FINAL: Smith 9, Melvin Roads 6

Hey legion fans. I just arrived at Newburgh's Delano-Hitch Stadium about 30 minutes ago for today's losers bracket matchup between Smith Post and defending state champion Melvin Roads. The game was scheduled to start at 3 p.m., but it looks like we're not going to get underway for at least another two hours as rain and lightning has delayed today's first game (Rockland vs. Newburgh) over an hour.

The field is in terrible shape from a steady dose of rain over the last three days. There are puddles throughout the infield and the batters box is a disaster. There are 13 people working on the infield right now, raking and spreading quick dry in an attempt to get today's games in. The PA announcer just made an plea for more help over the loud speaker, asking "any Newburgh Nuclear fathers that are available" to help clean up the field.

The drive down here was something else. There was steady rain throughout, but a few patches of terrential downpours that were not fun to drive through. I was going 30 mph on the thruway at some points because of the terrible conditions.

I'll keep you guys up-to-date on the status of the Smith game. But, like I said before, it looks like it will be at least another two hours before it gets started.

UPDATE (3:40 p.m.): The improvised grounds crew has done a great job of getting the field cleaned up. They just finished lining the first and third base lines, and the batters box. It looks like the Rockland-Newburgh game will resume within the next 20 minutes. The game was delayed over an hour ago with the two teams tied at nine in the seventh inning. The Smith game will follow shortly after the conclusion of that game.

The Smith players have been waiting patiently in the stands during the delay. The team is hanging out in the grandstand, just relaxing and joking around to pass the time. Several players have made trips to the concession stands and bathroom to break the monotiny.

UPDATE (3:50 p.m.): I just spoke with Smith assistant coach Brad Waters. He told me his team has been at the field since 1 p.m. today and, while the guys are getting a little tired of sitting around, they're dealing okay with the long delay. He said it's becoming a bit of a trend for them as their first-round game Wednesday was delayed for nearly three hours. They arrived at Delano-Hitch Stadium at 8 a.m. that day, only to wait until 1 p.m. to get their game started.

Waters said he thinks today's game against Melvin Roads will be the biggest test for Smith. He said if they can get past Melvin Roads, they "should be in good shape." He also said his team is extra motivated for today since Melvin Roads is the team Smith lost to in last year's state championship game. Kyle Richardson will be the starting pitcher for Smith. Waters said Garrett Baker will likely be used in relief after throwing just 65 pitches in yesterday's win.

The PA announcer just announced that the Rockland-Newburgh game will resume at 4:15 p.m. Again, that game is tied at nine in the seventh. The Smith game will follow once that game concludes.

UPDATE (5 p.m.): The Rockland-Newburgh game is now in the bottom of the eighth inning with Newburgh leading 12-10. Newburgh is the home team.

The Smith-Melvin Roads game will start approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of this game.

UPDATE (5:23 p.m.): This Rockland-Newburgh game seems like it might never end. It looked like Newburgh was well on their way to sending Rockland home with a 14-10 lead going into the top of the ninth inning. But, Rockland wasn't going to go down without a fight. Now, nearly five and half hours after the game's first pitch was thrown, Rockland scored two runs to cut the lead in half and now has runners on second and third with two outs.

UPDATE (5:26 p.m.): Well, we're going to be waiting a bit longer for the Smith game. Rockland just tied the game with a 2-RBI single past Newburgh's diving shortstop. It now has the go-ahead run on first. Newburgh is the home team.

UPDATE (5:37 p.m.): The Rockland-Newburgh game is heading into extra innings tied at 14.

UPDATE (5:50 p.m.): Newburgh just beat Rockland on a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning. Newburgh advances to face the loser of tonight's Jurek-Anaconda game (orginally scheduled for 7 p.m., but they obviously aren't going to get started then) at 4 p.m. tomorrow. We're looking at a 6:40 p.m. start time for the Smith-Melvin Roads game. I'll keep you guys posted...

UPDATE (6:15 p.m.): We're about 25 minutes away from the start of a losers bracket game between Smith and Melvin Roads. Smith fell 8-4 in the tournament's first round on Wednesday and then eliminated Horseheads with a 16-5 mercy-rule victory yesterday to get to today's game. Melvin Roads beat Newburgh 4-0 Wednesday and then lost 7-6 to Anaconda last night after holding a 6-0 lead. Melvin Roads is the defending New York State champion.

The tournament is now down to five teams: Anaconda (2-0), Jurek (2-0), Smith (1-1), Melvin Roads (1-1), and Newburgh (2-1). Anaconda and Jurek meet in today's final game (following Smith vs. Melvin Roads) with the winner advancing to face the winner of the Smith-Melvin Roads game at 7 p.m. tomorrow. The loser of the Anaconda-Jurek game takes on Newburgh at 4 p.m. tomorrow. The loser of the Smith-Melvin Roads game will be eliminated from the tournament.

Now, on to Smith's third game of the state tournament. Smith is the home team after winning the coin toss for the third time in three games.

