UTICA — Things started out rather well for the Utica Post 92 baseball team on Wednesday. But the team let the game slip away, time and again, dropping a 10-8 decision to Lancaster Post 11 in their American Legion Baseball matchup in Utica.
Utica (6-4) jumped to an early 4-0 lead, loading the bases and taking advantage of a pair of errors. Utica’s Cody Workman, Jordan Corbtt, Austin Skeese and Daniel Mellott scored in the first.
Lancaster climbed back into the game in the second when Brad Gary smacked a two-run triple. The team added another run in the third on a Taylor Kapp RBI double to draw to within a run, 4-3.
Post 92 struck right back in the bottom of the third when catcher Drew Beaver stepped to the plate with Mellott on third and Storm Strout on second. Beaver delivered with a two-RBI single to boost his team’s lead to 6-3.
Lancaster tied the game in the fifth on a 2-run single by Jackson Rucker, who was later forced out at second. The team attempted the double play, but the ball sailed well over first base, allowing Lancaster’s Kyle Willis to score the tying run from third, making it 6-all.
“We’ve just got to clean up our errors,” said Utica Post 92 coach Brian Beaver. “Every game we’ve lost, it’s been on errors and we’ve just got to clean it up. Until they do that, we’re not going to turn it around.”
Strout was able to get out of the inning with no further damage and, in the bottom of the inning, his team gave him the lead, 7-6, when Devin Carr scored on a sacrifice fly.
Austin Skeese came on in relief for Utica in the sixth. He was also the victim of some errors that cost Utica a run and left the game tied at 7.
