Strechay, Perkiomen Valley shut down Methacton for PAC Liberty lead

Fairview Village >> AJ Hansen has seen Tyler Strechay perform in big moments for several seasons now.

Not only have the two Perkiomen Valley seniors shared time on the baseball diamond, but on the basketball court as well.

“He’s a big-time guy, always there for the moment,” Hansen said. “He does what he does on the mound just like he does on the court.”

Even though Wednesday’s game against Methacton did not have the atmosphere of a Pioneer Athletic Conference championship or district playoff game, it was another big moment where Strechay had the ball in his hands.

Tyler Strechay settling in. Strikeout here ends the fourth. 5-1 Perk Valley after four. pic.twitter.com/OjkOS9HD41

— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) April 3, 2019

After running into some trouble early, the senior right-hander settled in and got plenty of run support to pitch the Vikings to a 10-2 Pioneer Athletic Liberty Division victory.

“The way the PAC is set up, every league game is extremely important for playoffs and for district seeding,” Strechay said. “We treat every one like a must win, and we came out and performed like it.”

Perkiomen Valley (3-0 PAC Liberty, 4-1) and Methacton (2-1 PAC Liberty, 2-1) came into Wednesday’s game as the last remaining unbeaten teams in the PAC Liberty Division. With two Division I arms on the mound in Strechay (West Virginia) and Methacton right-hander Ben Christian (Lehigh), the game looked set for a pitcher’s duel.

Both pitchers stranded two runners in the first inning before allowing runs in the second inning. Strechay found a rhythm starting in the third. He didn’t allow another run until the seventh inning. In 6.2 innings of work, he allowed two earned runs, striking out nine batters compared to just two walks.

“I started to settle in a little more with my location and work in a little more offspeed to keep them off-balance,” Strechay said. “Really it’s just trusting the defense and trying to throw strikes.”

“I love his confidence, how fast he works and how he pummels the zone early and late in the count,” Methacton head coach Paul Spiewak said of the opposing pitcher.

Christian never found his stuff and ended his day after a four-run third inning charged with five runs (four earned). He walked an uncharacteristic six batters, and the Warriors’ defense committed seven errors.

While only capable of putting two runs on the board, Methacton’s offense was active throughout, tallying eight hits and three walks. Senior second baseman Conor Smith led the way with a 3-for-4 day, and Christian went 2-for-2 at the dish. Smith, Christian and Chris Douglas doubled for the Warriors.

Methacton wasn’t afforded the luxury of taking its time to come to form this season. The Warriors opened their year by facing Boyertown, Spring-Ford and Perkiomen Valley. Boyertown was last year’s league champion. Spring-Ford was last year’s PAC Liberty division champion. PV was another PAC playoff team from a year ago.

The Warriors got three top-of-the-rotation arms as well, facing Boyertown’s Nolan Kline in the opener, Spring-Ford’s Jake Skrocki and running into Strechay on Wednesday.

“I think if they can swing the bat that way and we can pitch the way we know we can pitch, I think we’re in a better spot than we even knew we were,” Spiewak said. “Really it’s offensively that we wanted to prove to ourselves that we could compete against some of the best pitching. Going to Bear Stadium, facing Spring-Ford, now facing PV’s ace, I love the fact that we’ve seen everyone’s best at this point, and that we’ve been able to be somewhat successful offensively.”

After scoring one in the second and four in the third, the Vikings finished off their scoring with five runs in the fifth inning. Perkiomen Valley spread the hits up and down the order, including some big knocks from the bottom of the lineup.

Second baseman Cole Whitton had the only multi-hit day for the Vikings, going 2-for-2 with two RBI out of the seven spot. Batting eighth, senior outfielder Sam Mikesic went 1-for-2 with two RBI and a run scored. Nine-hitter Aiden Moffa, a junior outfielder, put the Vikings up 1-0 in the second inning with an RBI double to right field.

“It’s big this year because the deeper we are, the more hits we get, the further we get into the bullpen,” Hansen said of getting production up and down the order.

Methacton started off its season with two huge victories, winning 1-0 over Boyertown and 4-3 over Spring-Ford in extra innings. Spiewak said his 11 seniors kept the team level headed after both games. The vibe of the team was the same after Wednesday’s loss.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Spiewak said. “They were very even keel after the first two wins. When you win games at Boyertown and Spring-Ford, even though it’s early, for some teams you can feel pretty good about yourself. They were just as even keel today after a big loss as they were after those two wins. I think that’s going to go a long way.”

Both teams follow with cross division games as Perkiomen Valley plays Pottsgrove on Thursday and Phoenixville on Monday, while the Warriors face Upper Perkiomen and Pope John Paul II. They will meet again at the end of the month in a night game at Perkiomen Valley on April 29.

“We know these guys are always at the top of the division,” Hansen said. “Taking them out early puts us in good position not only in the division, but for districts too.”

Perkiomen Valley 10

Methacton 2

PERK VALLEY               METHACTON

                     ab   r  h bi                       ab   r  h bi

Hansen          3  1   1  1    TRambo       3  0  1  1

Shayer           4  0   1  0    Romano       0  1  0  0

Wiley             1  2   0  0    Corda           2  0  1  0

McShea         4  1   1  1    Smith           4  0  3  1

Bailly             3  1   1  0    D’Addesi      4  0  0  0

Bohannon      2  2   0  2    LRambo       3  0  0  0

Strechay        4  0   1  0    Douglas       3  1  1  0

Whitton          2  0   2  1    Christian      2  0  2  0

Yannantuono      0  1   0  2    Sheridan      1  0  0  0

Mikesic         2  1   2  0    Daddazio      2  0  0  0

Moffa             3  0   1  2    Rodriguez     2  0  0  0

Holloway       1  1   0  1    Trafford         1  0  0  0

Totals          29 10   9  7    Totals         27  2   8 2

Perkiomen Valley             014 050 0 — 10
Methacton                         010 000 1 — 2

E — Methacton 7; 2B: Moffa, Douglas, Smith Christian.

                                   IP     H    R   ER   BB  SO

Perk Valley

Strechay                   6.2     7     2      2      2   9

Hollenbach               0.1     1     0      0      1     1

Methacton

Christian                      3     5     4      4      6     1

McDonald                    3     3     5      3      1     2

Maloney                       1     1     0      0      0     2