Harriton shocks D-West in district opener
DOWNINGTOWN — Seventh-seeded Downingtown West played host to No. 27 seed Harriton in its District 1 Class AAAA playoff opener underneath an ominous sky Monday afternoon.
The result did not go the way Whippets wanted.
Harriton, playing its first season in Class AAAA, got a masterful pitching performance from Tristan Kevitch en route to a 3-1 upset win over West in front of a stunned group of fans.
Harriton will play Conestoga, a 9-3 winner over Unionville, in the second round Wednesday afternoon.
Kevitch threw a complete game, only allowing one run while limiting a powerful West lineup to only six hits, three of which came in the seventh inning. His strike zone command and the defense behind him were the key factors in Kevitch going the distance.
“We are a young team, not much expectations coming in, we barely snuck into the playoffs and (this game) is just a head turner. I don’t think anyone here was expecting us to win.’ Kevitch said. “This has been my third straight complete game, I have been hot recently but the walls behind me defensively are the difference. Every time the ball was hit I knew our fielders would make the play.’
Harriton scored two of their three runs in the first inning giving the Rams confidence they could win on the road.
A base hit from Anthony Calligaro plated Jesse Bregman after an over-throw from the outside went into the Whippets dugout. The next batter, Kevitch, helped his own cause singingly to left field scoring Calligaro to make it 2-0.
That is all the runs Kevitch needed on this day. He was throwing so many strikes that West’s hitters were forced to attack that first pitch on many at-bats.
The Whippets hit a lot of balls hard but right at fielders; credit the Rams for making all of the plays as they did not commit one error in the game.
“I think our hitters were a little bit anxious,’ West head coach Dave Oleszek said. “Usually you want to take some pitches when you are facing a guy you have never seen before to gauge the speed and the movement but I think having a week off we were excited to get out there and we found ourselves swinging at that first pitch more often than not.’
West starter Kenny Jarema didn’t stand down on the mound as he also pitched a complete game, striking out nine Harriton hitters and scattering seven hits. Jarema kept his team in the game and did everything in his power to give the offense a shot.
“Give a lot of credit to both teams, the pitchers did a great job throwing strikes and getting ahead of hitters; we are just fortunate to scratch a couple runs across in that first inning,’ Harriton head coach Scott Kurzinsky said. “Kevitch has really been good for us lately, always throws strikes and he didn’t walk anyone today which is huge. To get this first AAAA playoff win on the road is a great feeling.’
West finally showed some life offensively in the bottom of the seventh as they got their first three runners on. Eric Small hit a line drive to center scoring Jarema, but the throw from the outfield was cutoff in the infield. Josh Marcelli ran past second and was thrown out before getting back to the bag, giving the Rams a huge first out in the inning. Toby Welk then grounded into a 6-3 double play to end the threat and the game.
