Nate Lapp leads Dock Mennonite past Jenkintown
JENKINTOWN >> Nate Lapp didn’t need much offensive help from his teammates Wednesday afternoon, but the rest of the Dock Mennonite Academy lineup delivered anyway.
Lapp went 3-for-3 from the plate with two RBIs and three runs while pitching all five innings in the Pioneers 13-1 Bicentennial Athletic League win over Jenkintown at Jenkintown High School.
Lapp got things started with a bang. He led off the top of the first inning with a solo home run to left-center field.
“It was a 3-1 count and I knew he wasn’t going to throw me a curveball,” he said. “I knew he was going to throw me a fastball. All I had to do was just be on time with it and bang.”
He hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning to make it a 3-0 game. He singled and scored in both the fourth and fifth innings, extending Dock’s lead to 8-1 and 13-1, respectively.
On the mound, Lapp had his best outing of the season. He scattered three hits across five innings, striking out six batters to one walk. All six strikeouts were looking, including three-up and three-down in the bottom of the fourth.
“I was able to throw them off by throwing different pitches,” Lapp, who threw his fastball early and off-speed later, said, “and just keeping them on their toes.
“Sometimes I have problems coming open. For me being able to stay closed and for me to just have confidence, throw the ball over the plate and trust my fastball on the outer half – it really helps.”
“(Lapp) was certainly on today,” Dock coach Joe Mascio said. “It was by far the best game he’s thrown for us this year. In the strike zone a lot and his energy is really good. (Catcher) Sam (Laux) calls a good game for us back there. The two of them click very well and he was on today.”
Everyone in the Dock lineup contributed in the win by either scoring a run or knocking one in.
Deven Ross went 3-for-3 with two RBI and three runs.
“He’s been hitting sixth all year for us, which is a joy because he’d hit one, two or three in any other lineup in the league,” Mascio said. “He’s really dedicated trying to hit the ball the other way and that’s why we keep him at six – because he’s really good with runners on base and making solid contact, just staying true and not trying to hit the ball out of the park.”
Logan Hinnershitz added two hits and an RBI while Brayden Kratz knocked in two runs.
The Dock offense scored double-digit runs for the seventh time in 10 games this season. In addition to Lapp’s homer, the Pioneers got triples from Ross and Laux and a double from Kratz.
“Just being able to attack fastballs early,” Lapp credited for the offensive success. “Getting hits early in counts – sometimes you have trouble hitting breaking balls, so being able to hit that fastball really helps us.”
“Right now the guys are really buying in to trying to hit the ball the other way and really trying to work at-bats,” Mascio said. “I think they’re really opening things up and they’re able to hit with guys on base. We’re having big innings, which is huge.”
Jenkintown scored in the bottom of the third. Charlie Levy reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on Jeff Staples’ two-out RBI double to right field.
Ben Spector took the loss for the Drakes. He allowed nine runs on nine hits in four innings with two strikeouts and one walk. Staples threw the final inning, allowing four runs on four hits with one strikeout and one walk.
Dock Mennonite 13, Jenkintown 1 (5 innings)
Dock Mennonite 133 24 – 13
Jenkintown 001 00 – 1
WP: Nate Lapp 5 IP 6 K 1 BB 3 H 1 R
LP: Ben Spector 4 IP 2 K 1 BB 9 H 9 R
2B: D: Brayden Kratz. J: Jess Staples.
3B: D: Deven Ross, Sam Laux.
HR: D: Nate Lapp.
