WEST CHESTER >> The Unionville baseball team moved one step closer to the Ches-Mont American Division title Wednesday afternoon at Owens Field. with an impressive 3-2 win over West Chester Henderson. In a pitcher’s duel, Luka Urdaneta out-pitched the Warriors’ Ethan Harrigan, as both starters were on top of their game.
“Ethan gave us a great game on the mound,” Henderson coach Luke McNichol said. “He pitched a great game for us. We could not get Pete (Omridis) home from second base in the sixth inning and we had a man on second in the seventh and could not get a timely hit. Our pitching and defense were both very good, but they made their hits count and we could not get the big hit.”
The Warriors (7-7 Ches-Mont National, 7-7-1 overall) scored a run in the first inning off Urdaneta to take a 1-0 lead. But, the Longhorns came right back to tie the game when Trevor Dunne unloaded a long home run to left field in the top of the third.
Unionville (11-2, 12-3) took the lead for good in the fourth. Chase Parisi led off with a single to left field. He went to second on a wild pitch and scored when Nick Diehl ripped a single to left.
Harrigan induced Cenzo Sammaritano to fly out to right field for the first out. Diehl moved to second on a ground out by Mason Coursey. Urdaneta helped his own cause by delivering a double to right center to plate Diehl for a 3-1 lead.
That would be all the scoring for the Longhorns, but Urdaneta had enough. The Warriors cut the margin to 3-2, in the sixth when Omridis doubled to right, scoring Conor
McCartney, who had reached on an error. Urdaneta got the next three batters, striking out Landon Culp to end the threat.
“My fastball had a lot of life today,” Urdaneta said. “And my slider was biting pretty well. The guys played great defense behind me. We have a really good defensive infield and sometimes there is an error, but the guys make up for it with a great play. We are looking to make a deep run in districts and then the state playoffs. I think we have the team to do it.”
Down to their last out, Marcus Gustafson kept the game alive with an infield single. A wild pitch sent Gustafson to second. Patrick Lynn worked the count full at 3-2. Urdaneta blew a fastball past Lynn to seal the victory.
“Luca was great again for us,” Unionville coach Chris Valis said. “He scattered five hits and struck out eight batters. He usually hits double digits in strikeouts. The guys made the plays fine in back of him. Our shortstop, Chase Parisi, has really come on. He has great hands and fast feet. He and the other guys made the plays for us today.”
Unionville 3, WC Henderson 2
Unionville 001 200 0-3
WC Henderson 100 001 0-2
WP – Urdaneta. LP – Harrigan.
2B – Omridis, Urdaneta. HR – Dunne.
