Woodward鈥檚 homer key blow as J-M rallies past Avella
AVELLA – Avella opened the door in the top of the sixth inning and John Woodward made the Eagles pay.
Woodward smashed a three-run home run to right centerfield in a wild frame that saw Avella commit five errors and Jefferson-Morgan cross the plate six times on its way to a 7-5 comeback victory in a Section 1-A game Thursday at Polar Star Field.
Woodward loved everything about his home run.
The swing he made, trotting around the bases and being greeted by all 11 of his Jefferson-Morgan teammates when he touched home plate.
There was only one thing missing
“I didn’t get the ball,” Woodward said.
He’ll gladly take a win even if he can’t put the ball on a mantle. A win that came in comeback fashion.
It was the big blow that helped the Rockets turn a 5-0 deficit on its head.
“Our coach (John Curtis) gave us a talk before that inning,” Woodward said. “He told us that just because we’re down, it doesn’t mean anything. Then we rallied back.”
Jefferson-Morgan (5-3, 6-3) completed a season sweep of Avella (6-2, 10-2) after a 3-0 win last week.
The rally started when Dayten Marion reached on an error, then stole second base. Marion went to third on a wild pitch. Avella catcher Brayden Fuller’s attempt to throw him out sailed into left field and Marion came in to score.
It was a chaotic sequence, which included a discussion between the umpires about whether or not Jaymison Robinson, who was at the plate, swung on the wild pitch. It would’ve been strike three, but the umpires decided it wasn’t a swing.
Robinson ended up hitting a single, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Deakyn DeHoet. Brayden Ellsworth reached on an error, which brought up Woodward.
Another crucial error came in Woodward’s at bat, when a popup in foul territory was dropped. That gave Woodward new life and he crushed a ball over the fence in left center.
The go-ahead run also came on an error. Drew Adams was hit by a pitch and Tyler McVay came in for him as a courtesy runner. McVay made it third on a sacrifice and a ground out.
Avella starter Logan Fedak was lifted and Fuller took over for him. Bryce Wright moved to catcher.
After Fuller’s second pitch Wright’s throw back to him sailed high into the outfield and McVay raced home to make it 6-5.
Of the six runs in the inning, only one was earned.
“That was really uncharacteristic of us,” Avella coach Jason Fogg said of the error-filled sixth. “I didn’t really see that coming, to be honest. They had the one good hit in the inning and that sparked them.”
The Rockets added another unearned run in the top of the seventh. Marion walked, stole second and reached third when the throw by Wright went into the outfield. He scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by DeHoet.
Ellsworth pitched the final two innings in relief of Adams and earned a save. He stranded two runners in scoring position in the sixth by getting a flyout to left field.
He also got some help from Woodward, who tracked down a fly ball in the right-center gap, off the bat of Wright, which would’ve been extra bases had it fell.
Instead it was the second out of the inning.
“John hit the home run, which was great, but that catch he made in right centerfield was a major league catch,” Curtis said.
Prior to the rally, Avella seemed to have everything in control.
Fedak retired 12 in a row prior to the sixth and only two balls made it out of the infield. He ended up with a hard-luck loss. Only one of the six runs on his ledger was earned. Fedak went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.
“He was humming right along there. He did a heck of a job for us both offensively and on the mound,” Fogg said.
Tristan Davis had a two-run single in the third for the Eagles, which made it 4-0. Hayden Gatewood plated a run on a groundout in the fifth.
The good news for the Eagles is that they control their own destiny. If they’re able to sweep their final four games – a pair of two-game series against Greensburg Central Catholic (4-1) and Carmichaels – they would win the section.
“I tell them multiple times a week that you have to play hard for 21 outs offensively and 21 outs defensively,” Fogg said. “We played for about 15 outs today. It’s a life lesson for the remainder of the section schedule.”