Currently, thanks to several surprising results on Wednesday afternoon, only two games separate teams in fourth place through 10th.

With most teams having reached past the halfway point, La Salle stood alone as the only undefeated squad at 7-0. But Wednesday's 5-2 loss to visiting Neumann-Goretti dropped the Explorers into a first-place tie with the Saints.

The win that felt best had to be a 4-2 decision over Father Judge in which junior hurler Jack Pye went the distance, allowing only four hits and a walk while four different teammates knocked in a run. The victory partly avenged La Salle’s loss in last year’s PCL championship.

“With that being said, bouncing back against a good team in Devon Prep is something we needed to get us back on track and keep us rolling.”

Dankanich proved prophetic. On Wednesday afternoon, behind senior Jayce Park's eight-strikeout complete game and two runs batted in by senior Will Gural, the Saints improved to 7-1 and now share the top spot with La Salle, though technically, the Saints would be considered first based on their head-to-head win over the Explorers.

Conwell-Egan is off to their best start in years. Pretty soon, the “surprising” label will be torn off and shredded. Before Wednesday's 8-2 loss to St. Joseph's Prep, the 6-3 Eagles had surrendered only 13 runs over their past seven PCL games. Even their two previous losses – 1-0 at Neumann-Goretti and 5-3 against LaSalle – contained several positives. 

“It’s been really exciting to watch,” said senior Jake McGuigan. “We’ve achieved a lot over the last four years since I’ve been playing here. We have everything we need to be strong contenders in this league. We compete with every team, and watching how far this team has come since I started my freshman year, it has truly been amazing to watch.”

And then . . .

In a classic finish Wednesday afternoon, and with his parents in the stands and his mother videotaping on her cell phone, sophomore Caden Vacca smashed a walk-off, two-run homer over the left-field fence to cement a 7-5 win over Bonner-Prendergast and set off a mad celebration at home plate.

“My approach at the plate is to sit on a fastball and react to the curveball,” said Vacca. “Coach (Jim DiGuiseppe, Jr.) pulled me aside before my at bat and told me to relax and jump on a fastball. I jumped at the first-pitch fastball and just connected on it. After the ball went over the fence, I felt a wave of excitement, knowing we just beat one of the most talented teams in the PCL.” 

Vacca's teammates couldn't have been more pleased.

“Huge win today for the team," said senior Braden Kelly. "Could be the biggest of the year for us. Really got the team hyped up and ready for the next games coming up. We have really found our groove as a team over the past few games.

"The league is definitely open this year, which means we just gotta do our best to keep playing hard every game to try to win.”

“Although it’s a new team and a new atmosphere, we all have the same end goal and that is to win it all again,” said Rodriguez. “We are putting it together day by day and becoming the defending team we were last year. We may have lost a few games, but as a team that does not define how we are. We still play with heart and the desire to win the championship this year, and even better, to make it back to the state championship for our last run together. Everything for Father Judge baseball is new from coaching to players, but we are still one whole family. “

On Wednesday, St. Joseph’s Prep received three hits and three runs batted in from senior Will McCoach, and 4 1/3 shutout innings from sophomore Mihretu Rupertus to beat Conwell-Egan, 8-2, and better their record to 5-4.

The Hawks began the season with a tough 1-0 defeat at La Salle and a lopsided loss to Neumann-Goretti. They then won four straight – two of them by one run – before losing twice. Then their latest victory.

“Weather has obviously played a factor in everyone’s season early on,” said Prep coach Anthony Valucci. “We were put into a situation of playing a lot of games in a short period of time. We have played solid baseball for the most part.

“It was incredibly important to get these three big wins,” said Ryan junior Jake Marchesano. “They really put us back on track to really make a playoff push. It’s been huge for our mindsets and giving us the confidence that we needed, so this stretch has been huge.”

At 3-5, Devon Prep might be coming on. In the Tide’s last three contests, they defeated Archbishop Ryan, 11-3, lost a 2-1 pitcher’s duel at Neumann-Goretti, and blanked Cardinal O'Hara, 10-0, on Wednesday behind five shutout innings from junior Ryan Samms and four RBI from junior Chase Lubker.

Archbishop Carroll’s 1-7 record could be much different with timely hitting. The pitching of senior Anthony Auteri and sophomore Liam Wray has been stellar, but the Patriots have only managed to score 10 runs over their past six games – all defeats.

At a misleading 1-7, Lansdale Catholic endured a brutal four-day stretch that included a walk-off loss at Archbishop Wood, another walk-off defeat in nine innings at St. Joseph’s Prep, and a 5-2 decision to Neumann-Goretti. Then on Wednesday, the Crusaders were edged by visiting Archbishop Ryan, 5-4.   

Having lost their initial seven games, Roman Catholic desperately needed a pick-me-up. The Cahillites got precisely that on Monday in the form of a 5-4 victory over Lansdale Catholic. 

“Today’s win was beyond due,” said senior Santino Harwood. “I mean, we’ve been fighting every game and baseball is a sport that will just keep putting you in the ground, but we never gave up and will keep sticking together as a family and do our thing.”

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