Defense backs up Morales as Souderton advances to PIAA 6A final

BOYERTOWN >> When Neshaminy handed Souderton pitcher Jordan Morales his lone loss of the season earlier this year, his defense didn’t do much to back him up.

With a lot more at stake Tuesday during his second crack at Neshaminy, Morales got a much different result thanks in part to a much different effort behind him. While the senior lefty was dominant in spinning a three-hit shutout, he knew the guys behind him most certainly had his back.

There may have a been a few plays the Indians wanted back, but their defense was solid this postseason and helped the program return to the state title game for the first time since 2007.

“It made me a lot more confident, I knew I could trust my infielders getting ground ball outs, which was a big key to this game,” Morales said. “I think it amps us all up, not just me.”

The Indians defense came up with two critical outs on the basepaths during the 3-0 win over Neshaminy at Boyertown’s Bear Stadium to go with plenty of routine and a couple pretty strong plays behind Morales’ seven strikeouts.

Morales kept his infielders on their toes. Souderton’s outfield recorded just one out and no Neshaminy batter saw more than six pitches against Morales, so there was no time to lose focus.

Souderton recorded two errors in Tuesday’s win, but managed to shake them both off without harm. A miscommunication in the infield led to a fourth-inning error that put two men on base with two out, but Morales simply struck out the next hitter on three pitches to end the frame.

A scorcher down the first base line caused the second error in the sixth inning, but the Indians erased that mistake with a 1-3-6-1-4 rundown after Morales picked the runner off first base.

“We want him to know we can back him up,” Souderton second baseman Hogan DeSpain, who applied the tag in the rundown, said. “We know he can do it on his own but if he gets in a situation like that, he knows he can trust us to make the play and get guys out.”

The Indians defense changes depending on who’s pitching, but the constant has been senior catcher Billy Norbeck. After splitting time behind the dish last year, it’s been all Norbeck this season and he’s responded with a terrific season defensively.

Norbeck showed his stuff when he threw out a base stealer to end the second inning, a play shortstop Conlan Wall said didn’t surprise anyone on the roster. The pitchers also love throwing to Norbeck and Indians coach Mike Childs cited the catcher as a key part of the defense’s stability during the postseason.

The senior backstop also had a nice play in the third, quickly fielding a well-placed sac bunt and firing to first baseman Frank Pollock for the out.

“Talk about as a pitcher, if you know you have that catcher back there blocking balls and throwing guys out, I mean, he’s throwing guys out at will now,” Childs said. “Seeing how he’s grown over the past year to now, moving on to the state championship is huge for him.”

The catcher’s job is to make things as easy as possible for the pitcher, so Norbeck was more than happy to see the infield defense follow his lead.

“I’ve been catching Jordan for many years and I know he works better when there’s nobody on base, so eliminating any runners makes it so much easier,” Norbeck said. “That gives him his confidence back.

“It’s huge, especially when we come up to bat. We can take that momentum and use it to produce runs.”

DeSpain said it took a good part of the season to get the right guys in the spots where they could be most productive defensively. While the lineup will be different Friday in the PIAA 6A title game in State College with a different pitcher on the mound, it will still be about execution.

“We have to keep guys off base when they do put it in play,” Wall said. “The infield is always prepared for that. It’s important to always be on your feet.

“I hope Jordan knows we have his back. All year, we’ve been doing our best and so far, it’s paid off.”

Souderton sealed up the win fittingly on a good defensive play. Neshaminy’s Gus Natelli hit a slow-roller into the grass, forcing Wall to charge the ball quickly.

“He’s pretty fast so my thought process was just field and get it out as quick as I possibly could,” Wall said. “It was a one-hopper and our first baseman Frank Pollock made an amazing pick to finish off the game.”