Matt Grudza pitches Neshaminy baseball to a win at Pennsbury
FAIRLESS HILLS – Neshaminy senior Matt Grudza doesn’t overpower hitters and he doesn’t strike a lot of guys out. He also doesn’t walk many and he pitches to contact.
Yesterday (April 14) at Pennsbury, he was nearly flawless through the first four innings and he tossed shutout baseball through five, helping the Redskins to a 5-2 triumph over the Suburban One National League rival Falcons.
“I don’t go for strikeouts or anything; I just throw the ball over the plate and let my fielders make plays behind me,” said Grudza, who also plays shortstop for Neshaminy. “That’s the way I’ve been pitching my whole life.
“I’m not overpowering so I just throw strikes and let them get themselves out.”
“This is the report on us – we’re struggling with our hitting,” added Pennsbury head coach Joe Pesci. “We had six hits today but three or four of those hits came in the last two innings with reserve players – guys that did not start today.
“It’s disappointing because the approach at the plate is not what we want it to be.”
Helping Grudza and the Skins (4-5, 3-2 SOL) get on top early was junior infielder Eddy Parry, who went 1-for-2 with a double and three RBIs. With two outs in the top of the first inning, the Neshaminy third baseman crushed an offering from Pennsbury lefthander Zach Conley for 2-run double to the gap in centerfield, scoring left fielder Mike Burns (single) and right fielder Anthony Rapposelli (walk) from first and second, respectively.
“Getting ahead two-nothing in the first inning really helped us a lot,” said Grudza. “It’s a lot easier to go out and pitch when you already have a lead.
“We just kept building slowly throughout the game and kept adding more runs to our lead and we came out on top.”
The Skins scratched another run across in the fourth inning on Burns’ two-out single that scored shortstop Corey Joyce (3-for-4, 2 runs scored) from second base. With one out, Joyce had reached first on a slow-moving grounder to third base and Grudza followed that with a single to left field. Rapposelli went down swinging however and Conley had an 0-2 count on Burns when he delivered with ground ball through the gap.
Facing Falcons reliever Nate Derry in the sixth, Neshaminy pushed two more runs across the plate, scoring first when Derry walked Skins first baseman Billy Ritchey with the sacks jammed and again on a sac fly to center field by Parry.
Pennsbury strung five hits together and scored a pair of runs in the last two frames off Grudza, starting with a two-out RBI double down the left field line by outfielder Tyrone Hodges in the sixth inning. Grudza was able to get Falcons designated hitter Dave Murphy to hit into a groundball out to retire the side with no further damage however.
In the seventh, Pennsbury put a pair of runners on base when right fielder Justin Ward and catcher Josh Tesarck hit a pair of one-out singles and senior Bryen Kimbrough (2-for-2, RBI) slapped a run-scoring single to the outfield.
Pinch-runner Alan Wolf was picked off second base however, ending the battle in Neshaminy’s favor.
“It’s missing signs and not having the right baseball sense – knowing what we have to do,” commented Pesci. “Ending a game like that is disappointing because we’re down by three. That run would have had us down by two.
“We’re just not paying attention; it’s frustrating.”
It wasn’t the only time in the game the Falcons had a runner picked off the basepaths. Pennsbury leadoff hitter Ryan McCarty was caught in a rundown between first and second base after leading off the fourth inning with a walk.
“We’re making mistakes that should happen once or twice a season and they’re happening once or twice a game,” said Pesci. “It’s frustrating because we think we have the potential to be pretty good.
“We only have two seniors but we have a lot of guys who have experience here.
“Hopefully, we can turn it around after a loss like this.”
While the Skins were coming off a 2-0 loss to division leader Council Rock North on April 12, the Falcons had registered a 2-0 win over Truman the same day on their home field. But, after starting the season at 2-1, Pennsbury has now dropped three of its last four games, all at the hands of division rivals.
“We have scored two or three runs in all of our league games except for Abington.
“Our pitchers are coming in for the majority and throwing strikes. Our defense has been phenomenal; we’ve turned 12 double-plays in six games.
But it’s tough as a pitcher to go out there and battle when your team is not giving you any run support.
“We still have a bunch of games left and we have to go back to the drawing board and see what can happen for us.”
A bright spot in the game for the Falcons was Kimbrough coming in as a pinch-hitter in the sixth and going 2-for-2 at the plate. They also cut a run down at the plate on a two-out single by Skins catcher Jake Jones.
From the other side of the field, Neshaminy freshman Corey Joyce, a number nine hitter in this game, went 3-for-4 with a pair of infield singles and another to the outfield. He also scored two runs for the Skins. Burns also had multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
With the win, Neshaminy pushes to 4-5, overall, 3-2 in the SOL National Conference while Pennsbury falls to 3-4, overall, 2-3 in the SOL.
Contact Steve Sherman at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter
Neshaminy 5, Pennsbury 2
(April 14 at Pennsbury)
Neshaminy (4-5) 200 102 0 – 5 9 1
Pennsbury (3-4) 000 001 1 – 2 6 1
WP – Matt Grudza 7IP, 2R, 6H, 1BB, 1SO, 1HB
LP – Zach Conley 5IP, 3R, 8H, 4BB, 6SO, 0HB
MULTIPLE HITS: Mike Burns 2-for-3, Corey Joyce 3-for-4; P – Bryen Kimbrough 2-for-2
EXTRA-BASE HITS: 2B – Eddy Parry (N), Tyrone Hodges (P)
RBI: N – Parry 3, Burns, Billy Ritchey; P – Hodges, Kimbrough
