The hot and humid weather only prolonged a long 10-inning elimination game at Pineknotter Park in Northumberland as Athens fell to Carbondale/Lakewood, 9-7, in the Region V American Legion playoffs on Monday afternoon.
    The game was not a-typically by American Legion baseball standards.
    It was one of those ‘ugly’ games.
    The teams combined for 16 runs, 21 hits and 11 errors in a contest that lasted 3 hours and 30 minutes.
    “I was talking with one of the umpires here and with my father down at first base and this is just my opinion, but, I think we have to go to the wooden bat,” said Kyle Raupers, manger of the Athens American Legion team. “We beat Jersey Shore on Sunday 13-11 and with all of the (combined) numbers from this game, if you put the wooden bat in the game, then everyone pretty much comes to an even keel. The teams like us and the others that were knocked out early, the advantage might break even. If we are going to do major league rules for everything, then let’s throw the wooden bat in there.”
    Each team plated a run in the opening frame before Athens took its only lead of the game at 2-1 in the bottom of the third when Eric Secor scored on an RBI single by starting pitcher Eric Wells. Wells scored two runs and had a single and doubled in six at-bats.
    “We battled all day,” said Raupers. “We’ve been down here for three days and we don’t really have a power-hitter. We don’t have a home run in the three games that we played. We played the small ball game; hit-and-run, try and steal and I took us out of a couple of innings by trying to steal. I had a runner picked off at second base and a runner picked off at first base on a full count.”
    The teams would trade runs back fourth between the fifth and seventh innings before Carbondale plated two runs in the seventh, one of which came on a solo home run to center field by Mitchell Pope to stake a 7-5 Carbondale lead heading into the bottom of the night.
    “Carbondale had the key hits at the right time and our No. 4 batter (Andy Podolionksi) left runners on second and third a couple of times,” added Raupers. “Not only him, but we probably left eight runners or so on second and third with two outs and I don’t think we scored but one run out of it,” added Raupers.
    Athens left 11 runners left on base while Carbondale left 12.
    In the Athens’ ninth, Brian Osborn singled to right to drive in two runs and tie the game at seven with two outs. 
    Matt Rowe then walked to load the bases and Cody Mays hit a fly out to right field to end the inning, but not before two incidents changed the game.
Wells, who waked to load the bases after Shane Raupers opened the frame with a single and Secor walked, was trying to steal home when Mays made the third out. Had Mays seen Wells barreling down the line, it could have led to the game-winning run.
    “There were two strikes when he made a break for home and I told the coaches in the dugout that if they are coming, it’s going to be at the unexpected time,” Raupers said of Wells heading for home. “I’m hoping that with two strikes, they’ll throw a curveball down-and-away and that the catcher has to make a nice save and my runners is there and he has everybody by surprise.”
    Another incident that took place in the Athens’ ninth began when     Carbondale/Lakewood manager got a time out called to visit the mound for an ‘injury’. He then made another trip to the mound after the two runs had scored and then called a timeout and called his catcher over to talk with him.
    According to the Major League Baseball rulebook, which is used for American Legion baseball for its rules, there is no rule for an injury timeout not to be counted as a trip to the mound. The rule is listed under the pitching section, rule 8.06. Therefore, what should have been three trips was only ruled as two by the umpire and when the Carbondale pitcher got back on the mound to pitch to Rowe, it should have been an illegal pitch, thus scoring the runner for third and the game would have been over.
    “The umpire did say that there was an injury timeout and I don’t have a problem with that,” added Raupers. “The problem I have was when they called time out and the catcher went back to talk to the manager. I’m not sure who keeps track of that, the conference or the official rule book, but I’m not that picky on things like that.
    Obviously I would have liked to have won the game, but I am happy with the way the kids preformed.