Archbishop Carroll shuts down La Salle in PCL opener

SPRINGFIELD >>  Tyler Kehoe found himself in a few tight spots on the mound Monday afternoon at La Salle’s Ward Field. But the Archbishop Carroll senior left-hander knows from experience how to wiggle out of them.

“I’ve always been put in those situations all the time last year,” he said. “I was in those situations every time I came into the game and I came in some tough situations and I just rely on my defense. I know I have the best defense in the league behind me so I don’t worry about a thing out there.”

Kehoe’s trust was rewarded in the bottom of the seventh inning.

With runners on second and third with one out, a grounder by La Salle’s Jake Whitlinger bounced off then away from Carroll shortstop Max Hitman. But Hitman stayed with the play, corralled the ball and threw home to get Sean McCallum out and preserve the Patriots’ two-run edge.

“That was a bang-bang play and I know Max has my back, that’s my little brother right there,” Kehoe said. “I can always rely on him when it comes to crunch time and I knew he had that play right from the start.”

Kehoe finished things with a strikeout on the following at-bat, collecting the save as he and starting pitcher Alex Cornell combined the shut out the host Explorers over the final five innings to earn Carroll a bit of payback from last year’s Philadelphia Catholic League final loss with a 3-1 victory in the league opener for both teams.

“This meant everything,” Cornell said. “We just wanted to start the season off on the right note. We know what they did last year, we wanted to come back and send a message. We know what we’re about.”

La Salle took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning but Carroll (2-1, 1-0 PCL) answered with a pair of runs in the top of the third – going up 2-1 lead when Jack Tulskie’s two-out infield pop-up dropped between three Explorers, allowing Hitman to score the go-ahead run.

“We had opportunities,” La Salle coach Kyle Werman said. “A lot of those pop ups fell, stuff you work on, but in the moment, the anxiety of high competition at the varsity level, which a lot of these guys their first opportunity really competing at this level, we got exposed today.”

The Patriots added an insurance run in the sixth on pinch hitter Jason Lafantano’s bases-loaded RBI sacrifice fly and that was enough for Cornell and Kehoe to hold off the defending PCL champs, who routed Carroll 10-0 in five innings in last year’s Catholic League title game.

“There wasn’t any other message, no more motivation than simply remember what happened last year in the Catholic League championship,” Kehoe said. “That’s what we came in this game doing, we knew it was our game to lose and we came out here and took the job done and the league’s going to run through us this year.”

Cornell claimed the win, giving up one earned run on three hits in 5 1/3 innings. The righty walked two, hit one batter and struck out eight batters, including striking out the side in the fourth.

“Felt really good,” Cornell said. “I just felt really confident in my pitches and my defense. I mean, I know these guys are going to pick me up.”

Kehoe did not allow a hit, walked one and struck out a pair in his 1 2/3 innings on the mound. He came in with one out in the bottom of the sixth after Gavin Moretski’s single to left field put runners on first and second. Kehoe, however, got a strikeout and fly out to right to end the La Salle threat.

“I always have Cornell’s back, that’s my guy. I came after him all the time last year, I mean, nothing changed, I got to have his back, he had my back, that’s how we’re going to roll this season. “

McCallum started the bottom of the seventh reaching first on an error. After Drew Yuskevich drew a walk, Matthew Nolan’s sacrifice bunt gave the Explorers second and third with one out. McCallum tried to score when Whitlinger’s grounder eluded Hitman for a moment, but the Carroll shortstop recovered the ball, ran towards McCallum then threw him out at home.

“We had a chance and it came down to a base-running miscue,” Werman said. “It’s two games in a row for us that that’s been a factor at the end of a ballgame. And you hope we learn from it. It’s early in the year but these games come back to haunt you when you look back at opportunities that are lost.”

La Salle starting pitcher Moretski took the loss, the right-hander giving up two runs – both earned – on four hits in 4 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out seven.

“Gavin’s got good stuff. He by no means had his stuff today,” Werman said. “He did enough to keep us in the ballgame. He’s got enough stuff that he can beat guys when he’s not on his game. He really didn’t ever find his feel for his breaking ball or his changeup, maybe a little better late but he gave enough, five strong innings.”

Both teams play PCL contests Wednesday. Archbishop Carroll hosts Lansdale Catholic at 3:45 p.m. while La Salle (0-2, 0-1) visits Roman Catholic at 4 p.m.

With one out in the bottom of the second, Jack Heineman tripled to right field the scored to make it 1-0 La Salle on Daniel Choate’s RBI ground out on the next at-bat.

Sean Lawley opened the top of the third by lining a double to left. Lawley advanced to third on a wild pitch then came home on Hitman’s one-out RBI single to left center.

La Salle looked like it was going to its half of the inning level at 1-1 when Tulksie hit an infield pop-up but on a breezy day the ball fell in and Hitman – who reached third on two wild pitches – scored for a 2-1 Carroll lead.

“If I’m practicing fly-ball communication, I’m doing it on a day like today, that’s the reality,” Werman said. “But at the end of the day, you still have to make the plays and we had the ability to, we didn’t make the adjustments.”

Archbishop Carroll made it 3-1 in the top of the sixth. The Patriots loaded the bases with no outs after an error, walk and Jake McCarter bunt single. With one out, Lafantano’s sac fly to center plated Pat Marley.