State/Columbia, Monday, May 29, Young's two-out hit in ninth rallies Mets by Gastonia 7-6 By NEIL WHITE Sports Writer If there was ever an opportunity for the Columbia Mets to have a letdown, Sunday's game against Gastonia would have qualified. After winning four straight coming into the series against the Northern Division-leading Rangers, the Mets lost an early lead on a controversial three-run inning. But Columbia staged a comeback of its own with two runs in the ninth to pull out a 7-6 victory before a seasonhigh Capital City Park crowd of 3,861. Derrick Young's two-out, basesloaded single off Kyle Spencer scored the winning run to finish the rally. Young's hit was the fourth of the inning, following back-to-back singles by Todd Hundley and Alex Jimenez and an RBI double by James Morrisette. The hits were off Jim Hvidza, 4- 1, the league's leading reliever with 10 saves. Young was 0-3 before making good of Columbia's last opportunity in regulation. "One thing I have learned is that whatever you did in the last at-bat is past," Young said. "All I did in that situation was look for a pitch I could handle, and I got one." Columbia manager Bill Stein wasn't surprised to see Young respond. "Finally we get some big hits with men on base," Stein said. "That's when you know you're going good. I was glad to see Derrick do the job. His average isn't real high (.255), but he's gotten some big hits.' The Mets, 29-23, collected 12 hits, including seven doubles and a triple. Jimenez and Hundley had three hits Derrick Young GASTONIA COLUMBIA ab r h bi ab r h bi Pchwski If 50 2 May cf 5 Colon ss 3 2 Baez ss 5 2 1 McCoy dh 4 Hundly c 4 2 3 2 Cronk 1b 5 Jimnez dh 5 2 3 Belcher cf 5 1 3 Mrrstte 3b 5 1 2 Oller 3b Olah 1b 3 1 McCtchen rf 00 1 2 Polanco 3b 3 1 Lewis c 2 Walker If 000 Mndzona c DYoung rf 4 Hernndz 2b 4 00 Joiner 2b 3 Totals 35 6 12 5 Totals 38 7 12 7 6 Gastonia 010 113 000 -6 Columbia 103 000 102 E--Corbin, Olah, Oller. LOB-Gastonia 8, Columbia 11. 2B-Hundley 2, Jimenez 2, Morrisette 2, Polanco, Belcher, McCoy. 3B-Baez. HR-Oller (3). S--Colon, DYoung. Gastonia ip h er bb SO Romero 2⅔ 4 4 2 Valdez 3⅓ Hvizda L,4-1 2⅓ Spencer ⅓ 00 Columbia ip h er bb Corbin 5 10 5 3 02 Rogers W,1-1 4 2 6 Corbin faced two batters in the sixth. WP-Romero, Hvizda. HBPJoiner (By Romero). T-3:14. A-3861. Phillies shut out Sumter SUMTER Andy Ashby scattered eight hits and struck out eight Sunday as Spartanburg blanked Sumter 3-0 in the first of a South Atlantic League fivegame series at Riley Park. The Phillies pushed across an unearned run in the first inning on singles by Mike Marandini and Nick Macaluso apiece, and Morrisette had two hits and three RBI. Those three had two doubles each. Bryan Rogers, 1-1, struck out six and allowed two hits in four innings of relief. Rogers relieved starter Archie Corbin in the sixth with Columbia leading 4-3 when the controversy occurred. With two outs and runners on second and third, Rogers struck out Cris Colon on a ball in the dirt. The ball kicked off Colon's foot and rolled away from catcher Hundley, whose throw to first narrowly beat Colon until first baseman Bob Olah dropped the ball. That tied the score and Trey McCoy followed with a two-run double to make it 6-4. "He (Colon) did kick the ball out," Stein said. "According to the umpire, the rule is if he doesn't do it intentionally, there's no interference call. That was his judgment. I think it's a terrible rule.' That wasn't Stein's only beef with the play. "The runner was running out of the base line, so the umpire could, have called him out there, too," he added. The Rangers, 33-19, fell behind on Morrisette's two-run double and an RBI groundout by Olah in the third to make the score 4-1. Gastonia chipped away with single runs in the fourth and fifth. Young said the way the Mets won made it that much better. "These kind of wins when you come back is really a boost," Young said. "Beating a club like this makes you believe you can beat anybody." The win was Columbia's fifth in a row after losing eight of nine. Stein hopes his club is back on course. "At this level, you're not going to get a lot of consistent play," Stein said. "We've been up and down. I'd like to be more consistent. Right now, we're going good again, and I hope we can keep this streak going." Mets next game: Columbia plays Gastonia in the second game of a fivegame series at 7 tonight at Capital City Park. SPARTANBURG ab r h bi Morandini ss 4 1 2 Macaluso 2b 5 1 2 Keller 3b 5 1 2 Marsh rf 3 1 Linares cf 3 1 Szynal If 401 Ellison c 3 Marshall dh 4 Churchill lb 4 Totals 35 3 9 2 SUMTER ab h bi Simmons If 5 Reis 2b 3000 Culbrsn rf 4 2 Grdnr 3b 3 Perez dh Lopez 1b Minaya cf 4 Hall ss 4010 Harper c 2 totals 33 8
