NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA – Score big early, and wins tend to follow.
Neumann-Goretti, which last season lost in the Catholic League championship and the PIAA state final, put together a four-spot in the visiting first inning. What was weird about it, though, was that the Saints registered a grand total of . . . zero hits.
Undaunted, N-G took full advantages of control issues, lousy defense, and aggressive base running and defeated Episcopal Academy, 6-0, on March 26.
“We try to put pressure on our opponent,” said Neumann-Goretti coach Kevin Schneider. “That’s our philosophy. Just put on pressure. If you make a weak out, there is no pressure.
“We did a good job with that today. We got the ball on the barrel but we weren’t finding the holes, but we put the ball in play. In high school, it doesn’t take 10 hits to score runs if you make the defense have to work.”
Neumann-Goretti’s first inning included two walks, a hit batsman, and four Episcopal errors. The Saints remained hitless until sophomore Colin Eiser delivered what would be his team’s only hit, a two-out single in the sixth.
Neumann-Goretti's Ethan Pritchett talks about the benefit of pitching with a four-run lead.
The Saints tacked on single runs in the fifth (sacrifice fly by senior Lou Testa) and seventh (ground out that scored junior Jarred Healey).
“It’s nice to pitch with a lead,” said senior Ethan Pritchett, the vanguard of N-G’s staff. “You can work on just throwing strikes and let your defense make the plays.”
Pritchett said he enjoys the role of being among the squad’s elder statesmen.
“The seniors last year did it too, making sure that everyone is working hard,” said Pritchett. “It’s important to remember what the seniors taught us and fill in their shoes.”
Pritchett pitched well, especially this early in the season. In four innings, he struck out six – including three straight in the first – and surrendered five base runners.
“Ethan’s our ace,” said Schneider. “We go as he goes. He does a very good job of mixing speeds with his fastball, moving somewhere between 83 and 89 (miles per hour). He throws pitches with a purpose.”
For the Churchmen, a forgettable first frame nullified a decent overall effort.
“We have a lot of young kids,” said Episcopal coach Mike Hickey. “You give up one hit and you think you’ll be okay. We gave up four runs in that first inning and dug ourselves a hole.”
A few days later, on March 29, the Churchmen endured a similar fate. At Father Judge, the Crusaders scored five runs in the first inning and coasted to a 7-0 victory. The Saints only made one error; however, an 11-hit attack spearheaded by senior Connor Vogt (3 for 3, 3 RBI) and dominant pitching by senior Dan Hammer (six innings, nine strikeouts) proved too much to overcome.
Catholic League games await both Goretti and Judge; on April 4, the former plays host to defending league champion Archbishop Wood (4 PM) while the latter faces visiting Cardinal O’Hara (3:45). After several more non-league contests, Episcopal opens its Inter-Academic League slate with a home bout with Penn Charter 4 PM, April 12.
(John Knebels can be reached at jknebels@gmail.com.)