Terlesky’s walk-off single, 3-run home run lead sizzling PJP II baseball past Upper Perkiomen

ROYERSFORD >> The cardiac cats are at it again.

For the second time in as many games, the Pope John Paul II baseball team entered its final inning trailing only to joyously walk off the diamond victorious. Two days after stunning Norristown with a 3-run seventh inning, the Golden Panthers delivered the same fate to Upper Perkiomen as Luke Terlesky’s two-out RBI single in the home seventh sealed a 6-5 walk-off win.

It was the fifth straight victory for PJP, who improved to 9-1 overall, 7-1 in Pioneer Athletic Conference contests and a still-perfect 5-0 mark in PAC Frontier play. The deep pitching staff has been dominant, allowing just 16 runs in 10 games and shutting the opponent out five times.

And now the Golden Panthers know they can come back no matter how many runs they’re down by, making them a very dangerous team full of belief in one another. Despite trailing 5-4 heading into their final at bat, the PJP dugout crackled with energy and enthusiasm with each subsequent pitch.

“Our energy never really depletes,” said Terlesky, who also hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning and pitched the first three innings for PJP. “We’re always up no matter what the score is and we’re confident we can come back from anything, whether we’re down one or 10.

“I was just looking for my pitch. I wasn’t expecting to swing first pitch but he threw a little hanger right down the middle and I was able to hit it hard.”

Terlesky got the start on the mound and surrendered an unearned run in the first inning on an RBI groundout by Upper Perk pitcher Cole Pierce, the only blemish in his three innings of work. The score remained 1-0 Indians until Terlesky strode to the plate with two runners on in the fourth, drilling an opposite field three-run home run to give PJP its first lead of the day.

“You’re never trying to swing for the fences,” Terlesky said after his second homer of the season. “With two guys on I was just trying to hit something to the outfield and maybe score two, but I got a fastball right down the pipe and took advantage of it.”

The action was just getting started from there as the bats came alive for both teams. Braden Rieg and Evan Sands each singled home runs in the top of the fifth for Upper Perk, and the Indians regained the lead in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Owen Williams and a run-scoring bunt fielder’s choice off the bat of Brody Weiss that plated Kyle Mazzie, who raced down the third base line and beat the throw home from relief pitcher Aidan Sgarra.

PJP got one back in the sixth, with AJ Diaddezio leading off with a single to left and coming around to score on a 2-out RBI double by Sgarra to pull the Golden Panthers within 5-4.

Unfortunately for Upper Perk, PJP had the final at bat. Second baseman Luca Dimaio, the Golden Panthers’ nine-hole hitter, worked a leadoff walk to start the bottom of the seventh off Upper Perk (7-4 overall, 4-3 PAC, 3-1 PAC Frontier) reliever Aidan Keyser. Tyler Tindall sacrificed Dimaio to second base, and Carson Glose reached on an error by Indians shortstop Isaac Bugman, putting runners on the corners with one out.

Chase Frantz singled home the tying run, and Diaddezio flew out to center before Terlesky’s heroics.

“From winter workouts, (head) coach (Charles Deluzio) has been telling us he thinks this group is special, but now we have to come out and prove that,” Terlesky said. “We’ve got a chance to do something really good this year and go far. We all pick each other up so that no one’s ever down and in a tough spot. If someone isn’t having a good day, someone else comes in and steps up and does something for that other person.”

In Deluzio’s fourth season — really five, with the 2020 COVID season excluded — PJP has gone from 6-10 to 11-10 to 17-6 last season. In 2023, the Golden Panthers made the PAC playoffs and were District 1-4A champions before falling to Archbishop Wood in the first round of the PIAA playoffs.

“As soon as I got on the bus after we lost to Wood, I told them we had unfinished business next year,” Deluzio said. “We feel that something’s brewing — something special. It’s a good baseball team, and we’re having a lot of fun right now. The pitching has been fantastic, and now we smell it. We feel really good about ourselves. These guys don’t quit, they really don’t. I believe in them.”

Offensively for PJP, Glose was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Sgarra and Frantz each produced RBI hits in three at bats. On the mound, crafty lefty Blake High relieved Terlesky, going 1.1 innings while yielding four hits and two runs before giving way to flamethrower Sgarra. Sgarra ran into some trouble in the sixth in allowing two runs but was strong enough to pick up the win, striking out two and walking two in 2.2 innings of work.

For Upper Perk, the top five hitters in the lineup — Williams, Weiss, Pierce, Rieg and Sands — all had RBI hits. Pierce pitched very well for five innings, allowing five hits and Terlesky’s three-run homer while striking out six and walking one. Only one of the three runs Keyser allowed was earned, and he took the loss after surrendering four hits in 1.2 innings, striking out one and walking one.

It still remains to be seen how far PJP will advance this season, but following these two thrilling, come-from-behind wins, it’s getting more and more difficult to bet against the Golden Panthers.

“We always battle with Upper Perk,” Terlesky said. “I’m sure we’ll see them again in districts, maybe PACs. They’re a good team, but we’re really confident right now.”

Pope John Paul II 6, Upper Perkiomen 5

Upper Perkiomen     1 0 0 0 2 2 0 – 5
Pope John Paul II     0 0 0 3 0 1 2 – 6

WP: Aidan Sgarra 2.2 IP, 1H, 2R, 2BB, 2K
LP: Aidan Keyser 1.2 IP, 4H, 3R (1ER), BB, K

2B: PJP- AJ Diaddezio, Aidan Sgarra, Dylan Simeone
HR: PJP- Luke Terlesky
SB: UP- Brody Weiss, Kyle Mazzie, Zane Saeger