Downingtown East back in District 1-6A semis after comeback win over Methacton

FAIRVIEW VILLAGE >> David Owsik didn’t have much time to celebrate.

The Downingtown East shortstop, whose drive to the fence in left field put the Cougars up in the top of the sixth inning Friday against Methacton, was quickly replaced by a pinch runner as he sprinted out to the bullpen to get loose in case he was needed on the mound in the bottom half of the inning.

“I was kind of pressing up at the plate pretty much all game,” Owsik said. “Finally, I came up, came through, got a hit, so I was pretty hyped up.”

With one out and two runners on in the next half inning, Owsik replaced Downingtown starter David Ferguson. He escaped the jam and recorded the final three outs in the seventh inning to lock down No. 5 seed Downingtown East’s 4-2 win over No. 4 seed Methacton on Friday in the District 1-6A quarterfinals.

The win clinched a second straight state playoff berth for the Cougars and advanced them to Tuesday’s semifinals, where they will face No. 17 seed Central Bucks South, a 7-2 winner over Bensalem.

“As soon as I got into that last inning, I knew it was over,” Owsik said. “I was that confident and that pumped to do it for my team.”

Methacton starter Zack Griffin made the Cougars look foolish at the plate with his breaking ball early in the game. Griffin struck out seven batters in the first three innings as the Warriors plated a run in the second and another in the third to grab a 2-0 lead. The first trouble for Griffin came in the fourth when Tommy Ajjan singled and later scored on a wild pitch after a double by Connor Lynch to make it 2-1 entering the fifth inning.

As Griffin dealed, Ferguson was impressive as well, working his way out of several jams. The biggest came in the bottom of the fifth inning when he left runners on second and third with the top of the Warriors’ lineup at the dish.

“I knew that our team needed that,” said Ferguson, who struck out seven batters in 5.1 innings. “I knew that we needed to keep it a close game because if they blew it open and got those runs it would have been a lot tougher for us to battle through it offensively … That was a big half inning for us.”

Ferguson seemed to ignite the Cougars at the plate as they finally figured out Griffin in the top of the sixth. Ajjan singled. Will Vincent hit another single with one out. Anthony Giancatarino pinch hit in the seven hole and singled into right field to plate two runs and tie the game, 2-2.

Owsik’s double in the eighth spot of the lineup gave the Cougars the lead, and No. 9 hitter Matt Vitali added an insurance run with a line drive to center field to put Downingtown East up 4-2.

“Often times these games, especially the big innings, are decided by the bottom of the lineup,” Methacton coach Paul Spiewak said. “While you’re preparing for the top of the lineup, and you think 2-3-4 are the guys you’re trying to get big outs against, we did that today. It was the bottom of the lineup that got us.”

Methacton did not have a shortage of scoring opportunities Friday as the Warriors collected nine hits, led by a 3-for-4 day by second baseman Conor Smith. The Warriors did not take advantage of their chances, leaving seven runners on base in the last four innings. Right fielder Kevin Trafford had a hit, two walks and drove in a run.

Ferguson worked out of a first and third jam in the bottom of the fifth before the Cougars plated three runs in the next half inning. Owsik came on for Ferguson with one out and two runners on in the bottom of the sixth and stranded both runners in scoring position.

“Those two have ice in their veins,” Downingtown East coach Pete Susi said. “They love to compete. Even in the littlest things in practice, they compete. When they’re in those types of situations, they’re laser focused, and I have all the confidence in the world they’ll get the job done.”

After starting the season 3-4, Methacton turned its season around with 11 straight wins to claim the program’s first regular season division title. The Warriors were knocked out of the Pioneer Athletic Conference tournament with a loss to Spring-Ford in their first game and had high hopes of making up for that with a deep run in the district tournament.

Friday’s loss sends Methacton to the playback bracket with the other three quarterfinal losers. Methacton will have to defeat No. 3 seed Souderton on Tuesday followed by another victory on Thursday in order to lock up District 1’s last spot in states.

“Right now they’re devastated,” Spiewak said. “The only silver lining here is that we earned the opportunity to not have our season end with a loss today. Our eyes were on the prize here. We came up short in our conference final four, and while we’re proud of the fact that we won the regular season, we really felt like we were in a good position.”

Despite returning just three starters, Downingtown East is back in the district semifinals and the state playoffs for the second straight season. The Cougars lost a 2-1 game to Council Rock North in last year’s semifinals.

“A lot of the guys that are playing right now were backups last year and waited their turn,” Susi said. “They’re taking advantage of it.”

NOTES >> Smith is 5-for-8 with three doubles in two district games after a three-hit performance Friday. The senior has two-or-more hits in nine of the last 10 games he has started. He currently is set to play at Lebanon Valley College next year.  “He’s so impressive,” Spiewak said. “He could be the three hitter for three or four years in any Division I lineup. I’m dead set on that … Whatever lineup he ends up in, if it’s at Lebanon Valley, they’re getting an absolute steal. He’s as good as anyone I’ve seen come through here.”