Correction: This story was revised at 2:23 p.m., June 14, 2011, to correct the spelling of Aidan Sullivan’s name.


YARMOUTH — Aidan Sullivan was waiting for that one play, the “momentum shift,” he called it. Yarmouth High’s baseball team had been handcuffed for four-plus innings by Lincoln Academy ace Brandon Reilly and the Clippers, trailing 1-0, were running out of time.

The shift came with two outs in the bottom of the fifth.

An infield error gave Yarmouth life, and the top-ranked Clippers took full advantage, rallying for a 4-1 victory in a Western Class B semifinal.

“We had a tough start,” said Sullivan, the lefty who limited fourth-ranked Lincoln Academy to just two hits while striking out nine. “But they’ve got a great team and it was obvious early on that Reilly was on his game.

“We just needed that momentum shift to get the rally started.”

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Yarmouth (15-3) will play second-seeded Greely (15-3) in the Western Class B regional final today at 3 p.m. at St. Joseph’s College.

The teams split in the regular season, each winning a one-run game on the road.

Lincoln Academy finished 13-5.

The Eagles led 1-0 entering the fifth, getting their run in the fourth on an RBI single by Kyle Scherer.

Reilly, meanwhile, was throwing no-hit ball at the Clippers. But after he got the first two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Ryan Cody reached on an infield error.

Up came Campbell “Bull” Haley, a left-handed batter who fell behind 1-2 then fouled off three consecutive pitches before he slapped a line drive into the left-field corner. The ball was mishandled, and Cody came in with the tying run.

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“Great at-bat,” said Clippers Coach Marc Halsted. “He grinded it out and battled. To go the other way like that was just great baseball.”

Sullivan, using a slow curve and changeup effectively all game, set the Eagles down in order in the top of the sixth.

Then Yarmouth pulled away.

Sullivan led off with a single to right, and went to second when the ball was misplayed. That brought up Bryce Snyder, who had struck out the first two times he faced Reilly.

“I wasn’t thinking about anything, I was just looking to hit the ball hard up the middle,” said Snyder. “Those first two at-bats, I just swung under the ball. I finally tracked it down.”

His line drive to the right-center field gap scored Sullivan to give the Clippers the lead.

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Snyder then stole second, and scored on a ground-ball single to center by Max Grimm, who went to second on the throw home. Grimm scored on a two-out single by Cody.

“We had that one-run cushion, but that’s never enough against a team like that,” said Lincoln Coach Greg Rice. “We didn’t hit the ball well and we didn’t offer Brandon the support we normally do. But tip your hat to Yarmouth. Marc has a great program there and they’re all classy guys.”

Sullivan was vital to the win. Working his changeup early in the count, he was able to keep Lincoln’s top hitters off-balance all game.

“Aiden Sullivan was not going to lose today,” said Halsted. “We have 10 seniors on this team and they refused to walk off this field with a loss.”

 

Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at: mlowe@pressherald.com

Twitter: mikelowpph

 


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