Baseball / Late Offense, Crucial Error Propel Astros to First Championship Series

Late Offense, Crucial Error Propel Astros to First Championship Series

Date:  Source: Sunbelt Baseball League

SUWANEE -- Down 4-3 in the ninth, the Norcross Astros (19-14) scored two runs on a walk-off error to advance to their first Sunbelt Championship series with a 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Crackers (17-15) in Game 3 of the Sunbelt Semi-Finals Wednesday night at Peachtree Ridge High School.

Norcross will face the defending champion Brookhaven Bucks in the 2019 Sunbelt Championship.

The game started off as a pitcher's duel between starters Jack Rasmussen of the Astros and Dalton Cameron of the Crackers. Rasmussen pitched 6-1/3 innings and allowed three runs on seven hits with three strikeouts. Cameron pitched five innings and allowed two runs on three hits with two strikeouts and a walk.  Neither player factored into the decision, however. 

Down 4-3 the bottom of the ninth, Gregory Wozniak led off the inning for Norcross with a pinch-hit walk.  Alex Rosen then singled to put runners on first and second, bringing Ryan Cavey to the plate.  On a 1-2 count, Cavey hit a high chopper to the shortstop that was fielded cleanly but thrown away, allowing both Wozniak and Rosen to score and send the Astros to the Championship series.

Game 1 of the Sunbelt Championship will be played Friday at Oglethorpe University.  First pitch is at 6:30 p.m.

 

Winning Pitcher- Sylvester Toe (2-1) pitched the final 1.2 innings for Norcross and allowed no runs on no hits with a strikeout.

 

Losing Pitcher- Hunter Cummings (0-1) suffered the loss after both runs by the Astros in the ninth inning.