5A Baseball: Oxford rolls over Radnor in District 1 opening round
OXFORD >> The Oxford baseball team took its first step to getting back to the District 1 5A championship game Monday afternoon with an impressive opening round 12-2 victory over Radnor, in a five inning mercy rule game. The sixth-seeded Hornets will now travel to Marple Newtown on Wednesday to take on the Tigers.
Oxford (14-5 overall) starter Joey Kelly went four splendid shutout innings, allowing the Raptors (8-9) just two hits while striking out six batters. The Oxford offense certainly did its part by banging out 13 hits and stealing 10 bases on the overmatched Raptors.
“Joey really pitched well for us today,” Oxford coach Tim Rector said. “I thought he mixed his pitches very well and he really hit his spots. He was really hitting the low outside spots and getting them to really have some bad swings.”
The offense started slowly as the Hornets standed runners in each of the first two innings against the 11th-seeded Raptors, and starter Austn Marx. But Oxford came alive in the bottom of the third inning.
The Hornets garnered five consecutive two-out hits, including a RBI double from Owen Rector to take a 3-0 lead after three innings. Oxford also stole three bases in the inning and were helped by two the five Radnor errors for the game.
“We saw them and we thought we could do some damage on the bases,” Rector said. “We are not really a team that steals a lot of bases but you steal bases sometimes on the catcher and sometimes on the pitcher, and today we got some real good reads and just took off.”
In the top of the fourth inning Radnor got a lead-off double from Jack Pachella, but Kelly struck out the next three batters. In the bottom of the inning, the Hornets exploded, scoring seven runs on six hits and sending 11 men to the plate, and chasing Marx in the process.
Landen Rozich started the carnage by drawing a walk. Tom Matuszewki followed with an RBI double and after Tim Haftl walked, Connor Booth ripped an RBI single to right field and it was a 5-0 Oxford lead.
Wyatt then ripped an RBI triple to center field and that bomb was followed by another run scoring triple by Connor Reilly. The Hornets left the bases loaded in the inning, but when it was over they had a 10-0 lead.
“We were a little jittery early in the game,” Wyatt said. “But after we left those runners on base the first two innings I came in and said for the guys to just get good at bats and then we all just fed off of each other. Once one of us gets a hit we all get going. And Joey portably pitched his best game of the season for us today.”
Radnor came back to score two runs in the top the fifth inning off Oxford reliever Rozich, but the Hornets were just too much for Radnor as they put the game into the mercy rule in the bottom of the fifth inning when Wyatt doubled and scored on another Radnor error, this one a botched pickoff play.
Ryan Dewese ended the lopsided affair with a RBI single to left field, scoring Rector who was hit by a pitch and the Hornets had a very impressive 12-2 win.
“Guys were a little amped up early,” Rector said. “And I think that is why we left those men on base. But, I told them to just calm down and we really barreled some balls up and hit the ball hard. We hope to continue that.”
Oxford 12, Radnor 2 (5 innings)
Radnor 000 02 — 2
Oxford 003 72 — 12
2B — Pachella, Recto, Wyatt, T. Matuszweski. 3B — Wyatt, Reilly.
WP — Kelly. LP — Marx.
