Arundel Baseball: Triple Play Stifles Arundel Comeback Against Chesapeake

With the bases loaded and no one out in the sixth inning on Thursday, the Arundel baseball team appeared on the verge of busting out with a late rally against Chesapeake High.

One swing later, the inning was over, only one run had scored, and the Wildcats and spectators were left wondering what happened.

A rare triple play stymied the best chance for an Arundel comeback, as Chesapeake held on for a 4-3 win in Gambrills.

It was another frustrating loss for the Wildcats (2-4), who won their first two games of the season earlier this week in high-scoring fashion but managed only five hits this time around.

Chesapeake took a 1-0 lead in the first with a sacrifice fly by pitcher Brandon Pyle, but Arundel's Dalton Durocher responded with an RBI double to tie the game.

In the third, Chesapeake's A.J. McKenzie and Brian Musgrove hit back-to-back singles off Arundel starter Rob Warwick, and Pyle smashed a fastball deep over the right centerfield fence to give Chesapeake a 4-1 lead.

The lead held until the bottom of the sixth. Arundel senior Mike Williams led the inning off with a single. Warwick and Durocher followed, loading the bases for pinch-hitter John Neuens.

Then the craziness ensued.

Neuens lofted a fly ball to shallow right field, and it appeared that it would fall for a hit after deflecting off the glove of second baseman Jake Rich. But rightfielder Rich Kojack was there to catch it.

Williams scored on the sacrifice fly, but–after some heated discussion with managers from both teams–umpires ruled that the other baserunners hadn’t tagged up. The result: two more outs and the end of an inning. In essence, a triple play and one of baseball’s most rare defensive sequences.

“A triple play? You never see that,” Arundel head coach Jason Lively said. “And to have it happen in that manner … it was very confusing all around. It was a weird play, you don’t see that very often, and it worked out for the benefit of Chesapeake.”

Lively argued to umpires that his players had tagged up, noting that players were permitted to leave bases once the ball hit the first fielder’s glove.

The unusual play overshadowed a stellar all-around game from Pyle, who allowed only two hits in six innings while striking out seven Arundel batters. He also drove in all four of his Chesapeake’s runs.

“I hadn’t been coming up really big with runners in scoring position, but my team needed runs, so I was really focused on driving the ball,” Pyle said of his third-inning blast.

Pyle’s homerun was one of the few knocks against an otherwise strong outing by Arundel pitcher Rob Warwick. He went all seven innings, giving up six hits while striking out two. But it wasn’t enough, as the Wildcats struggled to mount an offensive charge. Arundel did manage two hits and cut the lead to 4-2 on a sacrifice fly by Keith Grassel in the seventh, but Matt Shin grounded out to end the game.

The lack of hitting was especially glaring after an 11-5 win over North County and a 12-7 win over Meade earlier this week.

“As a team, we didn’t go up there swinging the bats,” Lively said. “We waited until the seventh inning again and that’s not going to win you games.”

Lively said he still believes the Wildcats will be in the thick of the county race as the season goes on.

“We’re pitching the way we want to pitch, our defense is getting a little bit better,” he said. “We’re not always getting 10 to 12 hits per game. I still think we’re playing good ball. I have high expectations for this team and hope we finish strong.”

Notes: D.J. Drexel earned a save by pitching the seventh for Chesapeake, giving up one run on two hits...Williams stole two bases in the first inning for Arundel...A.J. McKenzie went 2-3 for Chesapeake...Arundel is scheduled to play at Annapolis on Friday at 4 p.m., weather permitting.

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