Bonner’s Dougherty delivers in clutch for Catholic League at Carpenter Cup

PHILADELPHIA >> Tim Dougherty didn’t need the reminder, but his Philadelphia Catholic League and Bonner & Prendergast manager Joe DeBarberie provided it anyway.

With the bases loaded, two out and the Catholics up a run at Citizens Bank Park in the ninth inning Tuesday, the Bonner first baseman got a little nudge from DeBarberie in the dugout.

“Before I went up to bat, coach DeBar told me there’s no pressure on me, and he smiled … because there was a lot of pressure,” Dougherty said.

Dougherty responded by lacing a two-run single, insurance that proved vital as the Catholic League weathered a rally in the bottom of the ninth to claim a 3-1 win over Suburban One National/Bicentennial.

The win moves the Catholic League into Friday’s final at 10 a.m. against Suburban One American/Continental, which edged Delco, 5-4, in the other semi.

Dougherty’s hit proved to be decisive. It was also a rare breath of offense in a game where the Catholics led, 1-0, from the top of the first to the top of the ninth, scoring courtesy of the game’s leadoff man and the nine-hole on the fourth turn of the lineup.

Archbishop Wood’s Bobby Heck led off the ninth with a hit by pitch. A single by Jeff Manto (St. Joseph’s Prep) and an unintentionally intentional walk to Andrew Cosetti (La Salle) loaded the bases with one out.

Suburban One reliever C.J. Kilgarriff struck out Father Judge designated hitter Tim Ulrich, who two innings earlier had flied out to the wall in left.

That left it all up to nine-hole hitter Dougherty to put an end to eight innings of offense-free baseball and offer the Catholic League’s excellent pitching staff a little cushion. He did so on the first pitch, roping the offering to center to plate two.

“I went up there, cleared my head,” Dougherty said. “My last at-bat, they fooled me with two curveballs. … So I went up my second at-bat, and I was hunting a curveball. That’s what he gave me, and I stayed on it and got a bat on it.”

PHOTO GALLERY: Philadelphia Catholic vs. SOL National/Bicentennial

The padding came in handy when the defending champs finally scraped together a run in the ninth. The first three batters to face Wood reliever Kody Cracknell cracked hits, starting with a double by Ryan McCarty (Pennsbury). McCarty scored on an RBI single by Council Rock South’s Evan Fisher, but La Salle right fielder Langston Livingston fired across the diamond to nail Owen Foraker of Holy Ghost Prep trying to go first-to-third, Bonner’s Evan Raiburn applying the tag.

Cracknell didn’t immediately take the favor, walking a batter in addition to accounting for half of Suburban One’s hits on the day. But a flyout and a forceout capped a stellar performance by the Catholic arms.

The Catholic League staff was marvelous pitching with a lead throughout. The Neumann-Goretti duo of Jeff Ciocco and Ethan Pritchett handled the first five innings, allowing just three hits. Archbishop Carroll’s James Kelly, Roman Catholic’s Aidan Welch and Wood’s Sean Hughes posted one scoreless inning apiece, the latter striking out the side.

Pitching with the slim margin wasn’t the plan, for the arms or the batters. But the Catholic League managed it well.

“I was on the bench, and I heard (Bonner catcher) Steve Furman say, ‘c’mon guys, it’s a 1-0 game and we scored in the first inning,’” Dougherty said. “It’s a longer game, nine-inning game. We were comfortable, but we shouldn’t have been. You don’t win many 1-0 games.”

“We know we have a solid team and we can trust each other,” Kelly said. “We just have to keep playing how we’re playing and we know it’s going to be a good outcome.”

Part of the reason it was so tidy was the Catholic League’s defensive skill. The primary contributor was Furman behind the plate for the first five innings. He erased C.R. North’s Seth Leuz, who led off the second with a single, on a caught stealing. In the third, he picked up third baseman Nick D’Amore, whose error allowed Tim DiLoreto of Christopher Dock to reach … until Furman caught him wandering off first.

“I know the players behind (the pitcher) are going to make the plays, but I try to get every chance I can to make a little play and steal an out if he walks somebody or something,” the senior said. “I’m one of those guys that if I get out (at bat), rather than get caught up in my out, I try to make up for it in the field.”

The Catholic League started strongly, with Marquise Wood (Roman) and Greg Sywulak (La Salle) singling to greet Suburban One starter Daniel Sabath of Dock. It turned into a run when Prep’s John Coppola lofted a sac fly to right.

But hits were hard to come by as the bullpens kicked into high gear, neither team scratching out a safety from the sixth through the eighth. Ultimately, the Catholics cobbled together just enough to keep their dream run at Citizens Bank Park going.

“It’s awesome. It’s a dream come true,” Kelly said. “I’ve always wanted to play at Citizens Bank. I got to play here, and now we get to play for a championship.”