Published: July 01, 2008 11:45 pm            

Principle makes move late

A big blast, a well-placed bunt and a fortuitous bounce produced a pair of seventh-inning runs for Principle Development in a 3-2 win over the MCS Bulldogs in Tuesday’s early AAABA League game at Point Stadium.

“We were struggling all game and we knew we had to play small-ball late and get runners moving around the base pads,” said Principle left fielder Ben Leonard, whose safety squeeze bunt produced the game-winner. “The kid (Bulldogs left-hander Matt Whiteman) was holding us to a few hits. We just came through and made the plays when we had to.”

Andy Rubal’s one-out double started the winning rally. After Dan Mangini walked, Eli Traup grounded to second base. Cody Swope cleanly fielded the ball and tossed toward shortstop Michael Claycomb for a potential force out. Instead, the ball hit Mangini’s helmet and bounced away, allowing Rubal to score and Mangini to reach third.

Reliever Andrew Fitzpatrick faced Leonard, who put down a bunt a few feet from the plate. As catcher Dylan Snowberger picked up the ball to throw out Leonard, Mangini broke for the plate.

“During the pitching change, right before I went into the box, (manager Tony Joseph) asked, ‘Can you bunt?’ ” Leonard said. “I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘We’ll try it out.’ It wasn’t a planned squeeze. We saw the opportunity.”

Principle’s Gregg Bandzuh worked out of a jam in the bottom of the seventh to complete a seven-hitter with eight strikeouts. The Bulldogs’ Whiteman struck out 11 while allowing six hits in 61⁄3 innings.

“Coach said, ‘Watch for the suicide,’ ” said Mangini, who scored twice. “I kind of safety squeezed. I didn’t go off the bat for a suicide. It was a mixed signal but it worked out.”

Each team plated its first run in the sixth.

Mangini led off with a double and scored on Leonard’s single to center.

“The kid was pitching a good game and we only had one or two hits at the time,” Mangini said. “I was trying to make good contact.”

Bulldogs first baseman Mark Saxman led off the bottom of the sixth with a drive that cleared the brick wall in left-center. That blast was this season’s first AAABA home run over the fence at the Point.

“The at-bat before that he threw me a hanging slider and I let it go,” Saxman said. “That time I was looking for it. I had two strikes on me. He threw the pitch I wanted, and I was ready for it that time.”

The Bulldogs closed within a run in the bottom of the seventh. Claycomb walked, Whiteman singled, and Saxman hit into a fielder’s choice to put runners on the corners. Claycomb scored after third baseman Matt Stahl’s throw was wide on Dylan Snowberger’s slow grounder. With runners on second and third, Bandzuh induced Jeff Davis’ game-ending ground out.

“It was definitely a pitchers duel,” Bulldogs manager Matt Duval said. “They both went out and did their job. They threw strikes and got people out. I was just hoping maybe (Bandzuh) would get tired and start putting the ball out over the plate and we’d start hitting it. They felt the pressure there with two outs.”

        

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