Special Thanks to the Argus/Dispatch

By Bill Barton, Staff sports writer

Watching Grant Snyder's game-winning home run in the second game of Rock Island's Western Big 6 Conference baseball doubleheader against Alleman on Saturday required perspective.

With Rocky trailing by two runs in the top of the seventh inning after already scoring once, Snyder smacked a ball to center field that appeared to bounce short of the fence at Gerard's Yard, but was ruled a home run.

Snyder's three-run homer powered Rocky to a four-run seventh inning and a 5-4 comeback win over Alleman, salvaging a crucial conference split. Alleman won the first game, 6-2.

For the Rocks, 17-8 overall and 2-4 in the WB6, Snyder's shot turned around what was shaping up to be a disappointing conference doubleheader. It mattered little to Rocky that what was ruled a home run indeed may have been a ground-rule double that cleared the fence after bouncing first.

``If we had lost both of those games, it would have been a really bad trip down to St. Louis,'' said Snyder, whose Rocks play at Busch Stadium today following the Cardinals-Montreal contest. ``I heard someone say it landed eight feet short of the fence. That's OK. We'll take it. I don't really care if it bounced over.''

For Alleman (17-4, 3-3), Rocky's comeback in the seventh inning dampened the Pioneers' chances of defending their Big 6 title.

``I'm not going to blame it all on one call,'' said Alleman coach Chris Lemon. ``They put the ball in play and got timely hits. I am disappointed with a split, though. I felt like we had an excellent chance to win the second game. That really hampers our chance to win conference.''

Until the Rocks' seventh-inning rally, the Pioneers appeared to have the doubleheader in control.

In its 6-2 win, Alleman took advantage of key Rock Island errors. Tied 2-2 in the third inning, the Pioneers scored four unearned runs off Rocky pitcher Tom DeBroeck. A throwing error by Rocks' third baseman Zac Simpson started the rally.

With two men on base, Alleman shortstop Ty Schmidt blasted a three-run homer to break open the game.

``We've been so up and down this season,'' said Snyder. ``Sometimes we show moments of greatness and then other times we show flashes of playing as bad as you can play. I think that's reflected in our record.''

Alleman looked as if it would benefit again from Rock Island miscues in the second game. Trailing 1-0 in the sixth inning, the Pioneers' Nate Just and Dylan Cross each drove in a run to give Alleman a 2-1 lead.

Alleman got another gift run when Ryan McGinnis popped up a routine ball to Rocky right fielder Kirk Rylander, who had the ball bounce out of his glove. The error scored Cross.

``It's getting old to keep making the same mistakes, but the one thing about these guys is they never give up,'' said Rock Island coach Andy Cambell. ``Justin Morelock (pitcher) just refused to let us lose that game.''

It was an Alleman misplay in the seventh inning that opened the door for Rocky. With Chris McFarland on first, Rock Island's Tyler Wentler lined a grounder to Alleman's Matt Ebner, who failed to control the ball. Three batters later, Snyder hit his game-winner, though Alleman center fielder McGinnis tried to argue otherwise.

``The ball went over my head and then bounced over the fence,'' said McGinnis. ``I guess they said I didn't put my hands up fast enough to signal. It's kind of frustrating because it makes me feel like it's my fault. We also thought we had a really good chance to win conference. Now, with three losses, it's going to be tough.''