PHILADELPHIA – In a close 5-3 victory, Father Judge picked up another PCL win on the road against Ryan last week. But the point to be made here is that it was, in fact, a very close win.
Archbishop Ryan, a younger team loaded with underclassmen, put up a fight against the Judge powerhouse.
Recap:
Top of the 1st: Freshman Nick Dean, Ryan's starting pitcher, strikes out the side
Top of the 4th: Dean allows bases loaded with 2 outs, but gets a strikeout for the 3rd out
Top of the 5th: Dean gives up 3 runs – reliever takes over, gives up two more runs, Judge leads 5-0
Bottom of the 6th: Ryan gets a run on an error, and gets more hits to load the bases. A reliever comes in and walks in a run - reliever is immediately replaced by another reliever who walks in another run. Ryan then gets a hit, but it’s grounded out with bases loaded, 5-3
Bottom of the 7th: 1, 2, 3 inning. Final score Judge 5-3
Against one of the best teams in the league, Ryan loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth, but was unable to capitalize. The Raiders scored three runs during the contest, all as a result of walks and errors.
During the game, Judges’ bullpen was tested towards the end of the game at the bottom of the 6th inning.
Ryan vs. Judge Quick Recap
"We've been going to the same guys all year round, and sometimes they're coming through and sometimes they're not. But the thing I tell them is that their still in that rotation, I still have faith in them, and we just have to work on it so that next time they get an opportunity, they do execute their role," said Devenney.
From left to right - Ryans' Brian Nowosielski, Brian Yost and Matt Romano talk about team improvements
After the close battle, Ryan head coach Gerry Eck had plenty of compliments for his up and coming team.
“We're a young team, starting a lot of freshmen and sophomores. But, tough game, Judge did a good job. By the end of the year we're probably going to have four or five freshmen starters so it's exciting. We're going through some growing pains, our offense is hurting us a little bit, but they're doing good. Hey, we battled, we'll get there."
Eck also commented on the friendly rivalry between the two squads.
"Father Judge and us are huge rivals. In the past 10 years, we've pretty much been on top more, but these are always tough games. There's a lot of local kids that play each other, they know all the other kids, it's fun, intense games, and you see it here,” said Eck.
With freshmen players, such as Nick Dean pitching four shutout innings in the seven-inning game, Ryan definitely has a bright future ahead.
Ryan vs. Judge
Looking Ahead: Tomorrow at 3:45PM, Father Judge will host La Salle at the Ramp Complex. This coming Thursday, Archbishop Ryan is set to play at home vs. Cardinal O’Hara at 3:45PM.