|
MYERSTOWN - Whether it has all the ingredients of a champion remains fodder for debate. But at the very least, Myerstown is a team which absolutely must be dealt with. On a steamy Wednesday night, Myerstown established itself as a player in the Lebanon County American Legion baseball postseason by downing Fifth Ward 7-3. After surrendering most of an early four-run cushion, Myerstown settled the outcome by scoring runs in each of its last three at-bats. With the win, third-seeded Myerstown, now 7-8-1 on the campaign, will play at second-seeded Fredericksburg, on Thursday at 7 p.m. Fireballer Tyler Reed will get the ball for M-town. The loss dropped Fifth Ward to 5-11 on the year and into Friday's loser's bracket of the six-team, double-elimination event. "As far as the bracket goes, I don't know if it's that important," said Myerstown head coach John Mentzer to the importance of a playoff opener. "But morale-wise, you've got to win it. We're just playing it one game at a time, one day at a time. "Can we beat (top-seeded) Campbelltown?" Mentzer continued. "I would say not. We can play with them and be competitive with them. But with the talent they have at every position and their pitching, it would be tough. But in this format, if they lose, who knows? "They're solid one through nine," said Lebanon head coach Robert Nordall of Myerstown. "They put the ball in play. And they make all the plays." Getting the jump in the playoffs is as important as getting an early lead in a game. And Myerstown set the tone for both with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Tyler George and Kyle Wenter got M-town rolling with a walk and a single. On the back side of the rally, Tyler Reed and Matt Walewski did the damage with a two-run double and an RBI-single, respectively. |
