Slappers put up 9 in 5th to stun Highlife 12-10

WAKEFIELD — The question going into the bottom of the 5^th inning at Moulton Park last night wasn’t who would win but how much longer it would take.

The Highlife had put up two runs in the 1^st, five in the 3^rd and three in the 4^th to take a commanding 10-3 lead in a game that they wanted to win with a 2-4 record.

It had been an entertaining game going into the bottom of the 5^th, it was just that it was over.

And then, it wasn’t.

In a flurry of hits, the Slappers somehow put up 9 runs, all before making even one out. When the 5^th finally ended, daylight had run out on the Life and the game was called: an official 5-inning, 12-10 win for the Slap who improved to 4-1, tied for 2^nd in the Twi League.

The Slappers led off the 5^th with three consecutive base hits and two runs. Paul McGunigle followed with an RBI double, Jake Baressi ripped an RBI triple, Dave Papagni blooped an RBI single and Matt Mercurio had an RBI base hit.

Just like that, it was 10-9.

Of course, the Slappers weren’t done yet. Following suit, Benny Tomsyck stepped up with two on and decided not to wait around as he cranked an opposite field bomb to left and flew out of the box. As Tomsyck rounded second, the Slap’s bench yelled him home and celebrated an improbable lead, Tomsyck’s 3-run homer the game-winner.

Tighe Beck’s single scored Jake Vezga for the first run of the game in the top of the 1^st. Kevin Canty doubled to score Beck and the Life jumped out to a 2-0 lead.

The Slappers, well, slapped back in the bottom of the 2^nd, scoring three runs to take the lead.

With two outs and runners at the corners, Anthony Funchiella battled back with two strikes to single off Highlife starter Canty and score Nick Porter. An error at third led to another run before Jack Ryan came through with an RBI single to make it 3-2.

The Highlife took control in the top of the 3^rd, an RBI knock from Mark Sullivan tying it and a 2-RBI single from Anthony Caracciolo making it 5-3. Chris Dettorre had an RBI single and a passed ball made it 7-3.

The Life built on that lead in the 4^th, a Vezga triple scoring Joe Stackhouse. Sullivan came up clutch again with a double to bring home Vezga, earning a horn from Wakefield Fire’s Engine 1 which was rolling through Moulton. Another Beck RBI single extended the lead to 10-3.

Canty kept the Slap off the board for the second straight inning in the bottom of the 4^th.

The Life had a couple singles in the 5^th but couldn’t score any more, a point that didn’t seem very relevant in the moment.

Of course, it did after the bottom of the 5^th, a half-inning that quickly became the wildest of the 2022 Twi season.

The Highlife, now 2-5 and tied for 4^th in the league with the 2-3 Expos, will look to bounce back against the first place Brewers (5-1) on Monday night, 6 p.m. at Moulton.

There are two games on tap tonight in the Twi with the Unknowns (4-2) meeting the Expos (2-3) at Moulton and the Brewers playing the Loafers (0-5) at Walsh Field.