Suffolk Post 57 scores comeback win

Published 10:29 pm Saturday, June 20, 2009

Joey Aranda’s double to the fence in centerfield scored Travis Cherry all the way around from first base in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday night to give Suffolk Post 57 a come-from-behind 5-4 win over Warwick Post 255.

With two outs and no one on in the Suffolk ninth, Aranda singled in the hole past shortstop and raced around the base paths on Aranda’s drive, but the key blow for Suffolk came two innings earlier.

With Warwick ahead 4-1, and two on and two down in the Suffolk seventh. Post 57’s third-place hitter, Sam Kush, launched a three-run homer just to the right side of the scoreboard in centerfield of King’s Fork High School’s ball field. The homer was Kush’s second in two games for Suffolk, and despite being only the fourth hit of the night for Suffolk, it put his team right back into a game Warwick had been leading right from the start.

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Suffolk errors contributed to three of Warwick’s four runs as Post 255 built a 4-1 lead through five innings.

In the opening frame, against Aranda on the mound, Warwick’s leadoff hitter singled, but moved around to third on a throwing error in from leftfield. Warwick took a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice groundout.

Warwick got one earned and one unearned run in the third. Suffolk got on the board in the fourth with Keith Jones driving a double to the fence in left-centerfield and scoring thanks to a pair of Warwick wild pitches.

Aranda lasted four innings for Suffolk, giving up five hits and three runs, although only one run was earned.

Taylor Edens relieved Aranda in the fifth and walked two of the first three hitters he faced. With one out and runners on the corners, Edens got what could’ve been a routine double-play grounder, but Alex Scott couldn’t come up with the grounder at shortstop. A run scored and Warwick again had two on with one out.

Edens escaped anymore damage with a strikeout and a slow grounder to first base, leaving the score at 4-1 Warwick. Edens, a rising sophomore at Nansemond-Suffolk, counting the last two outs in the fifth, retired 14 of the last 16 hitters he faced, allowing one hit and getting four strikeouts in his five innings.

With Edens holding Warwick within reach, Kush’s blast brought Suffolk back in one big swing and the game went to the ninth tied.

In the Warwick half, Edens walked the leadoff hitter and went to a 3-0 count on the next batter before getting a fly out to Seth Pace in leftfield. Edens got a strikeout and a fly ball which Josh Holland tracked down in deep rightfield to keep the leadoff walk stranded.

Aranda was 0-for-3 with a walk before singling to keep the bottom of the ninth alive for Cherry. Cherry was 0-for-4 on the night before sending a fly over the head of the Warwick centerfielder. Aranda, Suffolk’s leadoff hitter, raced around for the winning run, easily beating the throw into the plate.

Suffolk Post 57 (3-3) hosts Poquoson Post 273 on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. at King’s Fork High School.