Picone delivers on his promise for Garnet Valley

CONCORD — Dom Picone plays baseball with attitude and confidence, which are great characteristics to have, especially if you’re a pitcher.

Picone is the ace, the man, of the Garnet Valley club that defeated 15th-seeded Ridley, 5-0, in a District 1 Class 6A tournament second-round game Tuesday. The No. 2 Jaguars host seventh-seeded Neshaminy in the quarterfinals Friday afternoon.

Back when he was a freshman, Picone told coaches and players that he would be on the mound, leading Garnet Valley to victory in the district tourney. A freshman with that kind of swagger? Who does he think he is?

Well, Picone got the ball and dominated Wednesday. He made good on his word.

“I told them as a freshman that I was going to win this playoff game and I had to do it,” Picone said. “I promised them.”

Picone pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only two hits and one walk while striking out six. At one point he retired 11 of 12 batters. After allowing a single to Ryan Schreiber in the first inning, he kept Ridley out of the hit column until the seventh inning.

“I just wanted to get ahead, stay ahead, reduce walks and get outs quickly while keeping my pitch count down,” said Picone, who will play baseball at the University of Rhode Island next spring. “I trust my fielders. We always stay after practice to field ground balls and it pays off in times like this.”

Picone admitted that he was antsy this week as Garnet Valley had to wait around an extra day to play its first postseason game. He also said the 4 o’clock first pitch messed up his routine a bit, although the later-than-usual start time hardly affected his performance.

“I was anxious, I was ready to go,” he said. “I just wanted to get it going, to come out here and pitch.”

Picone was aided by a Garnet Valley lineup that produced 10 hits and scored in three of the first four innings. The Jags kicked up a two-out rally in the first. Nick Wiesendanger singled, birthday boy Steve Theisen drew a walk, and Darren Hagan supplied an RBI single to put Garnet Valley in front, 1-0.

Ridley pitcher Ethan Pecko labored through six innings. Pecko, who threw 46 pitches in the Green Raiders’ first-round win over Perkiomen Valley, battled all day but was done in by the Jags’ ability to make hard contact. Pecko allowed eight hits and five runs (four earned) with three walks and three strikeouts.

“We had to come out strong and bring everyone together,” said Theisen, who walked twice and scored a run. “We came out of practice yesterday, ready to go and ready to do what we needed to do.”

Reece Malek set the tone at the top of order, going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

“They beat us last time (in the regular season), so we wanted to get them back,” Malek said. “We had something to prove, I guess.”

Picone allowed Malek and shortstop Cole Palis to make plays behind him. The right-hander issued 10 ground ball outs on the day.

“Sometimes, you get bored out there because you don’t get a lot of action,” said Theisen, the Jags’ third baseman. “He was great. That’s what we expect when Dom pitches.”

The Central League co-champion Jags tallied three runs in the third. Malek led off the frame with a double to the gap in left-center. Pecko retired the next two batters, but Theisen worked a walk, Hagan singled to vacated territory on the left side of the infield, then Colin Robinson singled, drove in a run and advanced to second on a throwing error. Two runs scored on the play to give Garnet Valley a 4-0 cushion.

That would more than enough run support for Picone.

Braydon Morandini added two singles and Cole Palis walked and singled for the Jags. Palis played a sensational shortstop, too. In the fourth inning, the Penn-bound senior made a tough Jeteresque play in the hole before throwing to second for a force out.

The Green Raiders (14-8) simply couldn’t not solive Picone, who hasn’t allowed an earned run in nine starts this season. No one has touched Picone all year. Despite the loss, Ridley had one of its best seasons in a decade and qualified for the district playoffs for the first time in 13 years.