Baseball: O’Neill homer lifts WC Henderson

WEST CHESTER- The defending Ches-Mont League champion West Chester Henderson baseball team have a very solid team with good starting pitching, timely hitting and a good defense. All this has the Warriors with high hopes again this season. Monday afternoon at Bob Owens Field the host Warriors used all three phases of the game to down West Chester East 5-2, in a Ches-Mont National Division game.

 

West Chester Henderson (3-0 Ches-Mont, 4-0 overall) got a stellar five inning starting pitching performance from Eddie Smink, who scattered four hits and struck out nine Vikings (1-3, 1-3) batters and kept the Warriors in the game while West Chester East starter Gavin Lill was holding the Warriors offense down.

 

But Lill came out of the game after 60 pitches in three innings and that is when the Warriors started to come back from an early 1-0 deficit. West Chester Henderson scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning off Vikings reliever Nick Delacruz, with the big blow being a long two run home run from Dean O’Neill to make it a 3-1 Warriors lead after five innings.

 

“I think it was a fastball a little up,’ O’Neill said. “I was sitting dead red and waiting for a fastball and I got it and I also was looking to change the scoreboard with one swing. Their starter kept us down for awhile but we keep battling and battling. Our lineup is very good and it is a deep lineup too.”

 

With the Warriors up 3-1 after five innings West Chester Henderson coach Luke mcNichol went to his bullpen for Dylan Grim to close out the game. Grim gave up an Rbi double to Luke Borkowski to cut the West Chester Henderson lead to 3-2. But the Vikings ran themselves out of the inning when Warriors catcher Ethan Giangiullo smartly picked Borkowski off second base to end the Vikings threat and West Chester Henderson headed to the bottom of the sixth inning with a 3-2 lead.

 

But, the Warriors were not done scoring for the game. Vikings reliever Matt Holgado opened the sixth inning by hitting Logan Laurento with a pitch and then walking Danny Surowiec to put Warriors on first and second with no one out. Zach Klein then laid down perfect but and reached first base when no Viking was there to cover the bag, giving the Warriors bases loaded with no one out.

 

Eric Lintelman walked and the warriors saw their fourth run cross the plate for a two run lead. Kevin Wheeler then also walked, forcing another Warriors run to cross the plate and West Chester Henderosn had a 5-2, lead going to the top the seventh inning.

 

Grim got the first Vikings out when Dylan Heyduk grounded out to short for the first out of the seventh. Ryan Price walked to put a man on first with one out but Walker Holman flied out to deep center field for the second out of the inning. Grim ended things by striking out Brady Laird and the Warriors remained perfect in league play with a tidy 5-2 win.

 

“I am the closer and I don’t feel there is much difference between starting or coming in relief,” Grim said. “And it really helps to have a great defense behind me like these guys. They really pick a pitcher up. And we just grinked out a win today and getting those sixth inning runs really picked me up too.”

 

WC Henderson 5, WC East 2.

 

West Chester East           100 001 0-2

West Chester Henderson 000 032-x-5

2B-Borkowski 2. HR-O’Neill.

WP-Smink. LP-Delacruz.

EOF-