Starting lineups:
Smith (28-4-1)
1. Kyle Richardson, P
2. Ryan Kramer, SS
3. Nate Mallinder, CF
4. Zack Ciccotti, C
5. Jason Nowicki, LF
6. Joe Melioris, 3B
7. Eli Hendrington, 2B
8. Ryan Marquette, 1B
9. Ryan Cooke, RF
Pitcher: Kyle Richardson, RHP

Melvin Roads (24-13)
1. Kevin Barnes, SS
2. A.J. Ragone, 2B
3. Mike Krogh, 3B
4. John Barna, 1B
5. Ryan Regan, LF
6. Anibal Maldonado, CF
7. Joe Fazioli, DH
8. Mike Barana, C
9. Anthony Valenti, RF
Pitcher: Ethan Lyons, RHP

*If the fans could score runs, Smith would win this one by the mercy rule. Smith has a noticable advantage in crowd size and loudness. The Smith fans went nuts during the team's introduction. You could hear a pin drop while Melvin Road's players were being introduced. I think the big Smith crowd is an Oneida County thing. When I was here for the 2005 NYS tournament and the 2006 Mid-Atlantic Regional as a player for New Hartford, we always had the biggest crowd (even bigger than the hometown Newburgh team - Smith has that too).

*I have a great view of the action from up in the press box. However (and this unfortunate), the view only re-enforces my opinion that the state tournament should be permanantly moved to Murnane Field's Donovan Stadium in Utica. The facilities here at Delano-Hitch Stadium are nice, but the field itself is far from the best (not even close to Murnane) and the crowds that are drawn to the tournament games here are nowhere near as large as they are when the tournament is held in Utica. The tournament is just much better overall when it is played in Utica (and I speak from experience having played in two state tournaments at Murnane, and a state and Mid-Atlantic Regional tournament here at Delano-Hitch).

*6:47 p.m. - We're finally underway here in Newburgh (three hours and forty seven minutes after the originally scheduled start time).

Top 1st: Barnes grounded out to Melioris at third for the first out. Ragone grounded out weakly to Melioris for the second out. Krogh single past a diving Melioris to give Melvin Roads a two-out base runner. Barna grounded out 6-3 to end the inning.

Bottom 1st: Richardson ripped a line-drive double down the left field line to lead off. Kramer laid down a 2-4 sacrifice bunt to move Richardson to third with one out. Mallinder bombed a RBI triple off the base of the wall in center field to put Smith in front. Smith 1, Melvin Roads 0. Ciccotti ripped a shot off the left field fence (a foot higher and it would have been a home run) for an RBI double. Smith 2, Melvin Roads 0. Nowicki singled to left to put runners on the corners with one out. Melioris walked to load the bases with one out. Hendrington hit a sacrifice fly to left to score Ciccotti from third (runners on first and second, two outs). Smith 3, Melvin Roads 0. Marquette flew out to center to end the inning.

Smith 3, Melvin Roads 0

Top 2nd: Regan doubled down the left field line to lead off. Maldonado was beaned to put runners on first and second with no outs. Fazioli grounded into a 6-4-3 double play (runner on third, two outs). Regan scored on a passed ball on a pitch in the dirt that tipped off Ciccotti's glove all the way to the backstop. Smith 3, Melvin Roads 1. Barana struck out swinging for the third out.

Bottom 2nd: Cooke gave it a ride to deep center, but was retired for the first out on a nice running catch by Maldanado. Richardson hit a double to the gap in right-center (his second double of the game). Kramer reached on a throwing error by the third baseman as his throw was high and pulled the first baseman off the bag. Mallinder flew out to deep center for the second out. Richardson tagged on the play (runners on first and third, two outs). Richardson scored from third as Kramer stole second and the catcher's throw was low and skidded into center field. Kramer went to third and Richardson scored on the errant throw. Smith 4, Melvin Roads 1. Ciccotti walked and Kramer scored on the play as the catcher dropped the ball when he went to throw it back to the pitcher. The ball slipped out of his hand and rolled all the way into the Smith dugout on the third base side, allowing Kramer to come home. Smith 5, Melvin Roads 1. Nowicki flew out to the warning track in left field to end the inning.

Smith 5, Melvin Roads 1

Top 3rd: Valenti grounded out 6-3 for the first out. Barnes struck out swinging for the second out. Ragone hit a two-out single to right. Krogh singled to put runners on first and second with two outs. Barna hit an RBI single to right and then advanced to second on Cooke's throw to the plate (runners on second and third, two outs). Smith 5, Melvin Roads 2. Regan continued the two-out rally with a two-RBI single to right. Smith 5, Melvin Roads 4. Maldonado grounded out sharply 1-3 for the third out.

*Garrett Baker is warming up in the Smith bullpen. Baker needed just 65 pitches to pick up the win in yesterday's game. Smith assistant coach Brad Waters told me that Baker would likely be who they go with if they need to relieve Richardson.

