Warriors End It Early In Cross-Town Rivalry Game against Rustin

In an intra-city rivalry game that always means a little bit more, senior standout Chas McCormick pitched a three-hit shutout as the Henderson High School baseball team registered a 10-0 victory over Rustin Monday afternoon at Owens Field.

In front of a sizeable crowd, the Warriors put on a near perfect performance in the field as the game was called after five innings. The Warriors got some timely hitting from junior catcher Brad Patton, senior rightfielder Ryan Hooven, and senior shortstop Jason McCormick who, combined, put up five of Henderson’s six total hits.

The Warriors came through on their home field as the school celebrated “Pink Day,” raising money for breast cancer awareness through auctions and the collection of donations. Both teams honored the occasion by wearing pink uniforms and the field was adorned with pink bases.

Early on in the first inning it looked as if it would be a pitching duel between McCormick and Rustin’s Nick Miller, who both sat down the opposition quickly and concisely. But in the second inning, the Warriors made use of a couple of extra outs due to errors and managed to load up the bases for Patton.  He ripped a big double into the right-center field gap to drive in two runs and put Henderson on the board. The scoring then continued when two more runs came across for the Warriors on a fielder’s choice and a passed ball, giving Henderson a 4-0 lead. The inning finally came to a close after an impressive running grab in foul territory by Rustin junior shortstop Jimmy Brennan. 

McCormick pitched fast and effectively, keeping Rustin hitters off balance and out of rhythm. The fielders behind him did great work making almost every play seem easy. Junior Dave Reitman made a few pretty plays at third base just as the rest of the Henderson infield seemingly did at one time or another. For Rustin, it was simply a bad outing in an otherwise good season for the Golden Knights.

The Warriors picked up the scoring again two innings later when they batted around, showing smart hitting and patience, working themselves on base and moving runners ahead. Before the inning was over, six more Warriors crossed home plate.  Jason McCormick knocked in the final run with a double and his twin brother subsequently shut down the Rustin lineup in the top of the 5^th inning, putting the mercy rule into effect.

“We played relaxed out there today, ” Henderson head coach Luke McNichol said of his team.    “Our guys hit the ball hard all game and that’s what we needed.” The Warriors have had a couple tough losses during the past several days and are hoping that the rivalry win gets them back on track.

Rustin is now 8-4 overall and 7-4 in the Ches-Mont while Henderson is 10-4 overall and 7-4 in the Ches-Mont.  On Wednesday, Rustin hosts Great Valley and visits Unionville on Friday. Henderson will travel to Avon Grove on Wednesday and then try to avenge a loss they suffered earlier this season as they host Coatesville on Friday.

(Additional reporting by Becca Willett.  Griffith and Willett are members of the Henderson Warrior high school newspaper staff).