Alliance Rallies to Overcome Dominant Massillon Pitching - TigerTown Athletics

*Drew Longwell fires a pitch in his impressive opener. All media credit: Seth Bailey*

The weather was a bit dreary at times during the Tigers’ season opener in Alliance, but Drew Longwell’s work on the mound was anything but dull for Massillon. He ran through the Aviators’ batters with ease almost the entire game, limiting hard contact and exhibiting great control. The Tigers’ bats got quite a few runners into scoring position but were unable to drive them home. Alliance used the lack of runs from the Tigers to generate a late comeback fueled by a few strange hops, and the Tigers fell 2-1.

Game Recap

From the start it was clear that the season opener would be a low-scoring pitchers duel. Preston Reinhart started the game off with a sharp ground ball to second; the second baseman had trouble gloving the ball but recovered and threw him out. The next two batters went quickly with flies to left. Drew Longwell took the mound for the Tigers in the bottom of the inning and immediately established himself. The first pitch of his outing resulted in an easy pop to center field. The next two batters were quickly and easily disposed of on weak flies. The Tigers had the first man to reach in the game when Longwell walked to open the second inning. Isaac Maxheimer then dropped a bunt down toward third that was fielded and thrown off his leg; Maxheimer was in the running lane and therefore was safe at first. The runner scampered to third, putting runners on the corners with no outs. A groundout back to the mound moved the runners to second and third. Massillon broke through for the first run of the game on the next at-bat. Xander DeAngelis sent a fly to medium-deep left that allowed a run to score from third, putting the Tigers on top 1-0. A grounder to third ended the threat with no further damage. The Aviators opened the bottom of the frame with a ball ripped up the middle for a base hit. A one-hopper to third turned into a double play for the Tigers, and Longwell breezed the next batter for his first strikeout. The Tigers only one base runner in the third inning. Following a couple of quick flyouts, Will Hymes had a terrific at-bat, fighting off pitch after pitch with a full count. He eventually won the battle and flared a fly into left center that was knocked down by the wind– it fell in for a single. The Tigers unfortunately could not advance the runner as Alliance forced him out on a ground ball to end the inning. A hard grounder to third was handled and put away by the Tigers to start the bottom of the frame. Longwell mowed through the next two batters as one went down looking and the other swinging. Maxheimer drew a walk with one out in the next inning. A flare then fell into right for what looked to be a hit but the Aviators threw to second for a force. DeAngelis punched a single between third and short and Alex Henthorn walked to load the bases. The Aviators got out of the jam once again, this time with a force at third. A quick strikeout and a weak groundout greeted the Aviators from the mound and the arm of Drew Longwell. A throwing error prolonged the inning, but Longwell made quick work of the next batter and struck him out. Preston Reinhart started the inning with a leadoff walk. The Tigers then had another opportunity to add insurance runs; Hymes hit a ball off the first baseman’s glove that was ruled an error. With runners on the corners and no outs, the Tigers could not advance anyone home. A pop to short gave no opportunity to tag, and a weak chopper near the plate was mishandled. The runner reached first safely, but the runner at third was caught in a rundown and tagged for the second out. Maxheimer walked to load the bases, but a groundout ended the Tigers’ threat. A quick first out in the bottom of the fifth was followed by an excellent play at third; Stephen Reinhart picked a bullet of a ground ball and fired it to first, where an excellent dig out was made to beat the runner. A flyout ended the Aviators half and kept the score at 1-0. The Tigers went down 1-2-3 in the sixth as Alliance struck out the side. The bottom of the sixth unraveled quickly for Massillon in a bizarre fashion. The first batter hit a flare over first that was fielded by the second baseman; the throw went over the glove of the first baseman and was backed up at home. With a runner on first, Alliance decided to bunt. The first attempt was dropped down the third base line and the Massillon defense had no play. The next Alliance player also bunted. He popped the ball up near the first base line. Longwell dove for the ball near the line but was unable to come up with it. The ball was then kicked by the runner and a run came across to tie the game. The Tigers contended that the ball had not been touched by a fielder and therefore the runner was out; Alliance believed that the ball had touched Longwell’s glove. After a conference the umpires ruled all runners safe. The next ball was grounded hard down the third base line for a single, giving Alliance a 2-1 lead. Longwell stood strong on the mound and kept the game in hand– he struck out the next batter. The runner on second took off, and despite a good throw from catcher Brock Polilli he slid in safely. This did not faze Longwell; he also struck the next two batters out. Massillon had one last chance to tie or take the lead. Hymes drew a one-out walk but was forced at second on a grounder. Longwell kept the Tigers alive with a single, but a popout ended the threat and the ballgame as Alliance sent the Tigers home with a 2-1 loss.