Glass Slippers Fit Indians Fine

Last-Place Club Is One Win Away from PPBA’s Mustang Division Championship

The Indians wrote another chapter to their Cinderella season Tuesday afternoon at the Palisades Recreation Center’s Field of Dreams with a dramatic 7-6 comeback over the Orioles to advance to the Palisades Pony Baseball Association’s Mustang Division World Series, which begins today at 4:30 p.m. Despite finishing 2-14 in the regular season and being seeded dead last in the playoffs, the Indians never stopped believing they could win it all. Since losing to the Dodgers, 10-7, in their postseason opener, the Indians have reeled off four wins in a row–three of them by only one run. The Indians’ win over the Orioles was not without controversy. The tribe trailed 6-5 in the top of the sixth inning when Jack Wyman drew a walk, then stole second. Jack’s brother Charlie then singled, moving Jack to third. When Jack attempted to steal home, the errant throw rolled into the Indians’ dugout, allowing him to score. The home plate umpire also signaled home Charlie Wyman, who had moved to third, with the go-ahead run. “The umpire decided to allow the run, but it only happened when the ball went into their [the Indians’] dugout,” Orioles head coach Chris Fracchiola said. “But the door to their dugout was open and it’s not supposed to be. If it was closed, the ball would’ve remained in play and the kid on third never would’ve scored because he wasn’t running.” PPBA Commissioner Bob Benton was at the game and agreed with the umpire’s decision to allow the run to score. “Once the ball crosses that imaginary line of the dugout, it’s a dead ball and the penalty for throwing the ball out of bounds is one base,” Benton said later. “The closed-gate policy is something we try to follow for safety reasons, but it’s not a baseball rule. The umpire made the proper call.” Indians’ head coach John Closson was happy his team won but sympathized with the Orioles. “When the ball was thrown away, the umpire immediately pointed to the runner on third and sent him home,” Closson said. “All I did is appeal to Bob [Benton] and let him make a determination.” After Joe Rosenbaum and Chris Groel each pitched two innings, Kyle Warner pitched the fifth inning and returned to the mound in the sixth inning for the Indians. He allowed two walks but struck out the side to end the game. “This was a great baseball game, one of the most exciting I’ve been a part of,” Closson said. “It was a back and forth type of game and it’s a shame one team had to lose.” Daniel Gurvis hit a home run to left center field to tie the game, 5-5, in the top of the fourth inning for the Indians, who scored four runs in the third inning only to watch the Orioles answer with five of their own in the bottom of the fourth. John Fracchiola had two singles, Jack Zamacoma had an RBI triple and Drew Pion doubled and singled for the Orioles. Because several Indians players would’ve had to miss Wednesday’s World Series opener against the Dodgers due to a school commitment, Dodgers coach Bill Elder offered to move the game back one day, meaning the first game will be this afternoon. If the Dodgers win, they are the champions, but if the Indians win today, a decisive game will be played tomorrow at 7 p.m. Bronco Division The Braves advanced to Wednesday’s World Series with a 7-3 victory over the Indians. Evan Meister pitched the first three innings and Matt Demogenes pitched the last three, and struck out the final batter, for the Braves (11-9-1), who finished third in the National League during the regular season. “This was an incredible team effort,” Braves head coach Charlie Meister said. “It’s one thing to want to win but it’s another to do the job on the field and that’s what we did. To win in the playoffs, you have to get production from the bottom of the lineup and that’s what we got.” Kevin McKenzie, Hugo Bertram and Ryan Angelich each had two hits and Griffey Simon had a two-run double for the Braves, who scored four runs in the fourth inning to build a 7-2 lead. The Indians led 2-1 in the second inning when Casey Jordan hit a game-tying home run over the center field fence. The Braves advanced to play the Dodgers, who handed the Braves their only playoff loss, 6-4. Dylan Jeffers singled to score brothers Eli and Nate Redmond in the first inning. Jeffers then doubled and scored on a base hit by Austin Kamel in the fourth inning to provide the final margin. Pinto Division Jack Halpert went three-for-three and Matt McGeagh had three RBIs as the Indians eliminated the Dodgers. 5-1, and advanced to Wednesday’s World Series against the Braves. AFter reaching on an error in the top of the first inning, Daniel Riva scored on McGeagh’s single. Mac Bradley added a run in the second inning on a single by Joe Brown for a 2-1 lead, then the Indians (12-9) broke the game open with three runs in the third. After Riva reached on an error and Jack McGeagh singled, brother Matt McGeagh hit a two-RBI double and Halpert followed with an RBI single. The Dodgers tied the game, 1-1, in the bottom of the first inning on a single by Kevin McNamee that scored Jackson Kogan. The Indians advanced to Wednesday’s World Series to play the Braves, who beat the Indians, 4-2, in eight innings in the first round of the playoffs.