District 1-6A Baseball: Porco settles in to toss Central Bucks South by Perkiomen Valley
GRATERFORD >> It looked like Robby Porco’s day might be short after one inning of work.
Instead the Central Bucks South righthander nearly went the distance.
Porco, a 6-foot-8 West Virginia recruit, allowed just one unearned run in 6.2 innings of work to help the 19th-seeded Titans to a 4-1 win over 14th-seeded Perkiomen Valley in Monday’s District 1-6A first round game at PV.
CB South (9-8) advances to face third-seeded Bensalem in the second round on Wednesday.
“I always think in the first inning it’s a little bit harder to settle in, especially with this turf,” Porco said. “I wasn’t sure what the surface would be like, but I got the footing down and (catcher Eric) Damico is always good at calming me down in spots. We really stepped up and pulled through when we needed to.”
PHOTO GALLERY: Perkiomen Valley-CB South District 1-6A Baseball
End 6th: CB South 2, Perk Valley 0. … After an infield hit to start the inning, Porco gets a double play and K to end the inning. pic.twitter.com/lliIXr5WpH
— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) May 24, 2021
Mid 7th: CB South 4, Perk Valley 0. … Jimmy Kelly two-out double to left center plates two. pic.twitter.com/U649LikveF
— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) May 24, 2021
Porco struck out nine batters and gave up a walk and five hits to pick up the win Monday.
While the Perkiomen Valley (10-7) offense didn’t net any runs after getting their first two batters on, they forced Porco to toss 26 pitches in the opening frame.
The Vikings threatened again in the third with runners on second and third and one outs before Porco escaped the jam and cruised through the next three frames.
“He was kind of struggling with his curveball early, but when he found it, it definitely worked for him,” said PV junior Andrew McGowan, who was the other starter in the pitchers’ duel.
“We weren’t really shut down. We just couldn’t get guys in when we got them on base.”
Luke Ott’s single plated Steven Giorgi to give PV its first run with two outs in the seventh and finally knocked Porco from the game. CB South’s Noah Collier needed just one pitch for the save.
“I was happy with how it turned out,” Porco said. “I know Noah can come in any spot and perform. I wish I could get that last kid out, but it’s pretty much the second best thing that could happen because I trust Noah.”
The Titans did their damage in the second and seventh innings.
Designated hitter Dakota Beck (3-for-3) and first baseman Colin Mitchell (2-for-3, double) set the table both times from the sixth and seventh spots, respectively.
After Beck singled and Mitchell doubled in the second, they scored on a wild pitch and a sac fly by Damico to go up 2-0.
“We saw the pitches, we drove the pitches that we were supposed to hit,” Beck said. “That’s all you gotta do in baseball, hit the pitches they throw and execute your job.”
McGowan held the Titans in check until center fielder Jimmy Kelly drove in a pair of runs with a two-out double in the top of the seventh.
He allowed three earned runs on eight hits and struck out four while walking none in the complete game.
“Other than those two innings, I was just trying to mix in fastball in curveball counts and curveball in fastball counts and mix in the changeup as much as I can,” McGowan said.
CB South fell to Bensalem, 5-2, on April 20 when Beck said the Titans left a lot of runners on base. They’ll be seeking revenge Wednesday when they get the Owls again.
The Titans ended their regular season with a pair of shutout wins and after allowing just one unearned run Monday could be peaking at just the right time to come up with another upset win.
“I think the team’s coming together,” Beck said. “The seed doesn’t really mater. We play as one. I think we’re going to do really well.”
NOTES >> Shortstop Carter Hinds had a pair of hits for CB South, which also a couple of terrific defensive plays from third baseman Owen Petrich. … Jack Colyer, Jake Stasyk, Dom Miceli, Giorgi and Ott had PV’s knocks. Centerfielder Zach Alderfer made two terrific plays in the top of the third to help McGowan keep the Titans off the board.
