Mainline Pharmacy Stages Comeback to Stave Off Sweep in JCBL Championship Game 3

Johnstown, Pa. – The atmosphere at Roxbury Park was electric Friday night as the Johnstown Collegiate Baseball League (JCBL) championship rolled into its third showdown. Martella’s Pharmacy had already taken a 2‑0 lead, and many fans were already picturing a sweep. But Mainline Pharmacy wasn’t ready to hang up its cleats just yet.

Manager Chance Osborne, who seemed a little flat after three innings of a potentially season‑ending game, refused to let panic set in. “We knew we needed a spark,” he said, eyes fixed on the dugout. “I don’t know exactly where it came from, but you could feel it buzzing around us.”

The spark ignited when designated hitter Cayden Turner, a former North Star High School star now swinging for Penn State Behrend, stepped up. After a season‑long injury that kept him sidelined, Turner finally found his groove, finishing 3‑for‑4 with a double, a triple and three RBIs. His bat helped fuel a 13‑hit onslaught that included Bryce Roberts’ three‑run homer in the eighth inning.

Speaking of homers, the Roberts brothers were all over the scoreboard. Brody Roberts, the league’s MVP, opened the bottom of the first with a solo blast to right field and later added two more hits and two runs. “Both of them had big home runs, and that gave us the momentum we needed,” Osborne noted, pointing to the brothers’ impact.

Martella’s Pharmacy struck first, building a 4‑1 lead by the top of the third thanks to Lucas Oleksa’s two‑run single and a two‑run knock from Jack Messina after a Cainen Atherton double. For a while it looked like the game might slide back into the hands of the eventual champions.

But Mainline’s bullpen had other plans. Right‑hander Dom Delio, a Penn‑Trafford High graduate, entered the game and promptly retired the first eight batters he faced. He fanned four, walked one, and allowed just three hits – one of which was a solo homer by Steve Budash in the eighth. “Dom does a great job staying ahead of the count and throwing strikes,” Osborne praised.

The scoring avalanche continued. After a relentless offensive burst, Mainline turned a 12‑1 advantage into a 13‑5 final. The win not only snapped the sweep narrative but also gave the team a crucial 2‑1 foothold heading into Game 4 on Saturday at Forest Hills Junior‑Senior High School.

“Our backs were against the wall, and we needed that spark,” Osborne reflected. “We still have a lot to do, but we’re comfortable with our pitching staff. If we can keep this energy into Saturday and force a Game 5, the series is far from over.”

On the personal side, Steve Budash played with a heavy heart, honoring his late grandfather, Larry Elgin, who passed away earlier in the week. “He always talked about baseball,” Budash said quietly. “I felt his presence out there, and it gave me extra motivation.”

Meanwhile, Turner, who returned to the lineup on July 7, now boasts a .306 average over 43 plate appearances. “I broke my pinky at the end of the college season, spent two months in rehab, and now I’m just trying to trust my abilities,” he explained. “I believe in our team, and we just have to keep pushing.”

With the series teetering at 2‑1, the next game promises another intense chapter. Martella’s Pharmacy manager Kerry Pfeil admits the series isn’t over: “We made some mistakes in Game 2 that they capitalized on in Game 3. We still have a chance, but we need to tighten up.”

Fans can catch Game 4 at 1 p.m. Saturday, hoping for either a decisive win or a dramatic comeback that sends the championship to a decisive Game 5.