Shipley baseball squad captures 2nd straight Friends School League title
Bryn Mawr – Trust the process.
A short but simple message the Shipley coaching staff delivered to this year’s senior class when they were freshmen hoping they buy into what they were being taught and continue to pass forward despite the obstacles they would encounter during their journey.
On May 20, the senior class gave its coaching staff the perfect farewell gift defeating Moorestown Friends 5-1 to capture its second consecutive Friend’s Schools League title.
“The message was conveyed four years ago when we had a very inexperienced team that included four or five freshman in the starting lineup,” said head coach Bryan Bendowski. “While we competed in every game we were just over matched in most games. That year we finished 6-14, first losing season under my tenure. If this big group of seniors didn’t buy in and our captains from the last few years then we wouldn’t be in the position of winning back to back championships.”
After waiting nine years to clinch its first ever Friend’s Schools League baseball title, the Gators only had to wait one year and four days to win its second crown thanks to a solid defensive effort behind a splendid performance on the mound from sophomore Blake Rodack who allowed one run while scattering eight hits in a complete game effort.
“Blake was huge today,” said senior Nick Wojtelwicz, who went 3-3 with two RBI’s and three runs scored. “Only allowed one run and it just shows if you trust the process and buy into your coach’s philosophy even though it can be tough since Blake was not a pitcher for us last year but has come a long way and came up big for us today.”
“I just tried to throw strikes and let them (Moorestown Friends) hit the ball,” said Rodack, following the game. “I know you can’t strike everyone out and all year our guys, especially Nick, has been making plays all year. I was nervous when the game started but I knew the guys had my back and I knew throwing strikes would help.”
After taking a 3-0 lead thanks to a pair of runs in the first and one run in the third, the Foxes appeared to get right back in the game with their first two hitters in the top of fifth reaching base on a walk and single, respectively.
With nobody out, Rodack got Moorestown’s Alex Ounjian to fly out to left before enticing the 4-6-3 double play to end the threat and allow the hosts to maintain the cushion.
From there, the defense seemed to take center stage even though the visitors finally pushed across one run in the top of the seventh before Rodack forced Chris Grahn to ground out to second baseman Jack Dougherty for the final out of the contest.
“Prior to the game, we told the team we did not get this far to get this far,” said Wojtelwicz. “We played Moorestown a month ago and let it slip away late so we came in thinking about that game and last year’s FSL title game (against Moorestown Friends).
Bendowski added, “Our guys know that the result of what happened in the past (12-2 loss to MFS earlier) didn’t really matter going into today because we’ve instilled the one game at a time approach all season and their confidence never wavered. All of our seniors have embraced their roles on the team (only 3 starters). This group is very unselfish and they made sacrifices to be part of something that no other team has done in the history of the school.”
With the loss of 10 seniors – Wojtelwicz, Pete Sobelman, Phil Johnson, Evan Spector, Jordan Yarmark, Chris Riley, Will Robinson, Griffin Daly, Trevor Stokes and Wyatt Page – to graduation, Bendowski will continue to preach the process and hope his underclassmen who will become upperclassmen will continue to pay the message forward.
