GNALBL: Nick Edling, Chadwicks outduel Mt. Carmel

PLYMOUTH >> Nick Edling and Danny Green have been pitching against each other since little league.

Monday evening may have been their best meeting.

The two right-handers combined to allow three hits and two earned runs in 13 innings of work.

It was Edling, however, who had better defense behind him, which allowed Chadwicks to come away with a 2-1 Greater Norristown American Legion Baseball League win over Mt. Carmel at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth.

“Brings out the best in everybody,” Edling said about the pitching duel. “I was playing against him in little league so I knew exactly what we were going up against. He was excellent through little league and nothing has changed, clearly.”

Edling threw six innings, allowing one run on one hit while striking out six batters and walking three.

“Just throwing strikes, pounding the zone,” he said of his recipe for success. “I was trying to make sure nobody got any free passes. The one kid that did get a hit smoked it, but what are you going to do about it.

“Last time out I was having trouble throwing strikes. Today, complete opposite. Got the win, that’s all that matters. Today I took my time, paced myself. Usually when you get in that rhythm you keep pumping strikes.”

Edling, a Norristown graduate, lost his perfect game with two outs in the bottom of the third inning when a close 3-2 pitch was called a ball. His no-hitter lasted until there was one out in the fifth inning, when Mt. Carmel’s Ryan Kane ripped a single into right-centerfield.

Edling left the game after walking the leadoff batter in the bottom of the seventh inning with a 2-0 lead.

Chris Faunce came on in relief and got two quick outs — the second a Kane RBI groundout — before issuing a walk to put the tying run on base. He closed the game out with a strikeout to secure a save and the win.

“They had two hits we had one,” Mt. Carmel manager Tom Longo said. “I don’t expect to win with one hit, but we almost got there.”

Green was just as dominant. In seven innings, the Plymouth Whitemarsh product struck out two batters to three walks and allowed two runs — one earned — on two hits.

“He pitched a great game,” Mt. Carmel manager Tom Longo said. “He had a good night tonight. I’m proud of him. He battled the whole game. He could have easily gone away, but he stayed in there, he hung in there, hit his spots, made good pitches. That’s a good team over there. They’re the defending champs for a reason.”

He retired the first four batters before issuing a walk and lost his no-hitter in the top of the third inning.

Chadwicks’ Jake Undercuffler led off the top of the third with a single and Faunce, a courtesy runner, stole second. Faunce advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a Chioke Bellamy single — the last hit Green would allow.

Green retired the next 12 batters before Dom Proietto reached second on a two-base throwing error in the top of the seventh inning. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored when Kyle Wagner hit into a fielder’s choice to give Chadwicks a 2-0 advantage.

Chadwicks, in its first season since changing its name from Presidential Caterers, improves to 11-4-1 with the win and sits in first place in the GNALBL in the final week of the regular season.

“Nobody wants to play on Fourth of July,” Edling said of the defending champs getting the one seed. “Other than that, seeding obviously. Get a good seed, possibly take it again this year.”

The Mounties fall to 5-7-1 after suffering their fifth one-run loss of the season.

“The league is wide open,” Longo said. “A couple teams separated themselves early, but with everybody making the playoffs it’s wide open. Hang around and get hot at the right time — you can make a run.”