Family Matters: Pennypackers shine as Pottstown pushes Boyertown to brink

POTTSTOWN >> They’ve been virtually inseparable from Day One.

Nothing unusual for twin brothers like Logan and Mason Pennypacker. Their lifelong connection was particularly noticeable as students at Pottstown High, where they forged a tight bond the last three years as members of the school’s boys soccer, wrestling and baseball teams.

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So it was a bit of an emotional outing for them Wednesday, the high school conducting its Senior Night observance on the occasion of the Trojans’ regular-season finale with Boyertown. It marked the final time the Pennypackers, and three other teammates from the Class of 2016, would perform before a home crowd at Bobby Shantz Field.

And Pottstown, its unremarkable two-win record notwithstanding, made for a remarkable showing against a Bear squad at the top end of the standings — one already qualified for the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s Final Four playoffs, one vying for the bracket’s top seed. The Trojans extended their guests to eight innings before Boyertown pulled out a 2-1 victory.

“It is pretty emotional,” Mason said afterward. “The team fought well. I’m proud of the way we played.”

“All the seniors wanted to go out with a bang,” Logan added. “We did everything right. It was just a clutch hit at the end that made the difference.”

Pottstown (2-16 league) played Boyertown (15-3) tight through the first five innings, both teams scoring their first runs in the sixth. The tightness continued through the seventh, neither team able to get a win-clinching jump on the other.

But that changed in the eighth. Boyertown’s leadoff hitter, Mitch Pinder, singled up the middle, went to second off Ryan Jacobs’ sacrifice bunt to the mound, then came around off Tyler Kreitz’s line drive to left.

That 2-1 lead ultimately became the margin of victory when Grant Fronheiser, the third Bear pitcher to see action, closed out the affair with a pair of strikeouts bookending Mason Pennypacker’s fly out to center field.

“It’s heartbreaking to lose a one-run game,” Logan said, “but we kept battling. The team kept working hard. And the hard work showed.”

The Pennypackers did their parts to keep the Trojans on pace with the Bears. Logan, going 2-for-3 at the plate and scoring Pottstown’s lone run, made three putouts from center field. And Mason, playing in front of his brother at shortstop, had three putouts of his own.

“We do better as a duo,” Logan said. “Working as a combination, we feed off each other … push each other to the brink.”

The Pennypackers will be going separate ways following their graduation from Pottstown: Logan to Albright College, Mason to Penn State University’s Berks campus. Yet they figure to cross paths on the collegiate baseball diamonds at their respective schools.

“We still look at it as being 15 minutes away,” Mason said.

“It will be better for the reunion,” Logan added. “At the end of the day, we’ll know where we came from.”

The twins will again be teammates on Pottstown’s American Legion baseball team for another two years. The Steelers, who staged tryouts this past weekend, will open their 2016 season Thursday, May 19, at Muhlenberg, then play on the road against Lionville (May 25), Daniel Boone (May 26) and Exeter (May 29) before opening their Bux-Mont League schedule Sunday, May 29, at Doylestown.

“Playing Legion will help us get ready for college,” Logan said. “A new season, a new chance for wins.”

On the other side, Boyertown has to wait for Perkomen Valley (14-3) and Owen J. Roberts (11-3) to finish out the regular season to see how the Final Four bracket will flesh out. Head coach Todd Moyer, in anticipation of the post-season, was cheered by his pitching staff’s showing against Pottstown.

Starter Nate Kline threw four innings of one-hit, four-strikeout shutout ball before giving way to Mike Xanthopoulos, who was touched for the Trojans’ lone run and two of their four hits over 1-2/3 innings. Fronheiser got the final out in the sixth, stranding Pottstown’s potential go-ahead run at third. A single by Chase McKain in the seventh was the only baserunner with which the junior had to contend.

“Our pitchers did well,” Moyer said. “They controlled the strike zone and threw off-speed pitches. We had a junior-varsity pitcher (Fronheiser) at the end. He was under a lot of pressure, but he threw the pitches he needed to.”

Pottstown got three runners in scoring position before getting on the board in the sixth. Logan Pennypacker (single) moved around off Nate Camacho’s sacrifice bunt to the mound and Mason’s groundout to second, then came home when Ron Fausnaught’s hit up the middle was misplayed.

“I wish we had played like this over the course of our 20 games,” Pottstown head coach Jeff Evans said. “We lost a lot of one-run games, and close games we had a chance to win.”

Evans admitted he will miss the team’s senior core, which includes Alec Krause, Chase McKain and Aidan Owens alongside the Pennypackers.

McKain (2-for-3) singled twice from the fifth inning on, and Owens pitched the last three frames in relief of starter Tim Dobbs. Krause was designated hitter for Pottstown’s final game.

“These guys grew up here. It’ll be sad to see them go,” Evans said.

NOTES >> Boyertown’s first run saw Ben Longacre (2-for-3) single home PInder (walk), with Ryan Jacobs moving Pinder up off the first of his two sacrifice bunts. … The game was originally scheduled for 7 p.m. at Pat Sundstrom Field, but the ballpark was deemed unplayable earlier in the week. … Dobbs took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, only to see it ended by Quinn Mason’s two-out single to second. … Pottstown catcher Josh Gery was spot-on, teaming with McKain to erase four Boyertown attempts to steal second base. … Moyer expressed concern about Owen J. Roberts tying Boyertown for first place in the regular season, noting the Wildcats have the tiebreaker of head-to-head competition because they won their two meetings.