ASTON, PA – “A Pitchers Duel”- For those who may not know, is a game that’s dominated by the pitchers and their performances. So much so, that many fans consider it boring, but there was nothing boring, or even average about this pitching duel. On Monday afternoon, Father Judge took on Council Rock North in the PIAA AAAA State Playoffs at Neumann University. Both teams fought hard, allowing only 3 runs in the game. For Father Judge, it was their several errors that would end up costing them the game. CRN won in the narrowest of margins with a final score, 2-1.
“When you have two Division 1 pitchers throwing at each other, that’s all it takes,” said CRN’s head coach Matt Schram in reference to the pitching showdown.
On the mound for the FJ Crusaders was senior Dan Hammer, who will be playing DI baseball next year for the University of Pittsburgh. Coach Ken Devenney had this to say about the confidence in his starting pitcher.
“To be honest, whenever Dan Hammer is pitching, we know we can beat anybody,” said coach Devenney. “But, this is new territory for us as a team. We never played into the state tournament. You know, the district final or state tournament…it’s just a new for us.”
CRN will play Marple Newtown this Thursday in the PIAA Quarterfinals - PSD Photo
On the other side of the diamond was Council Rock North pitcher, Matt Hand, who is also going on to play DI baseball at Lehigh University. Both Hand and Hammer definitely lived up to their billing.
In the top of the 1st, Hand was tested early. After a lead off single by Matt O’Connor, Father Judge tried to play a little small ball to secure a lead early. The next batter sacrificed a bunt, sending O’Connor to 2nd. The following batter for the Crusaders hit the ball to the right side of the infield, allowing O’Connor to move to 3rd just 90-feet from the games first run.
Next, the designated hitter, Christian Lutz, hit one almost up the middle, but the second baseman was able to grab it and make the long throw to first, saving CRN a run.
Over the next several innings, Hammer and Hand would record 3 strikeouts each, and would fail to allow a hit until the top of the 4th.
During the top of the 4th, again, it was Father Judge who was pressing for a run. There was a ground out from a batter before Tom Penko hit a single. It was Hand’s second hit allowed of the day. Hand would respond, striking out the next batter up for the second out of the inning.
With a man on first, Connor Vogt put the ball in play above the first baseman’s head, dropping it into right field for a single, and putting Penko in scoring position. The next man up for Father Judge was Dan Hammer. Hammer ropes one past the infield and into right center for an RBI single and the games first run. FJ led 1-0.
In the bottom of the 4th, CRN’s Jackson Parker started the inning with a lead off single.
Later, Parker stole second and put himself in scoring position. Unfortunately, the next two batters for CRN were unable to put the ball in play, leaving Parker on 2nd with 2 outs. Next up was Seth Leuz.
Leuz hit the ball up the middle, and as the FJ shortstop charged it, the ball bounced under his out stretched glove and into the outfield for an RBI single. The game was tied 1-1.
CRN would put more pressure on Father Judge that inning due to another fielding error, but was unable to capitalize leaving the game tied going into the 5th.
With one error that inning, CRN tied the game, showing how high the level of play was at this stage of the competition. After allowing a run off an error, the FJ Crusaders seemed a little rattled. FJ pitcher Hammer seemed calm though, sitting down the side in order to end the 5th.
CRN pitcher Matt Hand found another groove and sat down the side in order for the next two innings, bringing us to the bottom of the 6th. CRN’s Jackson Parker got on base again, this time via a walk from Hammer.
Parker stole second and was in scoring position for the second time in the game. Hammer would strike out the next batter for the 1st out.
Next, Matt Hand hit into a fielders’ choice on the left side of the infield. Parker got stuck in a pickle heading for third and was eventually tagged out for the second out of the inning.
The next batter up for CRN was Seth Leuz. While at bat, Hand stole second and put himself into scoring position. This stolen base would be critical.
The next play, Leuz hits a ball to the shortstop who hops it to first, but the first baseman just misses the scoop and the ball flies past him to the cage. At this point, with two outs, Hand was running full speed around third and scored easily giving CRN the 2-1 lead.
In the 7th, who else but Father Judge pitcher Dan Hammer tried to rally his team to a comeback.
Hammer rips a single past the shortstop, to get it started. The next batter Charles Kelley, hit a single down the right field line, putting Hammer in position to tie the game. Unfortunately, Matt Hand gets the better of the next two batters who fly out to end the game.
With the victory, Council Rock North advances to the PIAA AAAA Quarterfinals on Thursday June 11th.
CRN will be playing Marple Newtown at Immaculata University. First pitch is scheduled for 4PM.
“We are going to stick with our game plan going forward. Everything that we have done so far, and the buttons that we pushed have been the right buttons so far,” said Schram.
“So we are going to continue to push those buttons and continue to play a clean game and work on getting better at bats when runners are on base. So we will work on that for Thursday.”