Washington Township wins Grand Slam

It took five tries, but Washington Township finally took home the first-place trophy in its home baseball tournament.

The Minutemen defeated Cherokee, 15-4, Saturday in the final of the annual Grand Slam Classic. They had not won the title in the previous four years of the event.

Township (8-3) benefited from its own patience at the plate and some erratic pitching from the Chiefs. The Minutemen drew 12 walks, and a runner reach base after being hit by a pitch.

"We really struggled," Cherokee coach Marc Petragnani said of his team's inconsistent command. "We just didn't have it today."

When the Minutemen did get pitches to hit, they took advantage, scoring runs in all but one inning of a game shortened to five innings because of the 10-run rule.

"Our approach is to look fastball and adjust to the curve," Township coach Bill Alvaro said. "We want to get hitter's counts and make pitchers one-pitch pitchers."

Township scored in the first inning when leadoff hitter Dan Simnor scored on a throwing error. Five runs in the second inning and two in the fourth gave the Minutemen an 8-1 lead, before they broke loose for seven more runs in the fifth.

They scored those seven runs on five hits, batting around the lineup. The biggest hit was a two-run triple to right-center field by pinch hitter Tyler Flockton.

"Everybody has a good approach usually, and we just had to hit the strikes that we got," said outfielder Brian Sommermann, who went 2 for 2 with a walk and a run scored before Flockton pinch-hit for him.

Cherokee (9-3) couldn't get anything going on offense until the bottom of the fifth, when it scored three runs. Left fielder Ryan Kelley ripped a two-run double in the inning.

Kelley, who reached base in all three of his plate appearances, was a bright spot for the Chiefs, who had to take out junior second baseman Colin Perro in the second inning after he was struck in the head by an errant throw.

Perro, who is also 2-1 as a pitcher this season, was taken to a hospital with concussion-like symptoms.

Township pitcher Trevor Connors, a senior, was named MVP of the tournament. He allowed four runs on six hits over five innings, striking out five and walking five.

"Trevor's been great all season. He was a little erratic, but he's going to battle to the end," Alvaro said.

Washington Township   15027 - 15100

Cherokee   00013 - 462

WP: Trevor Connors. LP: Shane Elliott. 2B: WT-Shaine Hughes, Brian Sommerman; C-Shane Garrett, Bryan Kelley. 3B: WT-Tyler Flockton.