Methacton’s nine-run third inning sinks Spring-Ford in 11-2 Warrior win

FAIRVIEW VILLAGE >> Methacton batters ripped six hits and Spring-Ford pitchers allowed three walks and hit a batter in the third inning Monday afternoon. That added up to nine runs for the Warriors and turned what would usually have been a close game between the top two teams in the Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division standings into an 11-2 Methacton rout.

Evan Jones gave up just two hits and the two runs and struck out eight while earning the win and Jake Chapman, Bobby Kleckner and Tripp Shytle each picked up two of the nine hits for host Methacton (4-0 Liberty, 5-1 PAC, 7-1 overall). A bright spot for the Rams (3-1, 5-1, 6-2) was the pitching of P.J. Pozniak, who threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings.

“I’m really happy with the approach at the plate,” said Warrior coach Paul Spiewak. “This year statistically, we’ve been struggling. This was a breakout game for some guys who have been struggling.”

Methacton took a 2-0 lead in the second on a leadoff walk to Tommy Kratz, a double over the center fielder’s head by Shytle, a sacrifice fly to right by Mike Christian and a hit through the middle by Tyler Weil-Kasper.

The Rams came right back with one in the third when David Ruckman was hit by a pitch to start the inning, stole second and then swiped third and kept going when the catcher’s throw went into left field.

But the game was not close for long as Chapman grounded a hit through the middle to start the home third, Kleckner lined another to right and Kratz brought home a run with a one-out double off the screen in left. The Rams could see their way out of the inning after the next batter popped out. But two walks, a hit batter and another base on balls made it 6-1. Then Chapman hit a three-run double down the left field line and Kleckner brought him home with a line single to left for an 11-1 score.

“I had a feeling it was going to be a rough one from the get-go,” said Ram coach Rick Harrison. “Our starting pitcher was out sick today. It’s not an excuse. But if we throw strikes, we’re still in the game. Two hits on two-strike pitches and we put four guys on in a row. Going into that inning, we put some pressure on them. We needed a shutdown inning and we didn’t get it.”

Jones gave up a run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Brennan McVey, but made a strong finish to his day by fanning three out the last four batters he faced.

The sophomore right-hander was happy with his outing, except for three walks and a pair of hit batters.

“Just a couple too many walks,” he said. “I liked the way I pitched. Just too many walks. I thought my change-up was very effective today, and definitely my slider.”

And the nine runs in the third took off the pressure.

“That helped,” he added. “That was probably our best hitting game this year.”

“I give Evan credit,” said Spiewak. “He’s been talking a week and a half he wanted to pitch against them and his spot in the rotation came up. He didn’t have his best stuff, but we played very good defense. With his stuff, you just have to minimize the walks. I’m sure he’ll work through it.”

Spiewak was pleased to get a second straight win against a tough division opponent after a disheartening extra-inning loss in the middle of last week.

“Last Wednesday stung,” he said concerning a 9-5, eight-inning setback to Pope John Paul II. “We came close to playing a complete game. And then we had an extra-inning game later in the week (a 6-5, 10-inning win over Owen J. Roberts on Friday). We expect to win every time you go out there. But when you play Owen J. and Spring-Ford, they’re not only at the top of the conference, but in the district. Being able to win those games back-to-back, for us, was huge for so many reasons.”

On the other hand, Harrison wants his team to look at the outcome as just one loss.

“If you told us we’d be 5-1 at this point of the year, we’d take it,” he said. “We know it’s not the end of the world. P.J. Pozniak (1 hit, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts) was a bright spot. He got his first varsity experience and threw strikes. If this game lights a fire, it will be a positive.”

Methacton 11, Spring-Ford 2

Spring-Ford	ab	r	h	bi	Methacton	ab	r	h	bi
Ruckman cf	2	1	0	0	Chapman cf	4	2	2	3
Moyer ss	4	0	1	0	Kleckner rf	4	2	2	1
Flores 2b	2	0	0	0	Howarth 1b	4	0	1	0
Broderick 3b	3	0	1	0	Kratz lf	2	2	1	2
Korchok 1b	1	0	0	0	McNally lf	1	0	0	0
Eross 1b	1	0	0	0	Shytle 2b	3	1	2	0
Witmer dh	3	0	0	0	Frank 2b	1	0	0	0
Swanger lf	1	0	0	0	Mi Christian ss	1	1	0	1
Wescott lf	1	1	0	0	Weil-Kasper dh	2	1	1	2
Cecconi c	0	0	0	0	Humes c	2	0	0	1
Caccavo ph	2	0	0	0	Daddazio ph	0	1	0	0
Leighton rf	1	0	0	0	Lohsen 3b	2	1	0	0
McVey rf	1	0	0	1
Totals	22	2	2	1	Totals	25	11	9	10

E- Humes. LOB-Spring-Ford 6, Methacton 3. 2B —Howarth, Kratz, Shytle. SF-Mi Christian, McVey, SB-Ruckman 2, Moyer, Flores, Broderick.

	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Spring-Ford
Wible (L)	2.2	5	7	7	3	1
Barajas	0	3	4	4	1	0
Pozniak	3.1	1	0	0	0	2
Methacton
Jones (W)	5	2	2	2	3	8
Ma Christian	2	0	0	0	1	0

WP-Barajas, Jones 2. HBP-by Jones (Cecconi, Ruckman), by Barajas (Humes).
Barajas pitched to 5 batters in the 3rd.
T- 1:58.