ROCKY RIVER, Ohio -- A recent spate of cold, wet weather took a rest on Tuesday. Fortunately for the Pirates, junior Gavin O'Brien did not.
With O'Brien's work on the mound and at the plate, Rocky River pulled off a 10-9 Great Lakes Conference victory over North Olmsted Tuesday.
O'Brien was Rocky River's starting pitcher and extricated himself and the Pirates from jams in the first, second, and third innings. O'Brien eventually exited mid-game having allowed six runs (three earned), but his four frames were a tightrope walk, negotiating leadoff men reaching four time, six hits, three walks, and a hit batter. The junior right-hander was the beneficiary of five outs on the bases, and he stranded four runners. That those nine potential runs did not score would loom large in the final score. And in O'Brien himself having something to do about it in the bottom of the seventh.
Rocky River (4-2, 2-1 GLC) walked its way to six runs in the home half of the second inning. Five walks in and around RBI singles by Anthony Ferchill and Thomas Rossi lifted River to a 6-1 lead at the time. But the visitors battled back.
The Eagles plated six runs in the fifth. In the bottom half of that frame, they held the Pirates scoreless for a third straight inning. The game went into the sixth with North Olmsted leading 9-6.
Julian Patti pitched a 1-2-3 sixth, and the Pirates manufactured an unearned run in the home half. The contest went into the seventh with the Eagles leading 9-7. Patti wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the seventh. The bottom half of the seventh opened with a strikeout, and the River Nine was two outs away from falling to defeat.
A single up the middle by Jake Florentine got things going for the Pirates. Florentine moved up a bag when Ferchill was plunked. After another punchout (Eagles pitchers had 12 in the game) and with the Maroon & White down to their last out, Rocky River got a key single to right off the bat of Braedon Spies. Florentine came in to score.
Trailing 9-8 and with runners on first and second, Rossi reached on an infield single. That brought O'Brien to the plate with three aboard and two down. After a called strike and two foul balls, O'Brien ripped a liner to right.
Ferchill scored. Spies scored. Both darted down the third-base line under a head of steam, but they were no faster than their Pirate teammates who poured off the bench and out onto the field to mob O'Brien and celebrate the 10-9, walk-off win.
For the game, O'Brien went 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base. Ferchill (two singles, hit by pitch) and Rossi (two singles, walk) also reached base three times. Florentine walked twice and singled twice to reach base four times.
Patti pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings and struck out five. He has not allowed a run in 7-2/3 innings this season.
Gavin O'Brien's walk-off RBIs marked his sixth and seventh of the season. He is 9-for-15 (.600) at the plate through River's first six games.
Weather-wise and otherwise, Game 6 was a beauty.
CANNON FIRE ...
RIVER WALK: Through six games, River batters have worked 38 walks. The squad is batting .371 (62-of-167) and owns a hefty .498 on-base percentage.
CLUTCH BUCS: The Pirates are batting .383 with runners in scoring position, and 19 of the team's 36 runs batted in have come with two outs.
by Skip Snow
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