The bat of George Spady Jr. and the arm of Anthony Polanco carried Arlingtons Spady Eagles to victory over their city rival Thompson Pirates. The Eagles trailed early but rallied with some big hits in the late innings to win 12-9.
In a game that featured a number of impressive hitting performances, Spady went 4-4 with a single, double, two triples and two RBI to lead the way for the Eagles. Also swinging the bat well were Gage Gilbertson, who finished 2-4 with a single, triple, and three RBI, and Tre Sutherland who wound up 2-3 with a single, double, walk and one RBI.
It was a hard fought victory for the Eagles as the Pirates struck first in the bottom of the second inning. With two runners aboard, Bradley Mosalsky chopped a sharp grounder to third base which was snared nicely by Cullin Housley. Housley fired to second base base but the throw was bobbled and trickled into shallow right field. Two runners scored on the play giving the Pirates an early 2-0 lead.
The Eagles answered back in the top of the fourth inning when Spady tripled to lead off the inning and Tre Sutherland drilled a double right behind him. Anthony Polanco followed up with a single scoring Sutherland and the game was tied 2-2.
In the bottom half of the inning the Pirates went back ahead. Bradley Moslasky again did the damage for the home team as he singled to get things rolling. Tevin Neumann then tripled to score Moslasky from first base putting the Pirates back up 3-2.
Not to be deterred, the Eagles got right back to their hitting ways in the top half of the fifth inning. A walk to Cullin Housley brought George Spady back to the plate. Spady unleashed a triple over the head of the centerfielder to tie the score 3-3. After a Tre Sutherland walk, Anthony Polanco reached on an error and Spady scored on the play. Gage Gilbertson then broke the game open with a two RBI triple to put the Eagles up 6-3. Matt Seiber doubled behind him to put the Eagles comfortably in command 7-3.
The lead, albeit large, was short lived. The Pirates got all four runs back in the bottom half of the fifth inning, largely due to patience at the plate. Four walks and two hit batsmen contributed to the big inning. After five innings the score was knotted 7-7.
That was when the Eagles broke it wide open again. Noah Andal roped a double to get things started. Ernie Chamberlain singled behind him to put the Eagles ahead 8-7. After a walk to Diarmuid Murphy, George Spady delivered with another clutch RBI. Spady singled into left field to score Chamberlain and advance Murphy to third. Spady then stole second base before Anthony Polanco smoked a two RBI single. Polanco advanced to second base on a passed ball and score on a Gage Gilbertson single. Gilbertson took second base on the throw home for Polanco. Gilbertson then scored on a Matt Seiber single. After the dust settled, the Eagles led 12-7 going into the last half inning.
But the Pirates did not go quietly into the night. Tyler Williamson walked to start the bottom half of the sixth inning. Cody Boober then ripped a triple to score Williamson standing up. Boober scored as the next batter, Kyle Studerus, hit into a fielders choice. With the score 12-9, the pressure began to rise for the Eagles. Pitcher Anthony Polanco still needed two more outs to secure the win. He gritted his teeth and pounded the ball into his mitt, ready to go to work. Polanco then nailed down a key strikeout to pull the Eagles within one out of victory. Still the Pirates remained patient at the plate and walks to Derek Kuhn and Deven Thompson brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Brad Mosalsky. Mosalsky nearly delivered the goods for home team as he drilled a sharp ground ball down the third base line. Unfortunately for the Mosalsky and the Pirates, George Spady knocked the ball down and had plenty of time to regather it and touch third base for a force out ahead of the speedy Kuhn.
It was celebration time for the Eagles as the coaching staff and players stormed out of the dugout. The team basked in the excitement.
We played hard the whole year, said coach George Spady Sr., All the way down the line, from the players to the coaches, we worked hard. That extra work really put us over the top.
One of the games stars, Anthony Polanco, talked about his own personal heroics on the mound.
I was really excited out there. Pretty nervous actually. I was trying to throw strikes and keep focused on the win.
As for the offensive firepower, George Spady Jr. seemed eager to credit his coaching staff.
The coaches told us to step back and wait for pitches. Their pitcher was throwing high strikes so if we waited the ball would come right in where we could hit it. Its an awesome feeling to win this. It just feels good.