Wittig perfect as Upper Perkiomen handles Pope John Paul II in 5 innings
RED HILL >> Evan Wittig set the bar high for himself to start the 2022 campaign.
It’s going to be difficult for the Upper Perkiomen junior lefthander to top — or even match — his first Pioneer Athletic Conference start of the season.
Wittig tossed five perfect innings on Wednesday against Frontier rival Pope John Paul II, and that’s all the Indians needed as they paired the stellar start with an early offensive explosion to earn a 10-0 five-inning win to start league play.
“My little pregame, I just got ready in the ‘pen,” Wittig said. “I have my pitcher bag, and I just got ready to go out there and deal.”
“It was awesome,” he added.
.@UPIndians junior pitcher Evan Wittig (right) tossed five perfect innings and sophomore Drew Graf went 3-for-3 with three runs scored in a 10-0 win over PJP on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/Sf1Q4SIxww
— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) March 30, 2022
The Pope John Paul II bats came into Wednesday’s contest hot, scoring 15 runs just a day earlier in a non-league win over Lansdale Catholic to open their season.
Wittig put down the Golden Panthers in order on nine pitches in the top of the first inning and continued to keep things clean and efficient throughout the rest of the game, needing just 53 pitches to get through five perfect innings.
He struck out three batters and didn’t let a ball in play leave the infield until the final batter he faced — a pop fly to shallow right tracked down by Blake Gehman.
“Wittig was really good today,” PJP manager Charles Deluzio said. “He kept us off balance and they did their job. … We read our press clippings too much. We were excited and we were putting runs up and we were bombing the baseball and a good pitcher got us today.”
A leaping grab by second baseman Ian Ferrero in the top of the second and a Ferrero diving stop on a grounder and stretch by first baseman Braden Rieg in the top of the third kept Wittig’s day perfect on two balls that looked like hits for PJP.
“Ian saved me pretty good today, especially that one (diving) play,” Wittig said. “That was big.”
The Upper Perkiomen offense helped Wittig cruise, spotting him a 9-0 lead after two innings. The Indians struck for two in the bottom of the first on a sac fly by Ferrero and an RBI by Rieg.
Sophomore third baseman Dylan Graf drove in a run with an RBI single to start the scoring in a seven-run bottom of the second.
Ferrero’s two-run single and sophomore left fielder Isaac Bugman’s RBI single bookended the scoring with UP scoring three runs on two walks and an error in between.
Graf, who went 3-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored, came in to score on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fifth to conclude the game. Junior catcher Devin Kranich (2-for-4) and Ferrero (3 RBI) also had big days for the UP offense.
“I think the whole team was just really comfortable at the plate, and it really stood out today,” Graf said.
PJP didn’t do itself any favors in quieting the offensive attack with three costly errors and nine walks.
“We weren’t ready to play, but it’s all right,” Deluzio said. “It’s one game out of 19 or 20 and we’ve got 18 left. We’re behind the eight ball a little bit, but we’ll find out what type of team we’ve got tomorrow (against Cardinal O’Hara).”
The Indians were in contention for the Frontier Division last season, finishing 9-7 in the PAC and 7-3 in the Frontier — tied with Pottsgrove for second place behind 9-1 Phoenixville. They were the lone team in the division to knock off the Phantoms.
UP brings back two all-league players (Ferrero and Kranich) and several others from last year’s team and add in a strong sophomore class, which showcased itself throughout the lineup in Wednesday’s win.
“I think we’re learning a lot from them (upperclassmen),” Graf said. “Throughout practice and the first two scrimmages we learned a lot from them and we have to continue doing that.”
“I think the sophomores came in today and hit amazing,” Wittig said. “I’d love to see it carry throughout the whole season.”
They should be in the mix — if not one of the front runners — in a Frontier Division that has a lot of returning talent. Wittig said reaching the postseason is definitely on the team’s mind.
“I’d love to go to districts this year,” Wittig said. “I feel like last year at 9-7 we wished that we would have made districts. We feel like we got cheated out at the end.”
Despite its lopsided loss on Wednesday, PJP also has high hopes for the 2022 campaign with a strong returning core coming off a 5-5 mark in the division in 2021.
Seniors Nik Rubendall (1.1 IP, 9 ER) and Adam Yarrison (3.1 IP, 0 ER) weren’t their sharpest on Wednesday, combining for nine walks, but they give the Golden Panthers two experienced arms.
Senior center fielder David Wagner and Rubendall also lead a lineup that returns most of the pieces from last year’s team and adds in some young talent.
“We are real excited about our group,” Deluzio said. “We’ve got a young group, but a mature group. We’ve got older guys with the young veterans. … (The Frontier’s) wide open. I really think we’ve got a shot at it. I really believe that. I’ve been telling these guys. I think we’ll be in the mix for it, but now we’ve gotta get right back on the horse. Hopefully we’ll be all right and I think we will be.”
