Dock Mennonite wins 7th straight District 1 championship
PLYMOUTH >> Dock Mennonite Academy has dominated District 1 baseball for the most part of the last decade. The Pioneers won a district championship every year since 2015, but the underclassmen on the 2022 team never had the opportunity to celebrate on the field.
The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and they were named 2021 champions without needing to play a game.
They got their chance to celebrate Thursday afternoon.
Dock Mennonite totaled 14 hits and cruised to a 16-1 four-inning win over Bristol for the District 1-2A championship at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth.
“It’s a lot more fun,” Dock catcher Sam Laux said of winning a championship game. “Gets the guys all together, get hyped. It’s a lot of fun winning the championship.”
“Winning the district is everything,” Dock pitcher Nate Lapp added. “You get a medal, you get a banner, you get the year on our banner in the gym. It means a lot.”
The top-seeded Pioneers took full control of the game in the second inning, scoring seven runs to extend a 2-1 lead to 9-1. They had five hits in the inning, with the biggest being a two-run double by Laux.
“(The pitching) was a little slower than we usually see,” Laux said. “I had to make a big adjustment. I had a rough at-bat my first at-bat (fly out to left field). I just had to sit back and drive one.”
“The pitching in our league is different,” Lapp, who was 2-for-2 with three runs scored and two RBI, said. “Every team is different. We have to adjust. Being able adjust this game like we did in the second inning to put up a seven spot is the reason we won this game.”
They added another five runs on five hits in the third inning. Laux and Deven Ross each had RBI doubles to help build a 14-1 advantage.
Ross hit an RBI triple in the fourth inning and scored on a Brayden Kratz single to make it a 15-run difference, 16-1, and end the game.
While the offense was putting up crooked numbers, Lapp was cruising on the mound. The right-hander struck out nine batters to no walks over four innings and allowed one run on three hits.
The second-seeded Warriors took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Dock mishandled a couple groundballs, but Dock quickly took the lead in the bottom of the frame. Lapp got hit by a pitch, stole second, advanced to third on a balk and scored on Zack Frederick’s single to tie the game. Frederick stole second and scored on an error to put Dock ahead, 2-1.
“Usually we tend to start games a little slow,” Lapp said. “It wasn’t surprising. After that first inning we picked it up from there. Put up two runs in the first, then seven runs really gave us a good lead.”
The Pioneers had contributions up and down the lineup. Every starter had at least one hit. Zack Neff went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI.
The win sends Dock to the state playoffs, where it will face District 3 champion Delone Catholic in the first round Monday June 6.
“We haven’t gotten past the first round in a while,” Lapp said. “That was one of my goals this year – to get past the first round of states. We’re going to continue to work towards that.”
“We’ve got a lot more work to do,” Laux said. “We’ve got states ahead. Blinders on – that’s all we’re looking forward to right now, a lot of work to do.”
“From Day 1 all these guys have said their goal is to make it to states and to win a game in states,” Dock coach Joe Mascio said. “We’ve earned the right to go to states. Now it’s up to us to get the win that they’ve all wanted.”
Dock Mennonite Academy 16, Bristol 1 (4 innings)
Bristol 100 0 – 1
Dock Mennonite Academy 275 2 – 16
WP: Nate Lapp 4 IP 9 K 0 BB 3 H 1 R
LP: Brent O’Neill 3 IP 2 K 2 BB 12 H 14 R
2B: D: Sam Laux 2, Deven Ross.
3B: Deven Ross.
