Kenneth O'Neil smashed a 380' walk-off three-run homer to win game one for the O's
Greg Myers (Parkville) l, and Ryan Staton (Gibbons) dueled on the mound in game two
by Joe DiBlasi

Last Saturday, pitcher Ryan Staton graduated from Cardinal Gibbons. This Saturday, he took the mound for the Maryland Orioles in game two of a double header against the Baltimore Waves at North County High School, and the results  for the big right-hander were much the same as when he tirelessly toiled for the Crusaders and  Coach Lee Swartzenberger.

Staton was a giant killer for the Crusaders in the spring, defeating both Calvert Hall and Archbishop Curley, two MIAA A Conference powers.  He finished the year with an impressive 10-3 record.  Staton was facing a talented Wave line-up that featured Parkville's Greg Myers, an All-County selection this spring, who hit .403 with three triples, three homers, and 26 RBI for the Knights.

Moreover, Myers was 6-1 on the mound with two saves and a 1.09 ERA.

Staton and his O's would have their work cut out for them in the second game of the day with Myers on the mound  for the Waves.

The Waves started the day at 10-2, one game behind the Baltimore Buzz in the under 19 Division, while the Orioles under 18 squad came in at 9-5 in their league.

This version of the Orioles played like Dave Trembly's  Major League club, who came from behind to beat the Pirates on Friday night.  The big league Birds are becoming notorious for come-from-behind wins.

In game one, the Waves grabbed a 1-0 lead on Oriole right-hander John Hodges (Northeast), but the O's would go ahead with two runs in the fourth, taking a 2-1 lead on a sac-fly off the bat of Tyler Drinkard  (also Northeast), who also came up big in the night-cap. The Waves tied it in the sixth on a triple by Chris Stires (Stevenson University), and  a sac-fly by C.J. Stanley (York).

In the bottom of the seventh, Marcus Cannon (another Northeast player) singled with one away and Staton doubled to right-center to put the winning run on third.  Lead-off hitter Kenneth O'Neil stepped in against left-hander D.J. Mascetti (Shenendoah College), who had only allowed two-hits through six.

O"Neil, who will be a senior at Southern in Anne Arundel County, walloped Mascetti's first pitch about 380' over the left-field fence for a three-run walk off homer, and the O's had a 5-2 win in the lid-lifter for Hodges, who was 7-3 in the spring for the Trojans. "I had a good fast-ball today," said the tall right-hander,"  "I was able to keep them off balance with my breaking ball."

"I was just looking for a good pitch to hit, and I just wanted to make contact," said O'Neil.  "The ball was right down the middle, and I got all of it."

Game two promised to have just as much suspense, with Station dueling Myers, and it didn't disappoint.

The  O's got  a come-from-behind tally in the bottom of the seventh that tied it up, on a perfectly executed suicide squeeze by right-fielder John  Richman (Northeast), that plated O'Neil, to send the game into extra innings.

After five hours of play,  in brutal heat and humidity, Waves coach Steve Ballance (the head coach at Anne Arundel Community College), went to Brandon Franke (Curley) in the bottom of the ninth, but the left-hander was wild, walking the first two hitters he faced.

Ballance then summoned Kyle Cook  to the mound, with runners on first and second, and nobody out.  Cook got two outs, but walked the bases loaded, bringing Staton to the plate.

Staton coaxed a walk to force the winning run home and the O's and Staton had a 4-3 victory and a double-header sweep.

"I was fortunate," said the big righty, whose teammates call him "Bubba".  "I was able to have enough stamina to finish."

It was a heart-breaking loss for the Waves.  Myers, who held the O's to six hits through eight innings, had a booming triple in game one, a single, double and an apparent triple in game two, as he tried to carry the Waves on his back.  In the second inning of game two, the senior-to be blasted one to deep center, and stood on third with one away, when the O's  appealed to the base umpire that Myers missed first .  Their appeal was upheld, and instead of a man on third with just one out, the bases were empty with two away.

"I didn't have my best stuff today," said the righty, who seemd to deserve a better fate.

Drinkard  had a triple and a single and he scored three times in game two, including the winning run for the O's, and Shortstop Jeremy Verhoef (ChesapeakeAA) had two hits.


Game 1

Waves   0 0 1 0 0 1  0       2   4   1
O's         0  0 0 2 0 0 3       5   5    2

Msacetti and Merryman
Hodgesand Rickman

WP- Hodges   LP-Mascetti

2B- 0- Staton
3B- W-Myers, Stanley, Stires
HR- O-O'Neil


Game 2

Waves   001  200 000    3   5   2
O's         010  001  101   4   6   0

Myers, Franke (9), Cook (9), and Merryman
Staton and Kron

WP- Staton
LP- Franke

2B- W- Caplan, Myers
3B- O- Drinkard