Diamond Dogs roll to 2nd straight shutout

EAST WHITELAND » One night after Downingtown threw a shutout at Oxford, the Diamond Dogs came right back and shut out another in Chester County Legion League foe.

Behind the three-hit pitching of Zach Turner, Downingtown routed the Paoli Cardinals, 11-0, in a fiveinning mercy rule affair Wednesday night. For the second straight night, the two-time reigning Chester County League champions fired a loud warning shot for the playoffs, which begin next weekend.

“We get everybody’s best game,” Turner said. “They see the patches on our arms for being champs and we get everybody up. Tonight was a good night for me as I was able to get ahead of the hitters by throwing my fastball for strikes. And getting that big lead early in the game made pitching a little easier because you do not have the weight of you can’t give up one run or you will lose the game.”

Downingtown (8-3) broke out early on Paoli (3-9) starter Wylie Muck in the first inning. Tim McNeal led off the game with a walk and promptly stole second base, the first of five Downingtown thefts. After Muck got the next two outs, Nick Marcelli singled McNeal home for a 1-0 lead. Things really got rolling for Downingtown in the top of the second, however.

The Dawgs sent 10 men to the plate and chased Muck from the contest as they plated six runs on four hits and the Cardinals chipped in with two big errors. The big hits for Downingtown came from Marcelli, who lined a two-run single to center field, and Aaron Sipes, who ripped an RBI double to deep left center. Marcelli had two hits and three RBIs for Downingtown and did a great job behind the plate.

“I was seeing the ball real well tonight,” Marcelli said. “I was looking fastball but in the first inning I hit a curveball and then the single the other way in the second inning was a pitch I like, a fastball, and I just tried to do my job and get my teammates in. And we have gotten great pitching the last two nights and we really need that with the playoffs coming up.”

Paoli was doing nothing with Turner as the Cardinals managed just three singles in the five-inning affair, striking out twice to go with one walk.

On the other side, the Cardinals sent Pete Giombetti in to relieve Muck and Downingtown did not show any mercy on the Cardinals reliever.

The Dogs scored two more runs in the third inning on no hits. Downingtown grouped two walks and two more costly Paoli errors to make it a 9-0 game and Downingtown put the game into the mercy rule by scoring two more runs in the fourth inning on just one hit. Paoli’s two pitchers walked seven Downingtown batters on the night and the Cardinals committed four errors while allowing Downingtown runners to steal five bases.

Downingtown is in a stretch of playing five games in five days, as the Dogs visit Spring City tonight at Ram Stadium before finishing their league schedule with games against Westtown on Friday and Lionville on Saturday.

“It was real important for

“I was seeing the ball real well tonight. I was looking fastball but in the first inning I hit a curveball and then the single the other way in the second inning was a pitch I like, a fastball, and I just tried to do my job and get my teammates in.” — Downingtown’s Nick Marcelli

us to get great pitching the last two nights,” Downingtown manager Scott Rambo said. “And with us playing five games this week we have a short staff so it was real nice to see Nick Campana and Zach Turner pitch like they did for us on back-to-back nights.”