Pennridge’s Mayhew, Long cool off Garnet Valley

CONCORD >> Of all the hitters in District One, Danny Long is one of the last ones you want to see stride to the plate with the bases loaded.

Even in the second inning, when the Pennridge shortstop dug in against Garnet Valley Monday, the sense that a pivotal encounter with pitcher Mike Bechtold would be in the offing was palpable.

Just how significant would be determined five scoreless innings later.

Long’s two-run single proved decisive, giving No. 17 Pennridge a one-run lead that would become a 3-2 victory over No. 16 Garnet Valley in the District One Class AAAA first round.

“I saw a (second)-pitch curveball and tried to hit something hard and get us back in the game,” said Long, a Monmouth commit. “It was 2-1 at that point, so just trying to get back on top.”

After 2 Ks, Danny Long smacks a 2-run single. Runs unearned. 3-2 @PRidgeBaseball up pic.twitter.com/kmDyrHZSvS

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) May 23, 2016

Those runs proved to be everything that Pennridge (15-6) needed, thanks to lights-out pitching from Andrew Mayhew and Long.

Mayhew persevered after allowing two runs in the first inning to toss five shutout frames. The diminutive righty struck out six, then gave way to Long, who got the final six outs (four strikeouts, two groundouts) around a solitary walk.

All told, Garnet Valley (13-6) collected three hits in the first inning, then just one (a Mason Miller single in the fourth) the rest of the way, putting a paltry three runners on base in the final six frames.

Dom Bertone hits a (poorly recorded) RBI single, scoring Cole Palis (double). 1-0 GV pic.twitter.com/AIBe6jrmOL

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) May 23, 2016

Much of that stinginess can be credited to Mayhew, who rebounded after some hard-hit balls in the first, including a double by Cole Palis. He struck out the side in the second and got six easy fly-ball outs.

“I was throwing a lot of fastballs outside,” Mayhew said. “They were attacking it, just putting the barrel on the ball, so I decided to try to work them inside. (They) couldn’t really get extended, and it seemed to work.”

Pennridge’s reward is a trip to No. 1 seed Interboro (19-0) in Wednesday’s second round.

All three of Pennridge’s runs were unearned. The inning started with a Kyle Yoder grounder to short that Liam Bendo bobbled. Andrew Horne clubbed a resounding double in the left-center gap to chase home Yoder.

Bechtold then dug himself a deeper hole, walking a batter and hitting the next man. But the hard-throwing righty started to recover with strikeouts of the eight and nine hitters, before Long roped a single into left field that plated two.

“I left the ball up, and obviously they capitalized on it,” Bechtold said. “But other than that, I made a couple of mistake pitches and the one kid drove one into left. I’ve just got to keep the ball down, make sure they can hit the ball on the ground, not in the air.”

Beyond that inning, Bechtold was every bit as good as Mayhew. The James Madison commit struck out 12 in 6.1 innings, allowing four hits and four walks and no earned runs.

Garnet Valley couldn’t seem to recapture the first-inning momentum and get the bats going again. Dominic Bertone singled in a run in that inning, and after Brendan VanBelle singled, Matt Lupoli drove him home with an RBI groundout to second.

Long blows one by Sweeney. Final: @PRidgeBaseball 3, Garnet Valley 2 pic.twitter.com/T6txnum72L

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) May 23, 2016

“He was a great pitcher, mixed it up real well,” Bertone said. “He elevated pitches, brought them back down. He’s a great pitcher, you’ve got to give him credit.”

“I thought he did a great job of just battling,” Long said. “You know that’s what you’re going to get from him. You know he’s going to compete every single outing.”

The sting of defeat for Garnet Valley is particularly sharp given the game’s ebb and flow. Just one inning, and a preventable one at that, stood between them and a better result, while the first inning was the only window of activity for their offense.

That quiet exit didn’t help the pain of the day.

“It hurts pretty bad getting out ahead of them early, getting momentum and they come back and they get the momentum back,” Bertone said. “Good teams bounce back like that. We’ve just got to be able to bounce back.”