Town and Country Newspaper

Sports Article

Braves Earn Playoff Spot with Win Over Phoenixville

Written by Dave Teufel
2012-07-12

Coming off a four-game losing streak late in the regular season, the Braves saw their record in the Tri-County Youth Legion League plummet to 6-9, and found themselves in jeopardy of not qualifying for the playoffs.

Last Thursday, though, the team put the finishing touches on a three-game winning streak with a 9-3 win over Phoenixville that guaranteed them a spot in the postseason playoff tournament.

Upper Perk took the lead in the top of the first inning when Chris Kachmar opened the game with a single to right field. He would score on a ground out off the bat of Eric Stalford, putting the Braves ahead 1-0.

The Braves opened the top of the second inning with four straight hitters reaching base ,making the score 2-0. After retiring the next two batters, Phoenixville had a chance to escape the inning down 3-0, but the two-out offensive barrage that followed would blow the game open, leaving the hosts battered and beaten.

Upper Perksent seven more batters to the plate and, when the inning finally ended, they had used seven hits and three walks to plate seven runs. The inning ended with the Braves ahead 8-1 and on their way to the playoffs.

Josh Fell lead the offensive attack, going 3-3 while Jake Breyer had a pair of RBIs. Stalford pitched five innings to earn the win, and help himself at the plate with 3 RBI. Zach Miller came on to pitch the final two innings.

The Braves' winning streak started with a 9-5 victory over Norchester, but they were almost derailed in their next outing by Pottstown as they squandered a 3-1 lead late in the game. Tied at three with a runner on third and two out, Tom Aaron stroked a 3-2 pitch into left field for a base hit and a 4-3 Braves win, keeping the team's hopes alive as they headed to Phoenixville to close out the regular season.

Braves Head Coach Perry Breyer is pleased with the effort he has gotten from his young squad this season, but knows the boys will need to be at their best if they plan to advance beyond the league playoffs.

“I’ve been really pleased with how competitive we’ve been considering the fact that we are a young team," said Breyer. "These guys work their tails off and it shows come game time. To make a run in the playoffs though we will need to be at our best in all phases of the game.”

The Braves will travel to face league champion Spring City in the opening round of the playoffs on Saturday with the game time yet to be determined.

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