Briarcliffe scraps out 8-inning win in Senior EDCO
DARBY TWP. » The best placed batted ball in Briarcliffe’s 1-0, eightinning victory over the Marple Tigers Wednesday night barely made it to the infield grass.
That’s just exactly what Rian Bluford wanted.
He was sent to the plate to bunt with no outs in a scoreless game and pinch-runner Kevin Finn on second base. Bluford’s job was to get Finn to third, which he did, with a perfectly placed bunt.
Marple catcher Jack Shevlin was able to get Bluford at first base, but could not prevent Finn from reaching third. Five pitches later, shortstop Corey Cahill lofted a sacrifice fly ball to left field that was enough to chase Finn home with the run Briarcliffe needed to take a 2-1 lead in the Best-of-5 Sr. EDCO championship series.
Briarcliffe can claim the title with a win Thursday night at Gable Field in Newtown Square. Game 5, if necessary, is scheduled for Friday back at Briarcliffe, weather permitting.
The bunt also served as a pickme-up for Bluford, who was a little down after being thrown out trying to steal second base after a leadoff walk in the third inning.
As Bluford came off the field, Briarcliffe manager Vin Sculli III pulled his right fielder aside and gave him a little pep talk.
“He just told me to keep my head up and stay focused,” Bluford said.
Bluford did not let his mind wander. He made five putouts after the caught stealing and received a shot at redemption when Jared Morris led off the eighth inning with a double down the leftfield line. Morris got a break when the ball bounced high off the walkway that leads to the parking lot at Briarcliffe.
“He got me down 0-2 and I just wanted to put the ball in play,” Morris said. “I wanted them to make a play. I got a pitch to hit and I drove it ... That bounce was nice because I’m not the fleetest afoot and that gave me time to get to second base.”
Finn immediately went in to run for Morris and Bluford wasted no time getting him to third base. He laid down Pat Shevlin’s first offering in the dirt in front of home plate. Jack Shevlin was on it quickly, but his only play was to first base.
“I saw the pitch come right down the middle,” Bluford said. “I just had to stick the bat out there and get it on the ground, get the guy over.”
Cahill, who flew out in his two previous at-bats, was a little more patient in his last at-bat. The lefthanded hitting shortstop worked the count to 3-1 before he sliced a ball down the left-field line. Mike Mattise got to the ball easily, but his throw was off target, which allowed Finn to score the winning run standing up.
“I was looking for a fastball on the first pitch, but he threw me a curveball,” Cahill said. “I left it down and when it got to 3-1 I was just looking for a pitch to put in the air.”
Even though he was looking fastball, again, Cahill was able to adjust when Pat Shevlin threw him a curveball on the outside part of the plate.
“I saw the movement and I just sat back and tried to put it in the air,” Cahill said. “It was outside and I was able to poke it out there.”
That was all pitcher Jim Calabrese needed to get the win. Calabrese pitched all eight innings, allowed three hits, walked two and struck out four. Calabrese was perfect through the first four innings and did not allow a runner to reach third base.
“My curveball was working,” Calabrese said. “I really relied on my curveball.
Calabrese also counted on his defense. He recorded 11 groundball outs and five via the fly ball, all to Bluford in right.
“I don’t strike people out,” Calabrese said. “I get a lot of groundballs and popups and they did hit a lot of groundballs. I relied on my infield and they did their job.”
Marple pitchers Larry Kirk and Pat Shevlin were solid, too. Kirk only gave up three hits in the four innings he worked. Shevlin surrendered two hits in the threeplus innings he was on the mound.
“It’s always a battle with these guys,” Sculli III said. “The thing with our guys is that they stay level-headed. They don’t get too high or too low. That’s why, in pressure situations, they come through like they did tonight.”
Morris, Bluford and Cahill all did what they had to do to give Briarcliffe the series lead.
“Jared had a great at-bat and Rian’s bunt was flawless,” Sculli said. “He could not have placed it any better. It was the swing of the inning. Getting that guy to third changed the whole complexion of the inning. I thought they were going to walk the next two guys (Bluford and leadoff man Collin DiGalbo), but I didn’t think they wanted to pitch to Seamus (McCafferty), who’s one of our better hitters. And Corey’s one of our veteran guys. He knew what had to be done and did it. I was so happy to see him get that RBI.”