WINCHESTER--Ben Bennett lofted a long fly ball over the head of Winchester centerfielder Travis Streit to claim a 9-8 heart-stopping win for Danville Thursday night in third round of the Virginia State American Legion baseball tournament at Bridgeforth Field.

The hit by Bennett, a longtime rival of losing pitcher John Goode (7-2), completed a better than three hour, ten-inning game that had more plot twists than a mystery novel.

Winchester (24-9) will face Newport News Denbigh this morning at 10 at R. Charles Hott Field in order to play Danville at 1:30 p.m. at the same site.

The local team, which has never won a state tournament, could force a playoff on Saturday should it win two at the James Wood High School field today.

"I've known John for several years going back to the Firecracker Invitational (now called the Ed Baker Classic). I met him there and we played against each other a couple of times since. He's a great pitcher, I was just trying to get it over their head," said Bennett, who drove in three runs in this game played in football weather.

John Goode, perhaps the best pitcher in this tournament, saw his 37-inning scoreless earned-run string broken in the bottom of the sixth when he came on for middle reliever Brian Gray.

The VMI rising sophomore, who closed out Centreville in a similar position on Wednesday, was asked to do the same for homestanding Winchester. He showed the same kind of guts he has all season by retiring eight straight Danville hitters. In the ninth, the winners touched him for a run on three hits to send the game into extra innings.

Even so, the former James Wood righthander shut out the side after loading the bases in the bottom of the ninth and then watched as "poor execution" handed the game to the 1998 state champions.

Goode figured in the 10th inning melee after his own team failed to get a run across with one out and runners on second and third in the visitors' 10th. The Keydet came back in the home half to strike out leadoff man Brent Weaver; however, his wild pitch on the third strike bounced off the plate allowing the fleet Weaver to reach first. From there, John LeSeuer sacrificed Weaver to second. Goode then had to walk Danville's third and fourth hitters to get to Bennett.

With outfielders Kory Campbell, Streit, and Brent Lockhart playing in, Bennett belted a double, which rolled nearly to the fence. "I saw Streit playing in and really all I wanted to do was get a ball over their heads with no outs," said Bennett.

Danville (39-6-1) has played in seven state championships in coach John Bailey's nine years and "tonight it looked like the Good Lord was with us. (Winchester coach) Scott (Copenhaver) and I have been friends for a long time and I told him afterwards that neither of deserved to win this game, it was sloppy from the start, but the Man Upstairs must have been smiling down on us to get us out of here with a victory." Indeed, Danville committed five errors, six walks, and hit a Winchester batter, "otherwise I don't think it would have been so close," said Bailey.

The Danville team gave up three runs on just one hit to let Winchester go ahead 3-0 in the first inning, but the visiting team scored a run in the second and then added three more in the bottom of the third to lead 4-3.

Danville held a 5-3 margin when Winchester tied it in the top of the fifth on a two run homer over the leftfield fence by Ryan Anderson. The Potomac State College infielder was one of three Winchester batters with two hits on the night; he drove in three runs. At five all, Danville made it 7-5 in the bottom of the sixth only to see local Post 21 come back with three runs in its seventh to go ahead 8-7. That set up the dramatic ninth for the winning team.

"We had our chances to win it," said Copenhaver, "but we didn't execute some things in the late innings that we normally do. It cost us in the end." Interestingly, Winchester was in the same position two years ago when it last hosted the state championships. It went on to sweep its Friday games to force a playoff, which it dropped.

Copenhaver is hoping for a similar result today, "I don't know what you can really say, I still have some pitchers but I certainly would like to be in Danville's place today," said the Winchester coach. Danville finished runner-up in the state tournament in 1999, 2000, and 2003. The winner of this tournament heads to Boyertown, Pa. to the American Legion Region II playoffs on Thursday.

Streit and Anthony Farrell collected two hits apiece for the losing team. LeSeuer wrapped three hits for the winners, while Nathan Daly, Will Inman, and Bennett each had two.

Danville 9, Winchester 8 (10 innings)

Winchester 300 020 300 0 -8 9 0

Danville 013 111 001 1 9 13 5

Winchester-Patrick Wingfield, Brian Gray (4), Goode (6), and Tommy Farrell

Danville-Dustin Stultz, Rob Whitley (7), John Walker (7), Inman, and Bennett

WP-Inman; LP--Goode