There exists a baseball instructional guide on how to make oneself a winning pitcher. Justin Ulrich didn’t write the book, but he did guest author a chapter.

Late in a game, get inserted as a relief pitcher. Do your job and then when the game is on the line, simply get a hit.

To put his on particular spin on the scenario, Ulrich just turned an ‘e’ to an ‘o’. He didn’t get a hit, he got hit.

While it may not be as glamorous, Ulrich getting hit by a pitch was the key moment in the Annville American Legion baseball team’s 4-3 opening-night victory over Fredericksburg on Friday night. Part of Annville’s three-run rally in the bottom of the seventh, Ulrich ‘took one for the team’ with the bases loaded and nobody out to force in the tying run.

An at-bat later, Annville’s stirring comeback was completed when Fredericksburg was guilty of a throwing error. The rally also made Ulrich the winning pitcher.

The lanky right-hander had come on in relief of Alec Barr and Jordan Gohn in the top of the seventh inning, for his initial work of the season. In his lone inning of work, Ulrich did not allow a run, struck out one and walked one.

– Jeff Falk