Baltimore gets chance No. 5

BY MIKE MASTOVICH
The Tribune-Democrat

August 12, 2007 12:09 am

— Youse’s Maryland Orioles of Baltimore won Round 2 in a clash of AAABA Tournament heavyweights on Saturday night.
Baltimore combined a six-run sixth and the strong pitching of right-hander Scott Swinson to beat previously undefeated Washington McLean Raiders 9-3 in the nightcap at Point Stadium.
Baltimore (5-1) earned a spot in the title game this afternoon.
Washington (4-1) will play New Orleans (4-1) at 1 p.m. for the right to meet Baltimore in the title contest 30 minutes after that first game’s completion.
Baltimore sent 11 hitters to the plate in the sixth, scoring six times to break open a close game with a 9-1 advantage.
Wink Nolan, Steven Bumbry, Nick Natoli, L.J. Hoes and Justin Boar each singled during the rally.
“That sixth inning, we started hitting the ball and getting into a groove,” Swinson said. “We started to work together in that inning.”
Washington beat Baltimore 6-5 on Tuesday in the first meeting of the clubs.
Hoes, Alex Buchholz, Bumbry and Natoli each had two hits for Baltimore. Buchholz drove in a pair.
Robert Shields tripled and scored for Washington in the eighth.
Baltimore is the four-time defending champion. New Orleans has 12 crowns and Washington, 10, including five titles in six years from 1997 to 2002. One of those teams has won the AAABA Tournament each year since Brooklyn did in 1994.