District 1-6A Baseball: Spring-Ford once again dominant in win over Conestoga
UPPER PROVIDENCE >> Spring-Ford has shown a number of talents in the course of its thus-far memorable 2021 season.
Getting a complete game in ahead of inclement weather was one the Rams displayed Wednesday. And it proved to be a timely exhibition.
With its District 1-6A playoff opener against Conestoga in danger of being interrupted by rain, Spring-Ford got its bats and baserunning in full gear. It plated six runs in the bottom of the fifth to score a mercy-rule 10-0 victory over the Pioneers at Ram Stadium.
The district’s top seeds (16-1) had made it an official game in the event of bad weather, having gotten through 4-1/2 innings with a 4-0 lead. But they bunched five hits around a pair of Conestoga defensive miscues to avoid the possibility of a weather-related suspension of the proceedings.
“I wanted us to play a full game,” SF head coach Rick Harrison said while his players gathered their gear and covered the mound and home-plate area as the first drops of rain started falling. “I was happy with the way we swung the bats.”
Jack Kisela’s mound work was another source of joy for the home team. The senior hurler limited 17th-seeded Conestoga (9-8) to just three hits and six total baserunners, walking none and recording three strikeouts.
“Kisela did a nice job keeping us in the game,” Harrison noted. “He’s been a bulldog for us … complete and composed. He bore down when it was needed.”
The Rams’ defense also rose to the occasion in the top of the third, when the Pioneers had four runners reach base. Jon Quici and J.T. Zellefrow led off with back-to-back singles, but the threat was short-circuited by converting the fielders’s choice hits of Jack Nudy and Jayce Tharnish into the first two outs.
“I would have liked to see us try for a double play,” Harrison said, “but we minimized the damage, especially at the top of the lineup.”
The big-payoff fifth was highlighted by Billy Bean’s two-run single to left, RBI basehits by Jake Books and Nick Cagliola and the second of Jarrett Gordon’s two doubles. Gordon’s two-bagger touched off the near-bataround (eight hitters), with Kisela (2-for-2, one RBI) also hitting safely.
“Once a couple guys got hits, the rest of the lineup followed,” Gordon (2-for-3) said. “It started at the very beginning.”
Spring-Ford small-balled its way to its ultimate game-winning runs in the second. Aydan McNelly (single) and Kisela (hit by pitch) reached base to set the stage for Dylan Ducharme (2-for-3) and Bean (sacrifice fly) getting them home.
The Rams doubled their lead in the third, Gordon (double) and McNelly (walk) coming around off back-to-back singles by Kisela and Ducharme.
“We’re hungry,” Gordon noted. “The coaches have told us everyone wants to beat us. We have to come out every day and show what we can do.”
The final act of Conestoga’s season proved to be a heartwarming one. Two special-needs students, Sonny DiMirtini and Jon Stanton, got the opportunity to hit the ball and run the bases while both teams stood on the baselines cheering them on.
“It’s a tradition,” Pioneer head coach Matt Diamond explained. “Win or lose, it helps keep perspective.”
It was a concept Diamond emphasized to his players in their final post-game huddle.
“I told them while this wasn’t the outcome we wanted,” he said, “you only hang your heads if you’re ashamed. All season long, they played clean baseball.”
NOTES >> Walker Burdette was Conestoga’s third player to hit safely. … As a result of Spring-Ford’s timely offense, the game was completed in 1:17.
