Portage South Finishes Season as Runner-up in the Wood Bat Classic

The Portage South Black Squirrels entered one final tournament for the 2011 season, the Wood Bat Classic in Akron, OH.  PS would be matched up in pool play with the Akron Irish and Akron Dreams of the Roy Hobbs League and Sunrise Inn from the Warren AA League.  Portage South would play the Irish in the first pool game.  The Irish would get on the board first with 3 runs in the first inning and another run in the third.  PS would cut into the lead with a 3 run third inning.  Ron Spears had a bases clearing double to account for all 3 runs.  The Irish would increase their lead to 5-3 with another run in the fourth inning.  Portage South tied the game in the fifth inning with a 2-run frame.  Tyler Rost and Kevin Haley both walked with 1-out.  Spears hit a single to score Rost and Danny Campfield followed with a single to score Haley.  The game would remained tied heading into the bottom of the seventh inning.  PS would load the bases in the inning with 3 consecutive singles.  Danny Campfield hit a sacrifice fly to score Haley for the win.  Walt Samson got his 8th CG of the year for the win.  Spears was 3-4 with a 2B and 4 RBI.

In game two of pool play, Portage South would play Sunrise Inn at Packard Park in Warren.  PS scored first with a run in the fourth inning.  Ron Spears doubled and scored on a Kevin Yelinek double.  The Black Squirrels would get 4 more runs in the fifth inning to take a 5-0 lead.  Tyler Rost singled to start the inning.  Kevin Haley would follow with a sacrifice bunt which he reached base.  Jimmy Jamieson would hit a double to score Rost and Haley.  Phil Smith scored Jamieson with his double and would score on a single by Danny Campfield.  PS would 2 runs in each of the next two innings and win 9-2.  Nic Carucci threw 6 innings for the win, striking out 12.  Rost was 4-4 with a 2B and 2 RBI.

The final game of pool play had PS versus the Akron Dreams.  Portage South got out to a 6-0 lead with 4 runs in the second and 2 more in the third.  Kevin Yelinek had a 2-run single in the second inning along with a Jimmy Jamieson RBI single.  Danny Campfield had a double in the third to score Ron Spears and Campfield scored on a Jason Preising single.  The Dreams would score 2 runs in the bottom of the third, but PS would open the game up with 3 runs in the fourth.  PS added another run in the sixth and won 10-2.  Eric Schaffer went the distance on the mound for his 5th win of the season.  Kevin Haley had 3 hits to lead the PS offense.

After going 3-0 in pool play, Portage South earned the #1 seed and would face the Akron Horned Frogs.  This game was a pitchers duel with Portage South scoring the only run of the game in the fourth inning.  Jimmy Jamieson singled and stole second.  He advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a Ron Spears single.  Brad Thomas went 7 innings for the shutout win.  Kevin Yelinek was 2-2 with a 2B.

In the Championship game, the Portage South Black Squirrels would face the Akron Hurricanes.  A tough sky to start the game made it difficult in the first inning for the Portage South fielders to see fly balls.  The Hurricanes took advantage of it with 2 hits that may have been caught without the orange sky.  The Hurricanes got 2 runs in the first and another run in the top of the fourth, taking a 3-0 lead.  PS got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning when Phil Smith, who reached base after being hit by a pitch, scored on a bases loaded walk to Mike Haney.  The Hurricanes scored again in the fifth inning and Portage South matched with a run in the bottom half of the inning to stay within 2 runs.  Smith tripled and scored on a Ron Spears sacrifice fly.  Akron would get another run in the seventh and win 5-2.  Smith had a triple and scored both PS runs.

Portage South Wins the 2011 Greater Akron AA League Championship

Portage South entered the League tournament as the #1 seed and played the #5 seed, Alliance White Physical Therapy.  After rain washed the games from Monday to Tuesday, the second round games were played at the Ballpark in Hudson.  Portage South scored first with 2 runs in the bottom of the first inning.  Kevin Yelinek and Kevin Haley walked and Jimmy Jamieson singled to load the bases.  Phil Smith scored Yelinek with a sacrifice fly.  Haley would score on a Ron Spears groundout.  Alliance would come back and tie the game in the fifth with a 2-run frame.  PS was able to push 2 more runs across in the bottom of the sixth to take a 4-2 lead.  Haley singled, then Walt Samson bunted him to second.  Smith and Spears walked to load the bases again.  Haley and Smith scored on the Jesse Michel single.  Alliance was unable to score in the seventh and Portage South would win.  Samson went the distance for PS on the mound for the win, striking out 10 batters.  Michel was 1-2 with 2 RBI including the game winning RBI for the Black Squirrels.

