Michael Stoner for Daily Herald April 14, 2023
The Tyrone Golden Eagles returned to the Curve Classic Friday afternoon looking to repeat their success the past two seasons, including a victory in 2021 and a second-place finish last season.
Tyrone started their journey back to the championship with their first game against 7-1 Bishop Guilfoyle in a game where the Golden Eagles were heavy underdogs. Tyrone looked to his ace to take the mound giving the ball to senior Ross Gampe. Combined with a gritty offensive game from the Golden Eagles and a masterclass performance on the mound from Gampe Tyrone was able to complete the upset defeating the Marauders 6-5 to advance to the semifinals.
Gampe got the ball to start the game and only put it down once it was finished. Although the Marauders collected 10 hits off of Gampe he was able to get out of the tough situations while striking out five batters on the way to the win.
After falling behind 2-0 in the top of the first inning Tyrone was able to tie the game back up in the bottom of the frame a passed ball that brought AJ Coleman around to score and a heads-up baserunning play by Landon Hamer tied the game right back up.
After falling behind again by one run in the top of the third inning Tyrone trailed 3-2. The Golden Eagles put up four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning that ended up securing the victory. Patience at the plate and an RBI single by Zac Legars led to the breakout inning, the Golden Eagles winning.
BG was able to score two runs in the top of the 7th inning but Gampe ultimately slammed the door close sending Tyrone to the second round for a rematch of last years district playoffs with the Forest Hills Rangers
After their comeback win against BG in the first round Tyrone faced a matchup with a recent opponent. The Forest Hills Rangers who Tyrone upset last season in the district playoffs. The Game was a lockdown pitchers duel for the first five innings of the game but ultimately the Rangers came out on top with a 6-3 victory.
On the heels of Gampe’s performance in the first round fellow senior Caiden Bonsell took the mound and delivered his best outing of the season pitching five innings while only allowing two hits while striking out two hitters.
The first five innings of this game went by in the blink of an eye as both teams only accumulated two hits over those innings until the top of the sixth inning where the Golden Eagles broke the scoreless tie scoring three runs and looking to advance to Saturday mornings championship.
After Owen Oakes and Gayge Millers reached base to start the inning Tyrone scored their first run of the game on a base hit off the bat of AJ Coleman that allowed the speedy Miller to beat out the throw to home, giving Tyrone a 1-0 lead.
Tyrone extended their lead the very next at-bat when Ross Gampe lined a base hit past the outstretched arm of the shortstop that brought Ashton Walk around to score the game’s second run extending Tyrone’s lead to 2-0.
Tyrone was able to score a third run in the inning when an error by the Ranger shortstop allowed Coleman to come around to score, giving Tyrone a 3-0 lead with only 1.5 innings remaining.
Unfortunately, the Rangers bounced back with six runs of their own in the bottom of the same inning taking a 6-3 lead heading into the final frame. Tyrone was unable to score the three runs they needed to extend the game.
After going 1-1 in their third trip to the Curve Classic they look to bounce back Monday afternoon when they take on the Hollidaysburg Golden Tigers in another Mountain League Matchup.
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