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RED LION -- A fractured foot cost Josh Houser almost all of his sophomore baseball season at Susquehannock High School this past spring.
Houser was limited to just two pitching appearances.
The imposing, 6-foot, 3-inch right-hander, who's healthy now, showed his ability on Tuesday evening at Horn Field.
Houser overcame an ugly start to pitch Glen Rock to a 6-3 victory over Red Lion and into the second round of the double-elimination York-Adams American Legion Tournament.
He allowed just two hits and one earned run. Houser recorded four strikeouts and four walks.
His control was way off early. He hit three batters during Red Lion's two-run first. Houser zeroed in after that, and didn't allow a run in five
"I was having trouble with the mound and getting loose," he said. "I just found myself after the first inning, and I buckled down and found a way to get through it."
Houser said the fastball was his best pitch.
"I had command with it, and the curve came along a little bit," he said. "I was trying to get ahead with the fastball and get them to chase with two strikes."
Glen Rock backed Houser with an 11-hit attack. Troy Miller, Bryan Procopio, Ethan Lear and Luke Knott each had two hits for the winners. Sammy Miller, no relation to Troy, drove in two runs with a single and a sacrifice fly.
Troy Miller crushed a pitch in the first over the head of Red Lion's center fielder. The blow scored Bryan Kerr, and Miller ended up on third base with a triple.
"The first at bat I was pleased with, but the second and third I wasn't," Miller said. "On the fourth one, I just sat back and went the opposite way (for a single). We needed this game. We were in a slump, and we really attacked them. Hope we can take this into our next game."
Glen Rock, which dragged a four-game losing streak into the contest, went ahead for good with an unearned run in the third to snap a 2-2
"We last played on July 2, and after that, we gave the kids a break," Glen Rock manager Mike Miller said. "We had a practice last night to regroup. They came out swinging the bats tonight. I think the break helped."
Houser appreciated the support.
"Pitching with a lead is a lot easier than pitching when your team is behind," he said. "It feels really good to win this game. We just have to win on Thursday."
Devin Gohn pitched well in a relief effort for Red Lion. He held the visitors to one run in 31/3 innings. Gohn struck out one and didn't issue any walks.
Glen Rock's and Red Lion's next opponents won't be determined until the South Western-Hanover game is played on Wednesday evening. That contest was rained out on Tuesday.
Glen Rock came into Tuesday's contest as the No. 5 seed after a 10-5-0 regular season, while Red Lion was the No. 4 seed after an 11-4-0 regular season.
OTHER LEGION GAMES
SPRING GROVE 12, NORTHEASTERN 9: At Spring Grove, the No. 1 seed fell behind 7-1, only to storm back for the victory.
The winners used an eight-run fourth inning to jump ahead 9-7. Dalton Hoiles started the rally with a single and capped it with a two-run triple. Nick Spangler (two-run double), Luke Rohrbaugh (two-run single), Trevor Troxel (RBI single) and Jon Gross (RBI single) also had big hits during the rally.
Northeastern came back to tie the game 9-9 in the fifth on Josh Writer's homer.
Spring Grove got the lead for good in the sixth on Jake Molison's RBI double. Rohrbaugh added an RBI single and the final run scored on an error. Molison also homered earlier in the game.
Northeastern jumped out to a 6-0 lead, sparked by RBI singles by Ethan Qualters, Jordan Ely and Writer.
NEW OXFORD 4, DAL LASTOWN 1: At New Oxford, the home team plated three runs in the bottom of the third to take a 4-0 lead and never looked back.
Tim Adams led the home team with a two-run single. Darren Majczuk added an RBI single, while Anthony Lippy picked up a complete-game victory, striking out six and walking two.
-- Reach Dick VanOlinda at dvanolinda@yorkdis patch.com.
