Pennridge’s Mayhew sharp in return to mound

LOWER SALFORD >> As his teammates headed out to the field in the bottom of the fourth inning Thursday, Pennridge junior pitcher Andrew Mayhew stayed where he’s been most of the last month.

That would be to the side, able only to offer some encouragement, insight and words of wisdom to his fellow Rams. But that was the fourth inning and on.
Prior to that he had been back where he belongs, atop a pitching mound mowing through hitters.

After sitting out a month with soreness in his right elbow, his throwing arm, Mayhew made his return in Pennridge’s 4-0 win over Souderton, throwing three innings on just 34 pitches and striking out six hitters.

“It felt great, it’s been a long time,” Mayhew said. “It felt good just to be back out there and throw strikes and get right back to it.”

A hard-throwing righty, Mayhew felt some soreness early in the season and he and the coaching staff agreed it would be best to take some time off and get better. Last week, the junior threw a couple of bullpen sessions and felt good, so there was no hesitation to give him the ball Thursday, although it would be with a pitch count.

Rams coach Tom Nuneviller said it was 30-35 pitches and the coaches were only expecting an inning or two. Instead, Mayhew looked like he hadn’t missed a beat, pumping pitches into the zone and retiring the Indians in order in all three innings he threw.

“You have to tip you cap to Andrew Mayhew, he’s been a little sore and shut down basically since the first league game,” Nuneviller said. “He’s taken some time off, we got him back a little bit throwing some bullpens. He went out, peppered the strike zone, changed speed and did what he can do.”

Mayhew, who had his elbow wrapped in ice after the bottom of the third, could be a huge asset for a Rams team that has eyes on an SOL Continental title. The righty said as much, and as he’s able to get stretched out and go deeper into games, it just gives the Rams another big arm in their arsenal.

One person who’s had as good a perspective as any on Mayhew is catcher Joe Robinson. The junior backstop has been catching Mayhew since they were both eight years old and Robinson saw plenty to like Thursday.

“It was a good outing for him,” Robinson said. “No one was really sure how he was going to do in his first start in a month, throwing 30-35 pitches. He was hitting his spots, had a great fastball and his curveball was working well. It’s good that he’s getting in there and with the playoff hunt, hopefully he’ll be back in his groove.”

The Rams are 10-5 after Thursday’s win and 6-3 in the SOL Continental. That’s a testament to the team’s depth at pitching that Mayhew was able to take the time he needed and the team didn’t skip a beat.

Senior Dan Long is a constant on the hill while guys like Ian Kacergis, Nate Coyle and Brendan Knouse, among others, have stepped up to throw good innings.
Robinson said the pitching in the league as a whole is at a high level, but he’ll take his team’s depth of arms, especially with a lot of games coming up the next two weeks.

That they could be getting one of their best arms back just in time for that gauntlet is just an added bonus.

“I wanted to do the most with the pitch count I had,” Mayhew said. “I feel that I did.”