Lapp dials up a win for Dock Mennonite in crosstown clash with Lansdale Catholic

TOWAMENCIN >> Nathan Lapp was dominant on the mound on Wednesday, or as Dock Mennonite coach Erik Kratz put it: suffocating.

“I thought he did a great job of throwing strikes and getting ahead. He was always ahead and he was able to finish the guys,” Kratz said of his right hander.

Lapp racked up 11 strikeouts to lead the Pioneers to a 3-0 shutout of crosstown rival Lansdale Catholic in a non-league contest.

“When you can mix all your pitches for strikes, it’s a huge advantage. At this level, when a guy is competitive, it’s a huge advantage,” said Kratz. “And no one is more competitive than Nate Lapp.”

The win raised the Pioneers’ unbeaten record to 5-0, with a home game against Church Farm next up on Tuesday. The Crusaders (1-4), who got five and two thirds quality innings from starter Ryan Pilewski and a pair of singles from Mark O’Brien on Wednesday, are at Devon Prep on Tuesday.

Dock pushed two runs across in the third and one in the fourth and that was more than enough for Lapp. The righty went five and two thirds innings, allowing just four hits while striking out 11 and walking just one.

“I was able to locate my fastball, move it in and move it out,” Lapp said. “And I was able to mix up speeds, which is really good for us. I was getting a lot of ground balls and our fielders made plays, which is awesome because it really helps me out.”

Lapp settled into a groove – multiple times. He K’d five in a row during a stretch from the first to the third inning and then struck out four in a row at the end of the fourth and into the fifth.

By then, the Dock offense had produced a lead.

“I talk to the guys a lot about 90 feet,” Kratz said. “How do we win 90 feet? Pushing a run across with a bunt…being able to steal a run when we’re running the bases well…or being able to drive a guy in when the infield’s back and they’re giving us a run. It was a good pitcher on the mound for the other team and it was a good opportunity to get the run in by putting the ball in play.”

Brayden Kratz drew a one-out walk in the third and then moved up to second on a wild pitch. Sam Laux then belted a triple for Dock, driving in Kratz for a 1-0 lead.

Deven Ross’ timely ground ball to the left side was the second out but it allowed Laux to race home to double the margin to 2-0.

Josh Mascio’s sacrifice bunt in the fourth brought in Zack Frederick for the final margin.

“We’re aggressive on offense, we’ve been playing really good defense and the pitchers are filling it up really well,” Lapp said. “Everything’s working for us right now.”

Dock Mennonite 3, Lansdale Catholic 0
Lansdale Catholic 000 000 0 – 0 4 2
Dock Mennonite 002 100 0 – 4 4 0
WP: Nathan Lapp (52/3IP, 0R, 4H, 11K, 1BB).
LP: Ryan Pilewski (52/3IP, 3R, 2ER, 4H, 9K, 3BB).
S-Brayden Kratz (11/3IP, 0R, 0H, 0K, 0BB).
3B: D-Sam Laux.
Multiple hits: LC-Mark O’Brien 2-for-3.