In the Winner's bracket final, the Akron Lasiks would take on the Portage South Black Squirrels.  The Lasiks got 2 runs in the second to take the lead.  Portage South cut that lead in half with a run in the bottom of the second.  Mike Darrah tripled to start the inning and scored on a Mike Haney sacrifice fly.  The Lasiks would 9 more runs over the next 3 innings and win 11-1.  Nic Carucci allowed just one run in 5 innings of work for the win.  Jimmy Jamieson was 2-2 for Portage South.  The loss also snapped a 18-game winning streak for the Black Squirrels.

After 2 days of rain delayed games, the consolation final was played.  In the consolation final, Portage South would face Team Diesel.  Team Diesel would score a run in the top of the second for a 1-0 lead.  Portage South came back with 2 runs in the bottom half of the inning to grab the lead.  Kevin Haley had a 2-run single in the inning.  PS would score 4 more runs in the third and found themselves up 6-1.  Mike Darrah doubled to start the inning and scored on a wild pitch.  Ron Spears singled and scored on a Kevin Yelinek double.  Tyler Rost also drove in 2 run in the inning with a double. Diesel was able to get a run back in the fourth, then they scored 3 in the fifth to close the deficit to 1 at 6-5.  Portage South held Team Diesel scoreless over the final 2 innings and won.  Eric Schaffer went 5 innings on the mound for the win.  Mike Price picked up the save with 2 scoreless innings of relief.  Haley was 3-4 with 2 RBI for Portage South.

In the first game of the Championship, Portage South would meet Akron Lasiks for the second time in the tournament.  The game was a pitcher's duel early with neither team scoring in the first 4 1/2 innings.  The Lasiks would score a run in the fifth on a bases loaded walk to Rob Beahn to score Mike Christopher, who had singled to reach base.  The score would remain 1-0 heading into the top of the seventh.  Mike Darrah would leadoff the seventh inning for Portage South with a game tying homerun.  In the ninth inning, PS got 4 straight singles to start the inning and push across 3 runs to make it 4-1.  The Lasiks scored a run in the bottom half, but fell short 4-2.  Darrah went 8 2/3 innings for the win on the mound for Portage South.  He also was 2-4 with a game tying HR in the seventh.  The Portage South win forced a second game in the Championship.

The Portage South Black Squirrels and Akron Lasiks met for the third time in the tournament to decide the 2011 Greater Akron AA League Championship.  The Lasiks got on the board in the top of the first with when Kevin Brown singled to left with 2 outs and stole second.  Rob Beahn followed with a single that scored Brown.  Portage South came right back with 2 runs in the bottom half of the inning.  Tyler Rost walked to start the inning.  Kevin Haley doubled to put runners at second and third.  Jimmy Jamieson followed with a single that scored both runners.  PS would push 3 more runs across in the third inning to make the score 5-1.  Again, Rost walked to start the inning.  Haley reached on an error and both runner were moved up by a Jamieson sacrifice bunt.  Phil Smith singled to score Rost and Haley then stole second base.  He would score on a Kyle Campfield double.  The Lasiks got a run back in the fourth when Ryan Petrusky, Mike Christopher and Jamie Matvey, all singled to load the bases.  Anthony Longhitano drew a walk to plate Petrusky.  Portage South would open the game up in the sixth with a 4-run frame.  Rost and Danny Campfield would single, followed by a Jamieson single that scored Rost.  Smith would walk to load the bases and Mike Darrah singled to score Campfield and Jamieson.  Smith then scored on a Ron Spears sacrifice fly.  Walt Samson went the distance on the mound for the Black Squirrels for his second win in the tournament.  Jamieson was 2-3 with 3 RBI for PS. 

Mike Darrah was 2-4 with 2 RBI in the game.  He went 7-14 in the tournament with a 2B, 3B, HR and 3 RBI.  Darrah also picked up a win over the Lasiks in the first game of the championship.  He was named the 2011 Dave Layton Tournament MVP.

Portage South Takes the Season Series Against Akron Lasiks

Portage South was able to win 3 of 4 games with the Akron Lasiks this year with the 4-3 victory on Tuesday.  The Lasiks got a leadoff triple from Jamie Matvey and was driven home by Anthony Longhitano's single.  PS would tie the game in the second inning when Mike Haney double off the left field fence to score Danny Campfield.  In the third, Tyler Rost doubled home Kyle Campfield and then scored on a Jimmy Jamieson single to take a 3-1 lead.  The Lasiks would score a run in the bottom of the third to to get within a run at 3-2.  They would tie the game with a run in the fourth.  Portage South would take the lead again in the fifth.  Jamieson singled and scored on a Ron Spears single.  Mike Price would hold the Lasiks scoreless of the final 2 innings for the save.  Rost went 5 innings on the mound for the win.  Jamieson went 3-4 with a RBI to lead the offense.  Haney was also 2-3 with a 2B and RBI for PS.

