DOWNINGTOWN >> They say if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That adage could apply to the Downingtown West baseball team Monday afternoon.
The Whippets stranded eight runners on base in the first four innings against Coatesville. But West finally broke through and came back from a three-run deficit to overtake the Red Raiders, 4-3, in a key Ches-Mont National Division game at Downingtown West.
West (10-3 Ches-Mont, 10-3 overall) scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning when Jake Kucera worked a walk with the bases loaded off Red Raiders’ reliever Ryan Jeffers. Brett Connolly scored the winning run and started the rally with a loud lead-off triple to right field. Coatesville (7-6, 8-6) coach Hal Ziegler intentionally walked the next two West hitters to load the bases to create a force out at home.
“I hit a low inside fastball and I got it good,” Connolly said. “It was very frustrating early in the game with us leaving so many runners on base. We had a few games early in the season just like that. But, we kept battling and fighting and we have a lot of guys who want to play. Not everyone can play at the same time but everybody oaths team is ready to do their job.”
Coatesville broke through for two runs off Whippets’ ace Drew turner in the top the fourth inning. Run scoring singles from Chase Charron and Nuge Williard gave the Raiders an early 2-0 lead. Coatesville tacked on another run in the top of the fifth inning. A pretty bunt by Adam Clark plated the third Coatesville run and chased Turner from the game.
West was having trouble breaking through against Red Raiders starter, freshman Jayden Guiseppe, who struck out eight Whippets in four innings of work. But in the bottom of the fifth inning, West loaded the bases on three straight singles.
That was all for the Red Raiders’ impressive freshman and Ziegler called on Dylan Jeffers from the bullpen. Jeffers hit James Posner with a pitch to force in a run and it was 3-1.
Mike Jaszczak hit a sharp grounder to short and the Red Raiders appeared to pull off a 6-4-3 double play. But the umpire said the Coatesville first baseman was off the bag early, and the second West run scored. Ryan Frye tied the game with a sacrifice bunt that scored the third West run to tie the game.
Coatesville had a chance to break up the 3-3 game in the top of the seventh against West reliever Jake Mello. Shane Monaghan ripped a one-out single to put a man on first. Mello struck out Dylan Jeffers and got Clark to fly out to right field and it remained 3-3 game going to the bottom of the seventh.
“It was very frustrating leaving the runners on base early in the game,” West coach Scott Rambo said. “I told the guys to stay locked in and stay focused and they did. I said we will eventually break through if we keep putting guys on base and that is what we did.”
Connolly led off the bottom of the seventh with a bullet to the right field corner. Ziegler loaded the bases with two intentional walks, and after Jake Downie popped out for the first West out, the Whippets walked it off on Kucera’s base on balls. The win puts West a half-game ahead of Downingtown East in the Ches-Mont National standings.
“Jayden was real good for us today,” Ziegler said. “We are learning on the fly with a lot of young guys. We had two freshman and six 10th graders starting today and they competed and that is all we can ask them to do. They are fighters, that’s for sure.”
Downingtown West 4, Coatesville 3
Coatesville 000 210 0 — 3
Downingtown West 000 030 1 — 4
3B — Connolly.
WP — Mello. LP — D. Jeffers.
