From Ripken Baseball:
In hopes to keep their Iron Bracket runs alive, Harford County and Australia faced off at Citizen’s Bank to determine who would continue to the Iron Bracket semi-finals. Today’s game saw four lead changes, but Harford County was able to pull out a 6-4 win over Australia.
Harford County had a strong fourth inning that allowed them to take the lead over Australia. They took advantage of two Australia errors to tie the game 3-3. Gaetano Gerace would then step up to the plate and hit an RBI single to plate David Hanifee and pull ahead 4-3 before Conor Henderson made it home on another Australia error.
Australia tacked on one run in the fifth inning to reduce the deficit but Harford County was quick to respond and scored off Charlie Hafer’s RBI double to extend their lead back to two runs. It came down to the wire but Australia’s line up had no response for Harford County’s Austin Carr. Carr had a memorable performance; he recorded 15 first pitch strikes and four strikeouts through six innings, including a perfect sixth inning to secure his team’s appearance in the Iron Bracket Final.
“One of the things that we focused on with the boys was: you can’t look at their record, you can’t look at what they have done because they have played some quality teams,” said Harford County assistant coach Mike Hanifee. “We knew going in that it was going to be a tough game. We knew that we were going to have to play to the best of our ability, and we were fortunate enough to be able to pull one out in the end.”
Harford County heads to the Iron Bracket semi-finals on Friday at 10:00 a.m. on Nationals Field. Australia finished the Cal Ripken World Series with a (1-4) record but look forward to the Closing Ceremony on Saturday and spending the rest of their time relaxing.
Games are played on the innovative fields at The Ripken Experience Aberdeen Powered by Under Armour complex, including the one-of-a-kind Cal, Sr.’s Yard, a two-thirds replica of Camden Yards. All tournament games are FREE to the public. Free tickets are available online at www.ripkenbaseball.com/world_series.
New to this year’s tournament, fans around the world will have the opportunity to watch free live streams of the championship games on MLB.com. The championship games on July 31 and August 1 will also include live commentary from MLB veteran and Emmy Award nominated sports broadcaster Bill Ripken. Additionally, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred will be in attendance on Thursday, July 30 for a U.S. semifinals matchup.
For scores, highlights and a behind-the-scenes look into all CRWS action, fans can follow along on Twitter and Instagram (@CRWSAberdeen) and Facebook.com/CRWSAberdeen. For a complete schedule and additional tournament, visit www.ripkenbaseball.com/world_series.
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