As horns sounded in Rochester Friday evening, it wasn’t from rush hour traffic. Rather, many Rochester Adams fans had retreated to their cars in the parking lot overlooking the baseball diamond to root for their home team Highlanders on a chilly afternoon.
The car-dwellers had much to honk about when Matt Petrusha hit an inside fastball off Nicholas Shamoun for a walk-off three-run homerun in the Highlanders? 9-8 come from behind win in the season opener for both clubs.
Clarkston scored two runs in the top of the eighth inning after Adams tied the game with a five-run sixth inning. Mike Gansser earned two of his three RBI’s with a double in the inning.
In the eighth, Eric Ogg walked and stole second base, as he did in his first at bat of the contest, and scored on Josh Hall’s single. Hall later scored on a wild pitch to put Clarkston up 8-6.
Adams? Jake Wilson led off the bottom half of the eighth with a single and Gansser reached base on a fielding error, putting two on for Petrusha’s blast.
‘I thought it went foul. I turned on it really early,? Petrusha said.
‘I thought since I usually hook the ball left that it was going foul, but it stayed in the park.
‘It was one of the greatest feelings in my life. I haven’t done that in 10 years, it felt like.?
Hall, Clarkston’s starting pitcher, threw five innings, allowing one run and striking out six Highlanders. He had a great day from the plate also, batting 3/4 with two doubles and 3 RBI’s.
‘It was nice to see (Hall) pitch. He deserved to win. He deserved better than what he got. Relief pitchers didn’t come in and do what they needed to do and defensively, our outfield was terrible,? Clarkston coach Phil Price said.
‘We can’t give teams so many extra outs every inning. We give them four or five outs every inning.
‘We’re going to struggle defensively. A lot of kids don’t understand the game and they’re going to learn as we go.?
Like the Wolves, Adams hasn’t had much time outside to play this season.
‘We’ve got a lot of little things to go over. You work on the basics inside, but there’s only so much you can simulate. To come out and roll the balls out and teach as we go, I was happy with their effort,? Highlanders coach Chuck Van Robays said.
After losing nine seniors from his 2006 team, Van Robays said Adams is still in good shape thanks to his returning players.
‘We have a good core that has been here and we have some good young kids here too,? he said.
Clarkston returns home after three season-opening road games to play Birmingham Groves Wednesday for a double-header. The game begins at 4 p.m.