Three Rams Participate in Carpenter Cup Semis

ALLENTOWN - With a chance to play on the hallowed grounds of Citizen’s Bank Park hanging in the balance, the Philadelphia Catholic League all stars outlasted a Chester squad that saw an 8-2 lead evaporate in the late innings. Philadelphia Catholic claimed a 9-8 victory in 11 innings to advance to the Carpenter Cup semifinal against Burlington County.

The Catholic league all stars got on the board first as center fielder Mike McLaughlin (Father Judge) drilled a single between short and third to score two.

Chester County got it going offensively in the top half of the third as Henderson’s Cooper Redding led off, dropped a single into left field. Spring-Ford junior Tom Grablewski stepped into the box with Redding in scoring position.

Grablewski laced a 2-2 fast ball into left-center to get things started. West Chester Rustin’s Matt Gosik (1-for-2, run, 2 RBI) doubled, scoring Grablewski and Redding to tie the game. Gosik scored on a wild pitch to give Chester County its first lead.

Rams designated hitter Ryan Conway kept the inning alive by drawing a walk then stole second to set the stage for Great Valley sophomore David Iaccobucci. Iaccobucci blasted a double into the wide open expanses of Coca Cola Park, driving in Conway with the fourth run.

“That was huge for us to put the pressure on them,” said Golden Knights junior Gosik. “This is an awesome experience. just to play in a park like this is amazing." 

Chester County added to its lead in the fourth as Redding (1-for-2, 2 runs) reached base on an error and advanced to second of the throw and was driven in on a single.

Grablewski (2-for-3, 2runs), playing in the game less than eleven hours after arriving back home from Friday night’s PIAA game in State College, blistered a ball to the wall in right center for a triple to start the fifth frame and scored on a sacrifice fly by Gosik, posting Chester County to a 6-2 advantage.

Chester County maintain its’ 8-2 bulge after six complete innings.

“I think our pitchers get us a chance to win,” said head coach John Rozich (Oxford). “This had been so much fun being around kids like this that love baseball. An example of that is the three kids from Spring-Ford who played for the state title last night, getting home at 3 a.m. and popping up here to play is a testament of how much they love the game."

As coach Rozich made wholesale changes to the lineup in the top of the sixth, it was Phantoms catcher Jack Ashburn who got things started by crushing a double into the gap to lead off and scored.

Philadelphia Catholic got the bats going late in regulation, still they stranded six runners in three innings.

Downingtown East’s Chris Ward took the hill to start the seventh inning for Chester County. Philadelphia Catholic all stars then posted four runs on four hits, leaving one man on to cut the Chester County lead to two.

In the bottom of the ninth, Chester County was one strike away from a date at the Bank when St. Jospeph’s Prep sophomore Shane Willams (4-for-4, 3 RBI)  lifted a 2-2 pitch from West Chester East’s Bill Krebbs just past the infield. Corey Balada (LaSalle) and Mike Zolk (Neumann-Goretti) scored on the hit to knot the tilt at eight. The game was sent into extra innings.

In the bottom of the eleventh inning, with Balada at second base and two outs, left fielder and Spring-Ford junior Louis Vining made a great play on a single by Williams cutting the ball off and preventing an attempt home by Balada.

“I just wanted to make sure I got to it quickly to cut him off,” said Vining. “We all wanted to play in Citizen’s Bank, but just to get the chance to play here and have so many people taking notice of what you can do is something that I will never forget. It’s been a tiring weekend but I wouldn’t trade it. ”

Balada scored three pitches later as Jimmy Kerrigan squeaked a base hit in the hole between first and second, ending Chester County’s championship dream and advancing Philadelphia Catholic to a match up today with Burlington County.

“We told the kids that they had nothing to hang their heads about," Rozich said. "That’s baseball. I am very impressed with how well kids from all different teams and leagues built some very good chemistry in a short time. Of course we wanted to advance and really had a shot, I think, to win the whole thing. That’s why you have to shut the door on a team when you have them down and we just didn’t.”

Spring-Ford Stats

Tom Grablewski - 2/3, 2B

Ryan Conway - 1/2

Louis Vining - 0/3

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

R

H

E

Chester County

0

0

4

1

1

2

0

0

0

0

0

8

11

2

Phila. Catholic

2

0

0

0

0

0

4

0

2

0

1

9

13

4