Muskies advance to NABF World Series title game with wild comeback

After they cruised to a 6-1 win over the Addison Braves in the National Amateur Baseball Federation World Series quarterfinals at North Central College on Saturday, things were looking dire for the Beecher Muskies in their semifinal game with the Chicago Clout.

Trailing 6-1 heading to the fifth inning and then 8-3 entering the seventh, the Muskies erupted for five runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie things up. The Clout reclaimed a 9-8 lead in the top of the eighth, but the Muskies rose to the challenge again in the bottom half.

After AJ Le doubled to tie the score at 9-9, Patrick Carmody sent a full-count pitch into left field to drive in Le for the eventual game-winning run, a run that put the Muskies in the NABF World Series championship game for the second season in a row.

“He threw me a curveball, I was sitting fastball in a 3-2 count and just had to adjust and took it to left,” Carmody said. “This was an awesome game. Down 8-3, draw it back up 8-8, they scored and then we go ahead again. We just never quit. That’s been our team the whole year.”

The Muskies advanced to play the Berea Blue Sox for the World Series title at noon Sunday, where a win would give the Muskies their first championship since 2010.

Carmody finished the game 2 for 4 with a walk, two RBIs and a run while Le was 2 for 4 with a walk, a double, two RBIs and three runs. Marty Coyle was 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run while Nolan Czako was 2 for 4 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and a run.

After the Clout got to Beecher started Brooks McDowell early for five runs in the first three innings, Nick Noles allowed one run in an inning of relief and Camden Kearney tossed a scoreless fifth.

Muskies managed Fred LeSage said he was hoping to hold Bryce Shafer until Sunday’s title game, but with the season on the line ended up turning to Shafer for the final four innings Saturday.

The Clout got two runs off of Shafer in the sixth and one more in the eighth, but overall he was able to keep them at bay enough to let the offense climb back into the game. He allowed those three runs on just three hits in his four innings of work while also racking up eight strikeouts.

Overall, LeSage said that everyone on the team was simply willing to do their part on Saturday to keep the season alive for another day.

“You saw how many guys contributed today,” he said. “We had guys coming off the bench, pinch runners and pinch hitters, we have pitchers coming out of the bullpen. Some of them were in roles they weren’t used to doing all the time, but they all did their bit. And there were other guys that were prepared to do other things, too. That’s how they are. They pull for each other all the time.”

The day started off with a game that was a little less stressful for the Muskies.

Having beaten the Braves four times during the season, the Muskies took care of business again in the quarterfinals thanks to a strong day on the mound from Kris Honel.

The 42-year-old former first round pick, now in his second season with the Muskies after more than a decade away from the game, pitched all seven innings of the win and allowed one run on just five hits.

Andy Gaytan’s two-run home run in the bottom of the first proved to be all Honel and the Muskies would need.

“I’ve been preparing for it, and I knew warming up in the pen that I felt pretty good,” Honel said. “The last couple outings have been really good, so I knew I had to come out here and just keep doing what I was doing, and I though we’d be alright.”

For Sunday’s championship game, Saturday’s circumstances will force LeSage and the Muskies to do a bit of shuffling with the pitching staff to get through nine more innings. But with the way LeSage has seen his team respond throughout the summer, he knows they have what it takes to get the job done.

“It takes a big team effort,” he said. “The biggest thing is, if the pitchers throw strikes and you play good defense, most of the time you’ve got a chance.”