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In a 79th AAABA Tournament championship game for the ages — the longest in title-game history — Columbus TNT Knights defeated Buffalo East Coast Orville’s 1-0 in 15 innings.
It was only the third extra-inning game in tournament title game history and the first since 1982. The TNT Knights win is the only 1-0 championship game result in history since 1945.
Columbus (5-1) won the franchises’ first ever AAABA Tournament title in only the second appearance by the Ohio city team, which finished runner-up in 1993.
Dennis Nirider’s sacrfice to left field in the bottom of the 15th plated pinch-runner and winning pitcher Heath Mann tagging from third base. The only run of the game brought cheers from a crowd of 772 that participated in both a seventh-inning and 14th-inning stretch.
Mann pitched nine innings in relief with 11 strikeouts and three walks. He gave up five hits. Max Mullen started and threw six scoreless frames.
Treston Nemeth had two hits, including a double, the only extra-base hit in the game. Columbus had nine hits.
Buffalo’s Mike Zacher had three hits and Victor Mazzara had two hits for East Coast Orville’s (5-1).
The teams combined to play 15 error-free innings.
Buffalo used three pitchers, with starter Thomas Russo going eight innings, with seven strikeouts and three walks. Max Kasprowicz pitched six frames with four strikeouts and two walks. Carmen Panaro recorded one out in the 15th.
Previous AAABA Tournament title games to reach extra innings included 1982 (Baltimore 8, Milford 7, 10 innings) and 1978 (Detroit 7, New Orleans 6, 12 innings).
The longest game in AAABA Tournament history (not a championship game) was 18 innings in 2005 when Maryland State beat New York City 6-4.