On Tuesday evening at Riverside Park in Hawley, the HLBA All-Stars fought their way to the brink of a state tournament bid with a solid win over Forest City.

Coach Pete Goyette’s squad jumped out to an early lead on a Ben Corbin homer, then coasted home to a 5-2 victory.

“I’m very, very pleased with how well the boys played,” Coach Goyette told TWI Sports. “That is, without question, the best game we’ve played so far.”

With this win, Honesdale finally escaped the losers’ bracket and forced a “winner-takes-all” grand finale. Weather permitting, the local lads were slated to meet once more Wednesday night for the District Five title.

Stay tuned to TWI Sports for continuing coverage of the 2009 Cal Ripken Tournament.

Off & Running
After starting pitcher Adam Kelly worked a scoreless first inning, Honesdale broke the scoring seal with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second.

Ben Corbin and Matt Abbott each reached on an error to ignite the rally. Corbin was eventually erased on a fielder’s choice, but Abbott sprinted home on a Jonathan Werner single.

Kelly then stepped up and aided his own cause. Adam ripped an RBI single, plating Werner and pushing the HLBA lead to 2-0.

Kelly sailed through another scoreless inning and picked up more offensive support in the home half of the third.

Don McGinnis led off with a single, setting the stage for the biggest blow of the ballgame.

Corbin dug in against Forest City starter Dylan O’Dell and quickly found a pitch to his liking. Ben crushed an O’Dell offering up the alley in left center.

By the time Forest City’s outfielders chased the ball down, it had rolled all the way to the wall. O’Dell scored easily and Corbin was waved around by third base Coach Cliff Kelly.

The relay throw arrived just a nanosecond late and Ben had himself a 2-run inside-the-park homerun.

“Ben is a good all-round athlete,” said Coach Goyette. “This is his third year as a catcher on the all-star team. He’s a strong kid who can hit the ball a long way when he gets hold of it.”

Corbin’s round tripper upped the HLBA advantage to 4-0 and amped up the pressure on Forest City significantly.

Kelly worked one more scoreless frame before running into trouble in the fourth.

Foresters Rally
Noah Fedak reached base on an error and was quickly joined by Chris Larson, who walked.

After both runners moved up on a wild pitch, Adam Kowalewski came through with a two-run single. Kelly escaped the inning without further damage, but handed the ball off to Spencer Goyette in the fifth.

Adam pitched four innings and allowed one earned run. He allowed just one basehit while fanning four and walking one.

Goyette shut the Foresters down for the final two frames, sealing the deal on a solid victory. Spencer surrendered only one hit, didn’t issue a single free pass, and struck out three.

Honesdale tacked on an insurance run in the home fifth...and in spectacular fashion.

Logan Freiermuth led off the frame by hammering a mammoth homerun over the wall in straightaway center.

Score by Innings...
FC    (2-1)  0  0  0  2  0  0 - 2
HON (3-1)  0  2  2  0  1  x - 5