Cumberland Orioles walk off Fort Cumberland in extras, 9-8

Jun. 26—POTOMAC PARK — When Cumberland Orioles manager Dave Rinehart needed to turn to his bullpen in only the second inning Saturday, Ben Russell was just the first guy to raise his hand.

It would be Rinehart's last pitching change.

"This is my game," Russell barked in the ninth, and he pitched in extra innings too, tossing 8 1/3 frames and 104 pitches in long relief. The right-hander hadn't toed the rubber once all year.

With new life, the Cumberland Orioles overcame an early 6-2 hole, and Nick Capozzi finished off the comeback with a walk-off single to left to beat Fort Cumberland Post 13, 9-8, in 10 innings at Memorial Field.

"Good overall win, especially when the starter gets bounced in the second," Rinehart said. "Nice comeback win. Proud of the guys. Come back tomorrow, and we'll try to get two more wins."

The Orioles, of the Fayette County Baseball League, improved to 6-4 overall with the victory. The loss dropped Fort Cumberland to 2-2.

Russell got his chance after lefthanded starter Aiden Kirk (Allegany College) was forced to leave the game with what appeared to be a case of heat exhaustion. He recorded just five outs.

In came Russell from first base, scattering eight hits over 8 1/3 innings to allow one run, striking out six and walking three.

"Didn't see that one coming," Rinehart said. "Great performance from him. It goes so far beyond just the game. We save some guys that we'll be able to use for tomorrow."

Fort Cumberland played small ball in the 10th to take an 8-7 lead.

The FCBL uses professional rules, so a "ghost runner," who made the last out of the previous inning, is placed at second base to begin the frame. Caedon Wallace (Allegany) bunted the runner to third, and Landon McAlpine (Mountain Ridge) drove him in with a sacrifice fly to center.

It took one pitch for Austin Amtower (ACM) to plate in the ghost runner in the bottom half with a game-tying RBI single up the middle. Amtower advanced to second on the throw to the plate, and he took third on a wild pitch.

After Fort Cumberland manager Scott Stevenson elected to put Kobe White (ACM) on with an intentional walk, Capozzi sent the first pitch he saw to left to walk it off.

"To go down against a Pen Mar team, tied in the ninth inning and go to extra innings, I'm proud of these kids," Stevenson said. "I think we hit the ball well, we played decent defensively. We just came down in an extra-inning game and got beat."

Fort Cumberland centerfielder Bradyn Speir (Mountain Ridge) led all hitters with five in six at-bats, driving in a run with a second-inning triple.

Wes Athey (Davis & Elkins/Allegany) went 2 for 5 with a double, an RBI and three runs scored; Alex Kennell (Allegany) batted 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run; Allan Stevenson (ACM/Fort Hill) was 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored; and McAlpine also singled.

Cayden Bratton (Allegany) got the start for Fort Cumberland, allowing five runs (three earned) on five hits with two Ks and a walk in three innings of work. McClay took the loss.

Bryce Schadt (Fort Hill) gave a strong effort with four innings of middle relief. The right-hander surrendered two unearned runs on five hits with three Ks and no free passes.

"He had a heck of an outing," Scott Stevenson said of Schadt. "I got four innings out of him at 52 pitches, that's pretty efficient against these guys."

Both teams' catchers, Allan Stevenson and Josef Sneathen (Allegany), threw out base-runners Saturday. Sneathen threw out two Fort Cumberland would-be base stealers in the seventh inning alone.

The Cumberland Orioles had 14 base hits to Fort Cumberland's 12.

Vince DiLeonardo (ACM) and Sneathen led the charge with three hits apiece. Sneathen drove in three runs, tallying a pair of RBIs on a triple down the right-field line with two outs in the third.

Sneathen's two-bagger made it 6-5 Fort Cumberland, and the catcher tied the score at 7-all in the fifth with an RBI grounder to right. Neither team scored over the final four innings of regulation.

White and Russell notched two hits apiece. One of White's was a triple, and Russell doubled. White, the Orioles centerfielder, also recorded an assist when he gunned down a runner at the plate in the second inning.

The Cumberland Orioles played a doubleheader against ARH Industries on Sunday. They host the Mill Run Millers on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Fort Cumberland (2-1 in Western Maryland) has a doubleheader at Garrett County Post 71/208/214 (7-4 overall, 1-2 Western Maryland) on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Garrett College.

Alex Rychwalski is a sports reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @arychwal.