Baseball: Malvern Prep remains perfect in Inter-Ac, downs Chestnut Hill

MALVERN- The Malvern Prep baseball team continued its assault on the rest of the Inter-Academic League Tuesday afternoon as the host Friars got a superlative pitching performance from junior Chuck Oschell and got enough timely hits to stay unbeaten in the league with a convincing 10-0 five inning win over Springside Chestnut Hill. Oschell was magnificent as he threw just 55 pitches and allowed the Blue Devils just two measly singles while striking out three batters in his five innings of work.

 

“I was getting ahead in the count with my fastball today,” Oschell said. “And that allowed me to go after guys and get them out with the breaking ball. But I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates. These guys bring it every game and they got me an early lead and and then put up 10 runs on the board. And they make all the plays on defense too.”

 

Malvern Prep (5-0 Inter-Ac, 14-1 overall) broke through against Blue Devils starter tucker Delisle early in the bottom of the first inning. Jaden Smith led off with a single and then Deslisle hit the next two Malvern batters to load the bases with no one out. The first Friars run scored when Delisle uncorked a wild pitch to make it a 1-0 Friars lead. But, the Blue Devils hurler got out of further trouble by striking out the next three Friars and limiting the damage to 1-0.

 

Malvern Prep then scored three runs in the second inning on just one hit. Delisle walked three batters in the inning and threw another wild pitch that plated the second Malvern run. The big hit for the Friars came when Ryan Cochran roped a two run double to make it a 4-0 game after just two innings and Malvern was off and running.

 

“We usually set a goal of scoring four or five runs a game,” Malvern Prep coach Fred Hilliard said. “And with Chuck out there two or three runs seems like six or seven. he is four ace and he goes right at the hitters and today I wasn’t happy we couldn’t capitalize in the first inning but we came through enough later in the game.”

 

Springside Chestnut Hill (2-2, 6-5) could do nothing with oschell as the Friars ace just get pounding the strike zone and getting ahead of the hitters. DariusIsaacs laced a none out single in the top of the fourth inning but Oschell came right back to retire Chuck Norton on a ground ballot and then get Jacob runnel to pop out to Cochran in short left field and that was it for the Blue Devils offensive threat.

 

The Friars put the game into the mercy rule in the bottom of the fifth inning against Blue Devils reliever Dylan Duke. Cochran led off with a sharp single to left field to start the uprising. Trey Tiffan then walked to put men on first and second with no one out. Tague Davis came up and Duke plunked him with a pitch, loading the bases with no one out.

 

After striking out Jonathan Holt for the first out, Duke walked both Ryan Davis and Matt Tsarias to score two more Friars runs and the rout was on. Tim Dickinson lofted a fly ball to left field for the second Malvern out but Davis tagged up at third and score easily to make it a 7-0 Malvern lead.

 

That is when Hilliard sent up pinch hitter Grant Kennedy to bat in the nine spot. With the pitch count 2-1, Kennedy got hold of a Duke fastball and lofted a towering drive just inside the left field foul pole for a three run home run, ending the game and the Friars had a very impressive 10-0 win.

 

“We would love to go undefeated in the Inter-Ac,” Oschell said. “And we have a good start at 5-0 but we really just focus on the next game. The Inter-Ac is a real tough league and you know when you wear the Malvern uniform you are going to get everybody ace like its the seventh game of the World Series every Tuesday and Friday. We have a full week of baseball this week and we honestly take just one game at a time.”

 

Malvern Prep 10, Springside Chestnut Hill 0, five innings.

 

Springside Chestnut Hill  000 00-0

Malvern Prep                   130 06-10

WP-Oschell. LP- Delisle.

2B-Cochran. HR-Kennedy.

EOF-