Upper Merion, Cheltenham game suspended in 8th inning

CHELTENHAM >> Mother Nature made herself present time and time again Tuesday afternoon. At Cheltenhm High School, she halted the game three different times, the last one in the most dramatic spot.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Cheltenham and Upper Merion were tied at four and Cheltenham had runners on second and third with two outs in a light drizzle. It suddenly picked up, turned into a downpour and the game had to be suspended before the at-bat could be completed.

At the time this article was written, a continuation date had not been announced.

The first two delays in the game were due to lightning. The first was a 20-minute stoppage in the middle of the first inning and the other a 30-minute wait in the top of the fourth inning.

Both starting pitchers were dealing until just before the second delay. The game was scoreless through three innings, but that changed quickly when the Vikings stepped to the plate in the fourth.

Matt Choi led off with a walk and Mike Hutchinson ripped a triple to give Upper Merion a 1-0 edge. Before the next batter could step the plate, the game was halted for 30 minutes.

Upper Merion picked up right where it left off when play resumed. Joe White singled home Hutchinson and — after a pair of outs — scored on a Nick Marino triple to make it a 3-0 game.

The Panthers got one back in the bottom of the fourth. Cheltenham’s Joel White singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Nissim Lebovitz blooped a two-out single into left field to score White and cut the deficit to two, 3-1.

The teams traded runs in the fifth — Upper Merion’s White hitting a sacrifice fly to score Choi and Cheltenham’s Josh Ryan singling home Jack McHugh — to make it a 4-2 game.

That score stood until the bottom of the seventh inning. Cheltenham’s Wesley Giles led off the inning with a single and got to second on a fielder’s choice. McHugh knocked him in with an RBI single and advanced to second on another fielder’s choice. After the fielder’s choice, Isaac Blank came in the game as a pinch runner.

Ryan came up with the tying run on second and hit a ground ball to third base. The throw to first was off target and got away, allowing Blank to score from second and send the game to extra innings.

In the top of the eighth, Upper Merion loaded the bases with one out, but hit into a 3-2-4 double play.

Cheltenham had two pop ups in the eighth and had one batter reach on an error and another get hit by a pitch. They advanced to second and third on a wild pitch with Alex Haasz at the plate. That’s when the rain came and the rest is to be continued.

Hutchinson started on the mound for Upper Merion and went seven innings. He struck out two batters and walked two and allowed four runs on seven hits. Choi came in to pitch in the eighth.

Jacob Petrisko went six innings for Cheltenham. He struck out four batters, walked three and surrendered four runs on six hits. Kieran Versaw-Barnes came on in relief for two innings. He allowed just one hit and struck out three batters while holding Upper Merion scoreless.