PASSING — Peyton Toepfer makes a tackle against Linsley on Monday. — Nick Henthorne
WELLSBURG — It was a quiet Monday for the Bruins and the visiting Linsley Cadets as the sun shone. But once dusk fell and the lights came on, it was showtime for the home team. Brook scored two in the bottom of the seventh to walk away with the comeback win, 2-1, and move to .500 at 7-7.
Brook started the bottom of the seventh with a groundout, but then got two on via a walk and a hit by pitch on a full count. With the tying run on first base, Henry Anderson hit a single into left field and Peyton Toepfer popped up to score and tie the game 1-1. A popup led to the second out, but until their last at-bat, Bruins leadoff hitter Raymond DeFranco ripped a single to center field — but the runner from second held on to third to load the bases.
With the winning run, pinch runner Andrew Murdoch leading off third base, a pitch squeaked by the catcher and spun all the way to the backstop. The game ended when Murdock crossed the plate standing up.
“This is huge for us,” Brooke head coach Doug Costain said. “We’re 7-7 now and we’ve been on the other side of those one-and-done games against some really good teams. My first year in this position, I asked these kids to do a lot of things, raise the bar a lot, and they really stepped up.”
Peyton Toepfer tossed the first six innings Monday, striking out five and giving up just one run. Henry Anderson got the win after standing in the top of the seventh, striking out three. Both also drove in the Bruins’ two-run seventh in a big way, Toepfer drawing a walk and scoring while Anderson drove in the tying run.
“Peyton Toepfer on the mound today, he just pulled himself together, stuck his neck out and did it for us,” Costain said. “Then we bring in Henry Anderson, Jr. to take those three outs, and that’s not an easy position. The children came back, stayed alive and believed in themselves. They deserve it, this win is for them.”
Toepfer’s double in pitching was also impressive in what was a pitcher’s duel. Linsley starter Dylan Wilson logged 6.1 innings with seven strikeouts and two walks, though he would be tagged with the loss.
“Our guy was doing pretty well. The fastball worked pretty well. For the most part, the curve can be quite effective. For a high school baseball game, those are two really nice pitchers. They both had one hit in what, the sixth inning? Good performance from both sides.”
With Toepfer and Wilson retiring, Linsly scored the lone run of the game before the bottom of the seventh, stringing together three good at-bats with two outs in the top of the fourth to bring in a run.
Chris Upton drew a walk for Linsley and advanced to second on a single up the middle by Nate Berhalter. Rocco Paolina ended the sequence with a single to center that scored Upton. Toepfer would respond with a strikeout to strand two runners.
Brook got runners on in the bottom of the fourth and fifth, but couldn’t cash in. After going down 1-2-3 in the sixth, the Bruins worked the bats better, rallying for the win in the bottom of the seventh.
“We executed. That’s our game plan, we’re looking for players any way we can get them until you get hit. Everybody believes in that and that can help us get on base and make something happen, and it did.”
