Wizards come out as winners

Kevin Whitehead is a catcher by trade who also plays a little first base for the Watertown Wizards.

A pitcher, he isn't, at least since high school. So with the prospect of Whitehead taking the rubber for the Wizards at the end of a marathon game Monday night served as a boost for his confidence at the plate.

After going 0-for-5 and hitting only one ball out of the infield, Whitehead singled home John Bowron with the winning run in the bottom of the 15th inning to give the Wizards a hard-earned 6-5 New York Collegiate Baseball League victory at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds.

It's been a long and laborious grind for the Wizards, who have suffered with inconsistent hitting, pitching and fielding, too many injuries to count and bad luck, especially in extra-inning games.

But on this night, with not much to play for but their pride, the Wizards showed some character throughout their longest game of the season.

"It shows you that all of our hard worked paid off for this night,'' said Whitehead, part of a twin brother duo with Canisius pitcher Scott Whitehead. "It feels great to win it for our pitchers who did such a great job, and all of our fans and host families who stuck around. ''

Watertown, which seized a 3-0 advantage after the first inning, managed just one hit between the sixth and 14th innings.

In the bottom of the 15th, Kyle Sutherland led off by drawing a walk off Glens Falls reliever Ryan Retz, who was in his eighth inning of work. Brig Tison tried to sacrifice Sutherland to second, but his bunt was too hard and Retz forced Sutherland.

Bowron hit into a fielder's choice, with Tison being forced at second. Ben Kincaid then lofted a soft single to right-center field, setting the stage for Whitehead's dramatic blow.

"My mindset was to just hit the ball hard somewhere and end this game before I had to take the mound after skipper (Jason Shone) told me I was up next,'' said Whitehead. "My swing was too long all night, so I tried to just shorten it up a little.''

Whitehead's single just eluded Glens Falls shortstop Mike Mercurio.

Tison, who is also mainly an infielder, earned the victory with two solid innings of relief for Watertown (15-24). Starter Eugene Sturm pitched superbly into the eighth inning, while Marshall Thompson went two innings and Kincaid was solid in his four-inning relief stint.

Robbie Gilles had a two-run double and a triple for Watertown, while Kody O'Connor's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth tied the game at 5-5.

"We've really battled through a lot this season,'' said Whitehead. "This game will leave us all with a pretty good memory.''

The Wizards conclude the season with a 5 p.m. home doubleheader against Mohawk Valley on Wednesday.