Portage South Picks Victory Number 300

Portage South entered game one of a doubleheader with the Players i Bulls sitting on 299 career wins.  PS got off to a fast start with 3 runs in the first inning.  Tyler Rost started the game being hit by a pitch.  Jimmy Jamieson had a single followed by a walk to Ron Spears.  Danny Campfield singled to score Rost, then Mike Darrah singled to bring home Jamieson and Spears.  The Bulls got a run back in the bottom of the first.  Portage South picked up a run in the third and the fourth to push the lead to 5-1.  The Bulls cut the lead to 5-2 with a run in the fifth.  In the seventh, the Black Squirrels broke the game wide open with a 5 run frame.  Jamieson had a 2 run single in the inning and Danny Campfield had a RBI double.  Darrah went 5 innings for the win.  Matt Uy threw a scoreless 6th and 7th innings in relief.  Danny Campfield was 3-5 with 2 2B and 2 RBI.  The win was the 300th victory in the history of the Portage South Black Squirrels.

In game 2, the Bulls scored a run in the first inning again to lead 1-0.  It would remain that way until the third inning when Jimmy Jamieson singled home Kyle Campfield to tie the game.  In the fourth inning, PS put up a 10 spot.  Robert Paradise's 2-out RBI single started the scoring the inning.  Kyle Campfield and Tyler Rost followed with infield singles with Rost's hit scoring Kevin Yelinek.  Kevin Haley followed with a 2-run single, then RBI singles by Jamieson, Ron Spears and Danny Campfield.  The big blow was a 2-run triple by Mike Darrah.  Yelinek singled to score Darrah for the final run of the inning.  Walt Samson went all 5 innings on the mound for the win.  Darrah went 3-3 with a 3B and 2 RBI.

Early Offense Leads to a Portage South Victory

Portage South Black Squirrels hosted the Players i Bulls Baseball team on Thursday.  PS got on the board first with a 4-run second inning.  The Black Squirrels increased their lead to 7-0 with three more runs in the fifth inning.  The Bulls got a run in the sixth, but PS would win 7-1.  Walt Samson threw 6 innings in the victory allowing just 4 hits while striking out 8.  Phil Smith was 2-3 with a 2B, HR and 2 RBI.  Tyler Rost was 2-4 with 2 RBI also for Portage South.

Portage South Gets Win Over Players i Bulls

The Portage South Black Squirrels offense showed up early on Thursday night at Kent Roosevelt High School.  PS scored 5 runs in the first inning on their way to a 10-0 victory over the Players i Bulls Baseball team.  Tyler Rost started off with a single.  After a Jimmy Jamieson single and Phil Smith being hit by a pitch, Ron Spears laced a single to center field that scored Rost and Jamieson.  Danny Campfield's sacrifice fly scored Smith.  Jesse Michel and Kevin Yelinek both singled and Michel later scored Portage South's fifth run of the inning on a bases loaded walk to Rost.  The game would stay 5-0 until the bottom of the fourth when PS once again put up a five spot.  Three straight singles by Rost, Kevin Haley and Jamieson started the inning with Jamieson's single scoring Rost.  Smith followed with a double that scored Haley and Jamieson.  A RBI groundout by Campfield and a sacrifice fly by Michel rounded out the scoring.  Eric Schaffer threw a one hit shutout on 41 pitches for his first victory of the season.

Tough Start for the Portage South Black Squirrels

Portage South opened the season at home hosting Team Diesel.  The game was scoreless through the first 3 innings.  In the fourth, Team Diesel pushed 2 runs across.  It would remain 2-0 into the top of the seventh.  Team Diesel would score 4 more runs to make it a 6-0 game.  Portage South got 2 runs in the bottom of the seventh, but fell short 6-2.  Phil Smith was 2-3 with a double and a triple to lead the Black Squirrel attack.  Jesse Michel threw 4 innings, allowing 0 earned runs and 2 hits in the loss.  Eric Schaffer also threw 2 scoreless innings in relief.

On Thursday, Portage South hosted the Akron Lasiks at Kent Roosevelt High School.  This game was scoreless until the top of the third when the Lasiks scored 3 runs to make it 3-0.  This would be the final as neither team would push across another run.  Nic Carucci of the Lasiks threw a 4-hit shutout, striking out 10.  Kevin Yelinek had 2 of the PS 4 hits.  Walt Samson threw a complete game in the loss, allowing just 5 hits and striking out 8.

PS closed out the week with a single game on Sunday against Team Diesel.  Diesel scored 2 runs in the third and 2 more in the fourth to carry a 4-0 lead into the top of the fifth inning.  Portage South got on the board when Tyler Rost singled to start the inning.  Kevin Haley followed with a double down the right field line.  Jimmy Jamieson would push across the first run and an error by the second baseman allowed the second run to score.  Jesse Michel singled home Jamieson to make it 4-3, but PS left the bases loaded.  The teams were scoreless over the final 2 innings and the Black Squirrels dropped their third straight game.  Rost and Kevin Yelinek both had 2 hits for Portage South.