby. Reliever Michael McManus then clipped the sleeve of Sean Baeder's jersey with a pitch to load the bases and bring up Treml. The lefty sent a 2-1 fastball into the left-center power alley, clearing the bases and putting Hodgson up 4-1.
"I knew I had to step up and get those guys in," Treml said. "I got a fastball and just drove it opposite-field."
Baeder, the starting pitcher, ended the game with two strikeouts after the Knights put two runners on base in the seventh.
"Coming into the game, [our coach] wanted me to have confidence in my defense, and I just wanted to come out throwing my hardest and show them what I've got," Baeder said.
Until Treml's double, it appeared Hodgson was in danger of wasting an outstanding performance by Baeder. The right-hander allowed one hit and no earned runs on the night while striking out six. Holy Cross went up 1-0 in the first inning when Tom Monte drew a walk and eventually advanced to third on two botched pick-off attempts -- one to first base and one to second base. He scored on a sacrifice fly by A.J. Morena.
The Silver Eagles had opportunities to score in each of the first two innings after leadoff doubles on both occasions -- by Eric Amalfitano in the first and Eby in the second. But Amalfitano was stranded on third, and Eby was thrown out at third after he was fooled by Holy Cross pitcher Justin Tableman and tried to steal on a pickoff attempt.
Hodgson dodged a bullet in the top of the third. Baeder walked Giancarlo Santillo on four pitches and missed on his next pitch to Tableman. Tableman then lined out to shortstop Chris Bianchino while Santillo was trying to steal second, and Bianchino easily doubled off Santillo to end the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, Baeder led off with a double down the third base line, which ended the night for Tableman. McManus came on in relief and got Treml to fly out to center. Baeder then advanced to third on a passed ball.
McManus appeared to have gotten out of the inning when he jammed D.J. Wood with an inside fastball on the hands. Wood popped it to shallow left, but shortstop Mike Socci and left fielder Morena bumped into each other as the ball bounced off Socci's glove and fell to the ground. Baeder scored from third to tie the game at 1-1.
Hodgson 4, Holy Cross (N.Y.) 1
|
Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
R |
H |
E |
|
Holy Cross |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Hodson |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
7 |
5 |
HC: Tableman, McManus and Valle. Hod: Baeder and Witte. 2B-Hod: Amalfitano 2, Eby, Baeder, Treml.
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