SPRINGFIELD, PA – Baseball is a cruel and fickle sport.  A winning team can be looking down the wrong end of a deficit in just a matter of a few swings or a couple missed plays. Such was the case for La Salle in their 7-2 loss to Cardinal O’Hara. 

La Salle took the early lead thanks to a lead off double from Andrew Ciarlone in the first, who would later score on a pass ball, and a solo home run by Kyle Hemcher in the top of the third.

Although they were behind on the scoreboard, Cardinal O’Hara never looked behind on the field. Despite being unable to match the pop in La Salle’s bats, O’Hara looked sound defensively and seemed calm playing from behind. 

La Salle’s starting pitcher senior Joseph Peluso was a major reason the team was in control for the game’s early goings.

The La Salle pitcher got off to a hot start and made relatively easy work of O’Hara’s lineup for the first few innings, but as the game wore on signs of fatigue were very evident.

According to Davis, his approach at the plate was simple. 

“I just wanted to stay aggressive and swing at the first pitch when I needed to,” said Davis.  

“I thought Peluso was pitching great. I was glad to come in clutch for my team.” 

Peluso was not the only ace on the mound as Cardinal O’Hara’s Billy Neill matched him out for out. After surrendering two early runs, Neill would settle down and shutout the Explorers for the remainder of the game.  

Neill managed to strike out more batters than he allowed hits on the day, sitting down six batters while only allowing five hits.

Neill continuously pounded the strike zone throughout the day forcing La Salle batters to make weak contact and ground-out.

Neill credited his performance entirely to his defense. 

 “I just let the people hit and my fielders fielded the ball for me. It was a great team effort today,” said Neill.

Neill said his approach was to force contact and let his defense take care of the rest, a strategy which worked very well for the Lions. 

Once the fifth inning rolled around, O’Hara’s rally quickly turned into a rout.

A lead-off triple from O’Hara catcher Jim White chased Peluso out of the game to start the inning. 

Junior Luke Ratchford would come in for relief of Peluso but quickly got taken advantage of by O’Hara.

White would score on an RBI single from Isaiah Hammond, who would then do the same on an RBI triple from Davis. Davis would then score on a pass ball to give O’Hara a 5-2 lead all before La Salle had recorded a single out in the fifth. 

This inning exposed a weakness that, according to La Salle head coach Kyle Werman, has been plaguing his team for several weeks.

“The past couple weeks we’ve pitched okay, but we haven’t made good pitches in critical situations and we’ve been hurt by it,” said Werman. 

La Salle offense would open the window for a comeback several times just to have it closed down by a spectacular O’Hara defensive play.

Eric Stewart saved a potential go ahead run in the top of the fifth by putting his body on the line, diving to tag out a runner at first and prevent a man on third from scoring. 

O’Hara would force a rare 1-2-3 strike out, throw out double play in the top of the sixth to erase a lead off walk.

Hammond then followed up the double play with his best cat burglar impression, robbing La Salle of a potential two run homer. 

According to Cardinal O’Hara head coach John Grossi, this type of gritty defensive performance is what is expected of his team.

“We talk about it all the time, being mentally and physically tough. It’s kind of like we want them to think like football players, attack the other team and make them feel uncomfortable. So by your play being aggressive, you make the other team weary of you,” said Grossi. 

A quick 1-2-3 seventh inning would put the finishing touches on an O’Hara victory.

With this win, the Lions are now tied with La Salle for fourth in the PCL showdown. 

This was La Salle’s fourth consecutive loss and they will look to rebound on Wednesday when they face a tough Bonner-Prendergast team.  

“La Salle’s always going to have a target on their backs and our guys know that. Right now people have our number and we’re going to see how we respond. We’ve been punched in the nose a little bit, but we’ve got to come back and answer,” said Werman. 

Grossi was ecstatic about his team picking up what he called a “big, big win”.

“They got behind early and just kept pitching and hitting and came back to take control of the game. You could see the energy pick up, which was great,” said Grossi. 

With the playoffs right around the corner, this is the kind of come from behind win that fuels a long playoff run.

Cardinal O’Hara will face Archbishop Wood next Wednesday as they continue their climb up the PCL ladder.