A little patience, not to mention perseverance, paid off for Parma MSI, Ohio, in its 7-3 extra-inning win against Cherry Creek, Colo, in opening day action of the Capitol Classic on Ron McNutt Field Monday afternoon.
Cherry Creek scored once in the bottom of the seventh inning and was threatening to do more damage before Parma reliever Brian Karpel slammed the door shut, and then the Ohio club came back to score four times in the top of the eighth to take the lead for good.
Parma (24-7) has had a busy schedule leading up to the Classic. It went 5-2 in a San Diego tournament, then returned home to the Cleveland area to play games Tuesday through Saturday. There were some signs of weary legs, too, because five Parma runners were thrown out on the bases.
"I'm hoping the time change difference after flying in here was the reason we seemed to be sleepy (on the bases)," Parma coach Gregg Pelka said. "Fortunately we were able to overcome that with some clutch hitting and defense. If you scrap and play defense and do the little things right, you're going to be able to stay in games."
Parma took a 3-2 lead to the seventh inning behind the pitching of Purdue-bound Luke Howard, but Cherry Creek rallied back to tie the score at 3 when J.D. Williams (also headed to Purdue) slapped an opposite field double down the left field line.
"They did a good job coming back," Pelka said. "We didn't give them anything. They put themselves in that position by hitting the ball where we weren't, and in a situation like that, you just gotta tip your hat to them."
Steve Conter singled to lead off Parma's eighth inning rally, then Jason Newcomb and Chad Frk hit back-to-back choppers up the middle to score one run. Josh Gaub's line drive single to center scored another run and Nick Colagiovanni lined a run-scoring single to right.
"There in the last inning, we seemed to be more patient," Pelka said. "We were a little more selective at what we were swinging at and I think it paid off. Sometimes when you're patient, good things are bound to happen."
Parma scored three times in the third inning, sparked by James Wilson's two-run homer. Cherry Creek avoided more damage in the inning when right fielder Joey Andrews threw out a runner at third and then catcher Tim Miller gunned down another runner trying to steal third for the final out.
Parma's Newcomb hit 3-for-4, scored two runs and was named the game's MVP.
Santa Rosa 11, Boise 5
Chris Bacigalupi and Dan Mocny hit home runs to highlight a six-run rally in the top of the 10th inning that sent Santa Rosa, Calif., past the Boise, Idaho, Gems in the day's longest game.
Bacigalupi homered with one out to break a 5-5 tie in the 10th. Santa Rosa scored five more runs after two outs, two on Matt Rew's double and two on Mocny's homer.
Woodward 5, Ogden 3
Ryan Kaney doubled and homered to support a complete game pitching performance by Beau Sullivan as the Woodward, Okla., Travelers turned back the Ogden, Utah, Outlaws.
Kaney's fourth inning double drove in one run and then scored himself on Zach Craig's base hit to put Woodward on top 2-0 in the fourth inning. Tanner Dewald homered to lead off the fifth and Kaney hit his home run to lead off the sixth.
Sullivan picked up the win as the left-hander allowed seven hits, walked three and struck out nine.
Danville 13, Hawaii 6
The Danville, Calif., Hoots erupted to score nine runs in the fifth inning to erase a 4-1 deficit en route to their victory against Honolulu's All-Hawaii Select squad.
Nine straight batters reached base to open the fifth for Danville, highlighted by two-run singles from Noah Albers, John Engers and Tim Gilhooly. All nine of those base runners scored before reliever Kila Ka'Aihue came on to retire the side on a strikeout and fly out.
Mateo Miramontes, a Monte Vista High graduate who has signed with the University of Nevada, started and threw five innings to pick up the win and the game's MVP award.
Austin 7, Carmel 4
Phillip Moss doubled two runs home to give the Austin, Texas, Slam a lead that was never relinquished against the Carmel, Ind., Bulls.
Carmel scored twice in the first inning and led 2-1 before Austin scored four times in the third. The key hit was delivered by Moss, who was named the game MVP.
Jeff Ott added a two-run homer in the top of the seventh to give the Slam a 7-2 lead.
Carmel came back to score twice on John Hunter's two-run single in the bottom half of the seventh. Hunter hit 3-for-4 and Drew Anderson 2-for-3 to lead Carmel offensively.