Sports
Radnor Baseball Can't Catch Marple Newtown
Despite a late rally, Radnor falls a little short, losing 7-5 in a close battle.
Radnor knew they had a fight on their hands coming into Thursday's game against the 9-1 Marple Newtown Tigers, but head coach John McGillian had confidence in his squad.
Our players are upbeat and they know they can play against anybody and keep the game close and give themselves the opportunity to win," he said.
They weren't far from it, but some key errors and failure to capitalize with some runners on base cost them the game, with Radnor losing 7-5.
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The game started slowly for both sides, with Radnor scoring the first run in the second, ending the inning up 1-0. Marple Newtown took over in the middle innings, capitalizing on three Radnor errors and going up 6-2 by the end of the fifth, including the game's only home run.
Radnor made a late push that started with back-to-back walks in the top of the sixth against Marple Newtown's first relief pitcher. Robert Collins knocked one man in with a double, and a sacrifice fly brought in another run. In the top of the seventh, Marple Newtown's second relief pitcher continued walking Radnor batters. Collins' sacrifice fly brought Brandon Musselman home, closing the gap to 7-5 before an easy pop-up ended their comeback bid.
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"My outlook into yesterday's game was that we needed to play a 7-8 out of 10 type of game in terms of defense/pitching/offense, but I felt we played a 4 or 5 type of game," said coach McGillian. "We had some routine plays such as ground balls, fly balls, etc. turn into run scoring chances for Marple Newtown because we made errors and didn't play the type of baseball we have been playing this year."
Despite the loss, McGillian still came away with positive things to say.
"They didn't lay down to a team that had them on ropes for most of the game," he said. "Kyle Von Hertsenberg (pitcher) battled and was able to keep us close and get outs in key spots but defensively we didn't help him out. Connor Walsh, a couple hits, aggressive on bases with a few stolen bases. I think the overall game was a good one, but one we definitely could've won if a few things went differently."
