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BASEBALL: Seniors Carry Springside Chestnut Hill Academy to Inter-Ac Title

By John Knebels- Photos by Zamani Feelings, 05/18/19, 7:00PM EDT

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Springside Chestnut Hill Academy Marks Biggest Win in 30 Years


Springside Chestnut Hill wins first Inter-Ac Title since 1989 - PSD Photo by John Knebels

Story & Videos: John Knebels

Photos: Zamani Feelings

 

PHILADELPHIA – In their final home game of their careers, seven seniors and their parents were honored before the game. After the parents found a place to sit or stand, their sons went out and provided Springside Chestnut Hill Academy with its biggest win in 30 years.

Behind senior submarine thrower Carter Davis’ seven brilliant innings, opportunistic offense, gutsy aggressiveness by senior catcher Sam Aslansan, and errorless defense, the Blue Devils blanked visiting Penn Charter, 5-0, to clinch the school’s first outright Inter-Academic League baseball title since 1989. During the interim, SCH shared championships in 2007 and 2016.

“We knew the Inter-Ac was going to be close this year,” said Aslansan. “We knew a lot of teams were going to be tough to beat. This means a lot. We started off 1-2 and finished 8-2. Those last seven games . . . we were just on.”

Six of the seniors contributed to the Blue Devils’ seventh consecutive Inter-Ac triumph. Davis surrendered only four hits and two unintentional walks and became stronger as the game continued, notching four of his seven strikeouts over the final two frames, including a game-ending whiff on a high fastball that brought the team to an immediate celebration between home plate and the infield.

Aslansan thwarted two potential Penn Charter rallies in the first and third innings by picking off runners at second base. Pat Elliott collected three of SCH’s seven hits and drove in two runs. Leadoff hitter Jahli Hendricks walked twice and scored a run. Brandon Gibbs singled and was hit by a pitch. Cole McNeil walked and scored a run. The only senior who did not play, Josh Niebish, might have relieved Davis if he had needed it.

He didn’t.

“Carter’s a great pitcher,” said Aslansan. “Carter is always focused. Even the night before, he’s focused. Curve balls, changeups, sliders, they were all looking good. He spotted the fast ball.”

Elliott added a succinct but extremely complimentary summary.

“There’s no one else we wanted on the mound,” added Elliott.   


SCHA Seniors (Left to Right): Josh Niebish, Sam Aslanson, Jahli Hendricks (squatting), Carter Davis, Brandon Gibbs, Pat Elliott, Cole McNeil (missing: Mason Banks) - Photo by John Knebels

SCH seniors talk about making history with first outright league title in 30 years:

Senior Pat Elliott describes the importance of winning the Inter-Ac title:

Catcher Sam Aslansan (left) and pitcher Carter Davis (right) reflect on a complete-game shutout:

The Blue Devils’ key hit was delivered by a sophomore, and it proved to be the game winner. With two on and two outs in the first inning, sophomore Jon Bautista slammed a two-run double to left center to plate Elliott and junior Jared Sprague-Lott. The Blue Devils doubled their lead in the second on an RBI groundout by junior Scott Bandura and a single by Elliott. In the sixth, Elliott knocked in Hendricks with a single.

One of the strangest post-game asterisks was that no infielder needed to make an assist. Penn Charter’s 21 outs consisted of seven strikeouts, five fly balls to the outfield, four pop outs to the infield, two comeback grounders to Davis, a diving snare of a line drive at first base by Gibbs, and the two pick offs by Aslansan. 

“It’s huge,” said Davis, referring to Aslansan’s ability to throw behind runners. “You know in the back of your head that if you put on a base runner, it’s not necessarily over because they can be gone in half a second. We try to stay a step ahead of our competition.

“Pitching is nothing without defense. I had maybe two or three strikeouts today? (He actually had seven.) Every other play was made by the people behind me.”

Next up is the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) tournament. The Blue Devils are the top seed and receive a first-round bye.

As nice as it would be, capturing a postseason title would pale in comparison to what the Blue Devils were able to accomplish already.

“From our standpoint, it was us against the world,” said Hendricks. “We’re a big family.”

Davis agreed.

“Representing our school with class is something that is big for our team,” he said. “I think representing our school the way it’s supposed to be represented is a big part of our championship.”

 

(Contact John Knebels at Jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.)  

 

Jon Bautista drills a two-run double in first inning, giving SCH a 2-0 lead over Penn Charter:

Carter Davis tosses 5-0 shutout to give SCH first outright Inter-Ac title: