Anderson Ford rallies late for win
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BY RYAN ARMBRUST / Lincoln Journal Star
On a breezy afternoon at Woods Park, two errant pitches by Prime Time reliever Pat Burkhart keyed Anderson Ford’s late rally Saturday during play in the Mike Peterson Tournament.
The American Legion teams from Lincoln North Star (Anderson Ford) and Millard South (Prime Time) proved to be evenly matched, with the game turning on wild pitches and defensive gems. Anderson Ford won 10-9.
Anderson Ford starter Joe Hartley was roughed up for four runs on five hits in the first two innings, but utilized a good changeup and effective slurve to settle down with a pair of 1-2-3 innings.
It was the first start for Hartley, who entered the game with just six innings pitched this summer — all in relief.
“ He’s so valuable to us at shortstop that we don’t use him much to pitch,” coach Lanny Bolles said.
“He’ll probably be in our rotation next year — he’s just a sophomore this year. He does a nice job mixing it up, and he pounds the strike zone.”
Hartley threw first-pitch strikes to eight of the first nine batters he faced, and struck out four overall. He was relieved by left-hander Danny Poethig in the top of the sixth, with the score tied at 8.
Poethig struck out the first batter he faced before allowing an inherited runner to score on a single by Alex Duncan.
Duncan was then picked off of first on a snap throw by catcher Jake Benne, ending the inning.
After the teams traded scoreless half-innings for the first time in the game, Anderson Ford entered the bottom of the seventh trailing 9-8.
Leading off, center fielder Jacob Hiatt made a quick impact by crushing a Burkhart fastball over the left-field fence to tie the game.
“I just said, ‘2-0 pitch, it’s got to be a good one.’ You have to do whatever you can to get on base in that situation, but as soon as I hit it, I knew it was gone,” Hiatt said.
It was just the second home run of the summer for Hiatt.
“I’ve been in a slump for three or four weeks, and to come out today and bust out like that, it’s the greatest feeling to help the team win this,” he said.
The next batter, Ricky Ideus, reached when the Prime Time shortstop couldn’t handle his sharply hit grounder.
Ideus advanced to second on a bunt before moving to third on a wild pitch.
“You’ve got to be smart out there. If I score, we win the game, but I can’t get picked off trying to do something stupid,” Ideus said.
“I was really aggressive on balls in the dirt, moving over so we can score. I saw the ball hit the dirt, and I just went. I knew what I had to do.”
Ideus sprinted home on a passed ball, giving Anderson Ford the win.
The play fell right in line with Bolles’ game plan.
“We’re generally a very aggressive team. We don’t have a lot of team speed on the basepaths, but we make teams make plays,” Bolles said.
“We knew it was going to be a tough ballgame, and it would take a strong effort from us to get it done. It was a battle back and forth. Both teams competed their butts off, and we were fortunate to score two in the end to win it.”
In addition to the heroics by Hiatt and Ideus, Anderson Ford got big contributions from Nate Wilder, who went 4-for-4 with three doubles and two RBIs, and Zach Buller, who went 3-for-3.
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