WYNDMOOR, PA - The Archbishop Wood Vikings took to the field on Wednesday afternoon determined to upset the number one seed St. Joseph’s Prep Hawks to advance to the Philadelphia Catholic League baseball championship. After a strong performance by pitcher Kody Cracknell, combined with an impressive group effort both offensively and defensively, as well as a couple unlucky bounces for the Hawks, the Vikings pulled away with a 7-0 victory and will now face Neuman-Goretti on Saturday, May 27.
Offensively, the Vikings took an early lead in the game when catcher John Gifford drove in two runs in the top of the first inning. On the defensive end, pitcher Kody Cracknell would not allow a hit until the bottom of the third inning; with that being said, it would be one of only two hits that Cracknell would allow the Hawks to have the entire game.
Wood vs. SJP - 23 photos by Francesca Rossillo
Wood vs. SJP
Sophomore Sam Reynolds drove in another run to put the Vikings up 3-0 in the fourth inning, but the scoring wouldn’t stop there. With the bases loaded and no outs, juniors Dylan Slowinski, Kyle McNamee, and Mike Ferrara, tallied RBIs due to unlucky errors by SJP infielders. Archbishop Wood led the game 6-0 at the end of the fourth and recorded a total of seven hits.
Vikings pitcher, Kody Cracknell only allowed two hits in the PCL semifinal vs. SJP to help lead his team to victory - Photo by Francesca Rossillo
Wood celebrates their 7-0 victory - Photo by Francesca Rossillo
Wood will face Neumann-Goretti in the PCL final this Saturday - Photo by Francesca Rossillo
The Hawks attempted to switch the momentum in the fifth inning by replacing pitcher JT Gosweiler with Joe Richardson, but the Vikings would score one more run courtesy of shortstop Robbie Bailey before the inning was over to extend the lead to 7-0.
Cracknell, who is committed to Kutztown University, pitched the game from start to finish with four strikeouts, only two hits, and allowing no runs to help lead the Vikings to victory. The senior pitcher credited the win to his team’s collective defensive effort.
“As a pitcher, knowing that I can pitch and have the defense behind me is a huge help and relief. We had great hits today and I was really happy with how we played as a team,” said Cracknell.
Head Coach, Jim DiGuiseppe, Jr., intends to focus on the “little things” in the next few days before the Vikings face Neumann-Goretti in the PCL final.
“We’re going to continue to stress the little things and hopefully the ball will bounce our way on Saturday so we can go out there and put our best foot forward,” said DiGuiseppe.
The Archbishop Wood Vikings will face the Neumann-Goretti Saints in the 2017 Catholic League baseball championship this Saturday at Noon at Immaculata University.
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