Published: August 13, 2008 12:26 am      

Schenectady walks off with win at Revloc

REVLOC — Schenectady survives.

The PNA team from New York charged from behind Tuesday afternoon to take the lead from the Youngstown Metros, only to squander it with an unearned run in the top of the ninth inning.

However, in the bottom of the ninth, Schenectady took advantage of a hit batsman and an error to pull out an 8-7 victory over the Metros in an elimination game at Cambria Township Recreation Park.

Schenectady manager Todd Godlewski liked the resilience of his squad.

“That’s the way they’ve played all year,” Godlewski said about his team’s comeback. “This team is not going to give up; they're going to play nine innings. They feel that they’re going to win every game that they go out and play, and you can’t ask for more than that.”

In the bottom of the ninth, Youngstown’s hard-luck loser, Corey Vukovic, hit Evan Davis with a pitch, and Schenectady second baseman Jason Freethey sacrificed Davis to second. Davis then scored an unearned run on an error on Jordan Emerson’s ground ball to earn the victory.

Youngstown held a 5-2 lead going into the bottom of the fifth when the Schenectady squad put together a huge uprising.

The PNA team knocked out four hits, with key doubles by Jayson Osborne and Davis leading the offense. Craig McGee also had a bunt single and Freethey added a single in the inning, with David Raczka knocking in a run with a sacrifice fly. Schenectady also took advantage of two walks to score runs, with Youngstown starter Cory McGinnis and reliever Shane Liska each giving up one.

That gave the PNA squad a 7-5 lead, but the Metros clawed their way back with single runs in the top of the eighth and ninth to tie the game at 7.

In the ninth, Youngstown left fielder Joe Iacobucci reached base on an error and his pinch runner, Rich Tisone, took second on a wild pitch by eventual winner Scooter Scott.

Scott’s bad luck continued, with Jim Pasquinie knocking a ball to shortstop that was mishandled, allowing Tisone to score.

While disappointed with the loss, Youngstown coach Bob Mingo put the game into perspective.

“This team is built for this tournament. We’ve played over 70 games together before coming to this tournament,” Mingo said. “You drum in their heads that this is what it’s all about and the hype that the Johnstown AAABA Tournament is one of the greatest tournaments in the country. So, it’s a little disheartening to go out 0-2, but the young ones who are here today are going to learn from that and know what to expect and get ready for next year.”

Both teams were hurt by the number of runners they left on base: Schenectady left 12 while Youngstown stranded eight.

Freethey and Osborne each had two hits.

Scott gave up three runs on two hits in five innings.

Dom Silvestre had two RBIs for Youngstown and Dane Dobson drove in three runs.