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Delone Catholic beats Gettysburg in quick completion of suspended extra-inning game


The game that wouldn't end 15 days ago ended quickly on Friday.

In a scenario that only baseball can create, Delone Catholic (5-3, 4-1 YAIAA Division IV) needed just 15 minutes to beat Gettysburg (1-5, 1-3 Division III), 2-1, in the completion of a suspended game.

The two teams failed to decide a winner in 10 innings played over the course of nearly three hours before the game was suspended by darkness and an approaching thunderstorm on March 26, but decided one in a quick 11th inning. Gettysburg spent more time riding the bus than playing the game on Friday, and both teams spent more time warming up and taking batting practice than playing.

After 10 error-free innings in the game's first chapter, the Warriors fell apart defensively in the 11th. Evan Haymaker started Delone Catholic's rally by striking out but reaching base when the ball got away from catcher David Buxton. Haymaker advanced to third on a two-out base hit by Austin Roth and remained there when Jimmy O'Boyle was intentionally walked. With the bases loaded and two outs, Chase Kint laced a ball to Gettysburg shortstop Luke Wlazlak, who bobbled it and made a late throw to first base that Kint beat, and Haymaker leaped in the air to celebrate scoring the winning run.

"It's a play that Luke normally makes," Warriors coach Ryan Brady said. "He's our best defensive player. The reason we walked (O'Boyle) there was A, he's probably their best hitter and B, to set up the force out at every base. It puts a little pressure on your pitcher because you can't walk a guy, so that's the danger. But it set up exactly the way we hoped, we got a ground ball, we could've flipped it to second for an easy out, but it didn't happen."

Hunter Keith, who started and pitched the first seven innings for Delone Catholic, earned the win after pitching a scoreless 11th inning. He was able to re-enter the game as a pitcher because he moved to center field when he stopped pitching.

"Save some arms, get a win," Delone Catholic coach Dough Arnold said of the quick finish. "If we had to draw it up, that's the way to do it."

Gettysburg hopes that losing suspended games doesn't become a trend, as the Warriors still have two more games suspended in extra innings to complete. They'll complete a game against Littlestown that was suspended by home plate breaking as part of a doubleheader on April 27, and they'll finish a game against York Catholic that was suspended by darkness on Tuesday.

"We're a little happier looking at Tuesday and our suspended game against York Catholic when we're at home," Brady said. "It's real tough to be the away team in a suspended game because you feel like if you don't score that second time up, all they have to do is get a run across and it's over. Tuesday, we get to be the home team, and hopefully that'll help us a little bit."

Delone Catholic 2, Gettysburg 1

Gettysburg00001000000—141Delone10000000001—222

Get, Jake Myers, Michael Tempel (8) and David Buxton. DC, Hunter Keith, Jimmy O'Boyle (8), Keith (11) and Austin Roth.

SO-BB — Get, Myers 3-3,Tempel 4-1, DC, Keith 7-2, O'Boyle 2-3; W — Keith; L — Tempel.