Central Amherst Orioles edge Phillies, advance to 'AA Jr.' final

The Central Amherst Orioles defeated the Phillies, 16-15, in an exciting and evenly matched "AA Jr." semifinal game.

The win sends the Orioles into the championship game with the Yankees.

Theodore Gogos led off the Orioles' offense with a double into the outfield. Emily Morina singled, Spencer Wing went down swinging but found help from teammate Garren Dudas, who sailed one far enough to get on first base, bringing Gogos home. Anthony Fago continued the Orioles' batting order and knocked Morina home with a base hit of his own. Peter John Ciotta joined Wing in an out but not before a great effort at the plate. Mitch Farrar would have another great game as he hit a line drive to knock in another run. Victoria Monetti was the last batter of the inning and singled to bring in another run.

Having scored three runs, the Orioles were ready to play some defense. The Phillies had a lot of great hits even though they were down by several players. Before the inning was over, the Phillies had gone ahead, 5-3.

Brian Comerford led off the batting for the Orioles in the second. Comerford singled while Anthony Cavalieri got out but not before giving forth great effort. Gogos was up to bat again and found himself at first base when the Phillies were a little late in getting the ball to first. Morina found herself behind on the count and also struck out.

The Orioles kept playing batters hard and scored more runs when Wing crushed a double into the outfield. The rest of the batters in the inning had combined hits, which scored five more runs.

The Phillies answered the Orioles' hits with some fantastic hits of their own. All batters were hitting and scoring runs when Dudas threw the ball to first base but just missed making an out. As the inning closed, the Phillies also scored five runs and led, 10-8.

The third inning was superb for the Orioles as every batter hit the ball. Farrar started with a single while Monetti also got on base. Comerford got a single of his own, and the Phillies found that their opponent had the bases loaded. Cavalieri's bat also made contact with the ball and sent it flying for a single, which sent Farrar home to close the gap by one. Gogos continued his magnificent batting with a single to get on base. Morina wouldn't be denied a hit this time at the plate as she also hit a single. Wing and Dudas were the last two batters who also hit singles and brought home runners to go ahead, 12-10.

During the third inning, the Phillies started out strong as Zachary Tojek smashed the ball for a double. Matt Klute singled and Jackson Lisewski made the first out of the inning. Before the next two outs were made, Tojek was knocked home to score and make the game 12-11 Orioles.

Going into the fourth inning with a one-run lead, the Orioles knew they would need more hits. Fago managed to make it to first base, followed by Ciotta, who had his first hit in the playoffs as he had been on injured reserve for most of the season. Farrar was struck out in the inning after having great hits earlier. Monetti also had great hits in the game but struck out.

Comerford managed a single as did fellow teammate Cavalieri. The inning ended when Cavalieri struck out.

The Orioles scored no runs in the fourth and were ready to hold off the Phillies.

The Phillies' inning wasn't any better. Kayla Shutts and Tojek singled to get on base as Klute struck out. Benjamin Bryan singled to load the bases. With the bases loaded, Lisewski tried to knock his teammates home, but a great hit was caught by Dudas, who ran to second and tagged the runner who was running from first.

The fifth inning didn't go any better for the Orioles as Gogos and Morina struck out. Wing singled but Dudas struck out to end the Orioles' inning.

The Phillies scored two runs in the fifth to lead 13-12.

In the top of the sixth, the Orioles needed one run to tie the game and force the Phillies to play their inning. The Orioles were up to the challenge, as Fago singled to start loading the bases. Farrar and Comerford singled to load the bases for Cavalieri, who crushed the ball for a line drive and score the first two runners. Gogos and Morina followed with singles of their own, which knocked in two more runners to have their team go ahead by three.

The Phillies felt the pressure as they needed three runs to tie and force another inning. Morina, playing third base, slid and caught a pop-up for the first out of the inning. Before the inning was over, the Phillies scored two more runs.