Arnold third baseman Joe Veltri snagged a hard-hit ground ball and waited until he was set before throw out the first of Irwin 359's final three batters.
The play summed up what Arnold's 3-2 series-clinching win against Irwin (15-10) was all about -- waiting.
The two teams were set to start the North-West Division game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Valley High School, but rain moved the game back to 3 p.m. and to another baseball field all together. Rain, however, continued to fall, and field No. 2 became unplayable -- it was back to Valley High School.
Finally, three hours and 38 minutes after first pitch was scheduled, Arnold (18-7) took the field for the District 31 American Legion playoff game, where Veltri would eventually make the key defensive play.
"The play of the game," Arnold coach Doug Aftanas called it. "There's no doubt that Joe Veltri, in my opinion, made the play of the game. The first out in the seventh inning is always the most crucial out in the game, especially when you have the lead."
Arnold took the lead in the bottom of the fifth when shortstop Zack Nealer hit a one-out triple.
"I was being relaxed up there," Nealer said. "With two strikes, I knew he had to come with a fastball."
Kevin Rayburn followed Nealer's triple with a walk and pitcher Anthony Campana reached safely on an error.
The error let Nealer score and cut Irwin's lead to 2-1.
After Arnold catcher Chuck Swanger walked, Veltri hit a grounder that was misplayed by the second baseman, allowing two runs to score.
"The big thing is, we gave them the extra outs today," Irwin coach Randy Funk said. "Two of their runs were unearned. We get three outs and get out of the inning, we win, 2-1, instead of lose, 3-2."
Campana tallied what would hold up as the game-winning run. He returned to the mound to retire six of Irwin's final seven batters. Campana allowed three hits and struck out five.
Two of the hits came in the fourth inning, when Irwin scored its only runs of the game. After Jordan McCauley reached on an error, Matt Pozzuto and Matt Boehm hit RBI doubles to give Irwin a 2-0 lead.
Campana retired Irwin in order four times and stranded three baserunners, allowing him and his team to conjure up a comeback.
"One thing about our team, we're pretty resilient," Aftanas said. "They don't buckle under pressure."
Neither did the Arnold community, which was the true hero of yesterday's game. The field at Valley High School needed serious work to get it ready for the game, as puddles marred the first-base line and infield.
Pitcher's mound also needed a makeover, and parents helped the coaches get the field in order for the already delayed start.
"There's a credit to many people in the community who chipped in," Aftanas said.
Arnold will play at West Hempfield today in Game 1 one of the finals. The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m., but Arnold is ready to play at any time.