Bottom 3rd: Melioris singled to center to lead off. Hedrington laid down a 1-3 sacrifice bunt to move Melioris to second with one out. Marquette hit a RBI double to right to score Melioris from second. Smith 6, Melvin Roads 4. Cooke reached on an infield single that turned into quite the whacky play. Cooke just beat the second baseman's throw to first on a weakly hit grounder up the middle. The throw was low and got away from the first baseman for an error. Marquette went to third on the single and then scored when the throw skipped away from the first baseman. Cooke advanced to second as the first baseman's throw home (in an attempt to get Marquette) was wild. Smith 7, Melvin Roads 4. Richardson grounded out 5-3 for the second out (Cooke went to third on the play). Kramer popped out to the first baseman in foul territory to end the inning.

Smith 7, Melvin Roads 4

Top 4th: Fazioli popped out to Marquette in foul territory for the first out. Barana popped out to Melioris for the second out. Valenti popped out to Marquette in foul territory for the third out.

Bottom 4th: Mallinder reached on a error by the second baseman as he bobbled a grounder and couldn't recover in time to make the throw to first. Ciccotti laid down a 1-3 sacrifice bunt to move Mallinder to second with one out. Nowicki singled to left to put runners on the corners with one out. Nowicki stole second. Melioris reached on a throwing error by the shortstop as his throw was high and pulled the first baseman off the bag (bases loaded, one out). Hedrington hit a sacrifice fly to center (his second of the game) to score Mallinder from third (runners on first and second, two outs). Smith 8, Melvin Roads 4. Marquette walked to load the bases. Cooke flew out to center to end the inning, leaving the bases loaded.

Smith 8, Melvin Roads 4

Top 5th: Barnes singled to right to lead off. Ragone laid down a 5-3 sacrifice bunt to move Barnes to second with one out. Krogh hit an RBI double to right to score Barnes from second. Smith 8, Melvin Roads 5. Barna singled home Krogh, but was thrown out (9-3-6) trying to reach second on the right fielder's throw to the cutoff man. Smith 8, Melvin Roads 6. Regan doubled to the gap in left-center. Maldonado struck out swinging for the third out.

Bottom 5th: Richardson grounded out 5-3 for the first out. Kramer popped out to the second baseman for the second out. Mallinder drew a two-out walk. Ciccotti flew out to left to end the inning.

Smith 8, Melvin Roads 6

Top 6th: Fazioli struck out swinging for the first out. Barana popped out to Marquette for the second out. Valenti grounded out to Richardson for the third out.

Bottom 6th: Nowicki struck out for the first out. Melioris popped out to the catcher for the second out. Hendrington grounded out to third to end the inning.

Smith 8, Melvin Roads 6

*Garrett Baker has replaced Richardson on the mound for Smith. Baker threw 65 pitches and picked up the win in yesterday's 16-5 victory over Horseheads. Richardson moved to center. Mallinder shifted over to left field and Nowicki went to right. Baker will bat in the nine hole, replacing Cooke.

Top 7th: Barnes struck out on a check swing (that was appealed to the first base umpire) for the first out. Ragone singled to left. Krogh flew out to Nowicki in right for the second out. Barna singled up the middle. Ragone went from first to third on the play and Barna advanced to second on Richardson's throw to third that was just late. Regan grounded out to Hendrington for the third out, stranding two runners in scoring position.

Bottom 7th: Marquette struck out swinging for the first out. Baker grounded out 4-3 for the second out. Richardson struck out swinging to end the inning.

Smith 8, Melvin Roads 6

Top 8th: Maldonado singled to left to lead off. Tyler Rose has come in the pinch hit for Fazioli. Rose struck out swinging for the first out. Maldonado was caught stealing for the second out (it wasn't even close as Ciccotti gunned him down with plenty of time to spare - Malodonado didn't even bothering sliding). Baker struck out Barana swinging for the third out.

*Who knows what would have happened had Malodano not been thrown out stealing, but the unsuccessful steal attempt is definitely something the Melvin Roads coaching staff will be kicking themselves about if they end up losing this game. Trailing by two runs in the top of eighth and trying to steal second is awfully questionable. Perhaps there was a mix-up in the signs? Either way, it was a big play at a very important time in the game.

Bottom 8th: Kramer struck out for the first out. Mallinder got beaned to put a runner on first base. Ciccotti singled to left (Mallinder went from first to third) to put runners on the corners with no outs. Nowicki smoked a RBI double to the wall in left (runners on second and third, one out). Smith 9, Melvin Roads 6. Melioris struck out swinging for the second out. Hedrington struck out looking to end the inning.

Smith 9, Melvin Roads 6

Top 9th: Valenti grounded out to Kramer for the first out. Barnes flew out to left for the second out. Ragone singled to right on a fly ball that was just out of the reach of a diving Nowicki. Krogh struck out swinging to end the game.

FINAL: Smith 9, Melvin Roads 6