By Peter DiGiovanni
pdgiovanni07@gmail.com
@PeteDLNontwitter
CALN >> The Coatesville baseball team continued its hot start to the 2024 season Monday night at Atkinson Field with a 13-1 stomping of Bishop Shanahan. The Red Raiders broke open a one-run game with an 11-run seventh inning that saw the Raiders send 16 men to the plate, breaking a tight game wide open.
Coatesville (3-1 Ches-Mont, 4-1 overall) got a superb five inning starting pitching performance from senior Parker Zook, who allowed the Eagles (1-2, 1-3) just two hits. And the Red Raiders employed small-ball to score their first two runs with bunts, stolen bases and excellent base running. Coatesville also scored four runs on wild pitches against the Eagles, as the Raiders ran wild on the base paths.
“That is the way we are going to play all year,” Coatesville head coach Hal Ziegler said. “We are going to move runners and bunt to advance runners and we did a good job of that tonight. And Parker really threw the ball well tonight for us.”
The Eagles wasted a stellar six-inning pitching performance from junior Jake Scott, who allowed just one hit while striking out 12 Coatesville batters. But in the top of the seventh inning the Raiders lit up the Eagles’ bullpen.
Freshman Cole Simmons came in to pitch in relief of Scott, with the Eagles down 2-1. Trevor Conrad led off the inning for the Raiders by reaching first base on a Simmons error.
Jayden Giussepe moved Conrad to second with a perfect sacrifice bunt. Then the roof fell in for the Eagles. Coatesville scored 11 runs on just five hits while the Eagles walked four Coatesville batters. The Red Raiders got big hits from Dylan Jeffers — who ripped an RBI single — and sophomore Shane Monaghan, who crushed a three-run double to right field to break the game wide open.
“We start every one of our practices with bunting,’ Monaghan said. “We work and work on playing small-ball a lot. We feel we can play that brand of baseball — so far this season it has been working for us.
“We are a young team with a lot of sophomores and two freshman who start. Jayden Giussepe and Trevor Conrad are the two freshman and they are playing well. And the seniors are showing the way and helping us young guys. We fell we can be a really good team and we are playing well right now.”
The Eagles struggled offensively against the Red Raiders as Shanahan managed just two hits off of the three Coatesville pitchers. The Eagles only run came in the third inning to give Shanahan an early 1-0 lead. Brody Scullin was hit by a Zook pitch with one out. Then Zook plunked Jack O’Day to put runners on first and second with one out.
An errant pickoff attempt moved the runners up to second and third. Bronzo Riccardo then lofted a sacrifice fly to center field.
But that would be it for the Shanahan offense. Zook struck out four Eagles batters in his five innings of work. Dylan Jeffers and Alex Ramil took care of the Eagles in the sixth and seventh innings, and Coatesville continued to lead the Ches-Mont National Division with a tidy win.
“I was able to spot my fastball pretty much where I wanted tonight and where my coach wanted it,” Zook said. “And the guys got two runs for me with playing small ball and we broke it open in the seventh inning. We are just taking it one game at a time and it is great to get a win tonight.”
Coatesville 13, Bishop Shanahan 1
Coatesville 000 110 11 – 13
Bishop Shanahan 001 000 0 – 1
2B — Hill, Monaghan.
WP — Zook. LP — Scott.
