Metea Valley happy to play — and win

There’s no question that the aim of two teams in a baseball game is to win.

But sometimes just getting to play a baseball game can pose a bigger challenge, especially at the high school level.

Lake Park and Metea Valley both hadn’t seen action in a week because of the weather, and Thursday afternoon’s contest was in question as both schools worked on their fields earlier in the day to dry them out.

Metea had its field in the best shape, so the game became a home contest for the Mustangs. And as it unfolded, neither team could keep control of it and the battle went to extra innings.

With daylight quickly fading, Metea scored 3 runs in the bottom of the eighth to prevail 6-5.

The Mustangs improved to 7-3-1 overall and 3-2-1 in the Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division. Lake Park fell to 7-7, 3-4.

Metea’s Mike Fitzgerald said the victory might have more significance simply because the team hasn’t been able to get on a baseball field of late and faces a doubleheader against Neuqua Valley on Saturday with the series finishing up Monday. That is, if the upcoming wet forecasts become fiction and not fact.

“To come back and get the win is important,” he said.

Fitzgerald had a big role in the win, as he crushed a two-out pitch in the fourth over the left-field fence and also brought home Will Doiron, who had singled. That put Metea up 3-1.

However, after that blast, the Mustangs’ offense went dormant for the next three innings, earning just a single during that span.

Lake Park starting pitcher Christian Taugner was primarily responsible for that and made life tough throughout the afternoon for the Metea offense. The sophomore went 7 innings and struck out 10. It was his third start of the season and he is 2-0.

“The kid was great. We scored two runs in the eighth and we needed to make them beat us,” Lancers coach Dan Colucci said.

That didn’t happen, as the bottom of that inning started with the Mustangs’ Tom Bolle getting hit with a pitch and Jake Charuk walking. That set the stage for Kevin Obendorf, who hit a double to left, tying the game at 5-5.

“I was looking for a fastball. But it was inside and I pulled it down the line,” Obendorf said.

Obendorf earned the first of his 3 RBI in the first, when his single to right scored Tyler Sutphen, who started the bottom of the first with a first-pitch double down the left-field line.

Doiron followed in the crucial eighth with a single to right to plate Obendorf and the winning run.

Lake Park had tied the game at 3-3 in the sixth thanks to RBI singles by Tommy Spear and Dean Kise that scored Bret Saracino and Zach Tsiodras, who had reached on base hits.

“I’m happy we won. We battled and had some guts. There were some bad moments, but we did what we needed to do,” Metea coach Craig Tomczak said.