Tecco, Narberth show no rust against Concord
LOWER MERION » Being off for a nearly a week thanks to a firstround bye did not have an adverse effect on Narberth first baseman Ryan Tecco.
Nor did it bother the top-seeded Mudcats as they took the first step in defense of their Delco League title with an 8-5 victory over Concord in Game 1 of the semifinals Saturday afternoon at Narberth Playground.
The ‘Cats pounded out six hits, three in a five-run outburst in the fifth inning, to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-5 series, which resumes Sunday afternoon with Game 2 back at Narberth (2 p.m.). Ryan Haley, who spent much of the game chasing down foul balls, will try to give Narberth a two-game edge. Andrew Belfiglio gets the call for the Canes.
Three of those six hits were doubles and Tecco had two of those safeties, and a walk. He also drove in three runs as Narberth extended its winning streak to 10 games.
“We do a good job of taking batting practice,” Tecco said. “That really keeps us in shape at the plate and really keeps our minds on hopefully winning another championship.”
The respite, though, was a welcome relief for some of the older players on the roster.
“That’s big for guys over 25 like myself,” Narberth skipper Steve DeBarberie said. “It gives us time to rest. It’s a little tougher on the college guys, who have had live at-bats every day since February. But we know we can hit pretty much any pitcher in this league. And if we pitch and play defense, we can win every game.”
The top five hitters did most of the damage for Narberth. Leadoff man Sean Spratt had one hit and scored three times. Kevin McGowan scored once. Mike White was 1-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored. Tecco was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Joe Lake went 1-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored.
Tecco’s first hit was a double to right field that chased Spratt home with the run that broke up what had been a scoreless pitching duel between Narberth starter and winner, Toby MacCart, and Concord’s Sean Heidig. Tecco’s second safety was a seeing-eye single between first and second base that plated two runs and got the fifth-inning rally going.
“It was a first-pitch changeup,” Tecco said. “He caught me off guard. It was outside and he fooled me on it, but I was able to keep my hands back enough to poke it through the hole.”
Lake followed with an RBI single. DeBarberie lofted a sacrifice fly and catcher Steve Furman chipped in with an RBI single to stake the Mudcats to a 7-0 lead.
The way MacCart was pitching it looked like the Mudcats were going to cruise to an easy victory. He took a one-hitter into the sixth inning before the Canes got to him.
Concord put a run on the board in the sixth inning and tacked on four more in the seventh to make things interesting. The big blow there was a three-run double by Jake Carr that ended MaCart’s day. Brian Miller had to come in and get the final out.
It was MacCart’s first outing in 10 days and the unseasonably cool weather didn’t help either. He likes to pitch in hot weather, but MacCart wasn’t making any excuses.
“I ran out of gas, but they’re a good team,” MacCart said. “They’re tough. They make you throw pitches.”
In the other semifinal: ASTON VALLEY 7, WAYNE 6 » If the opener was any indication, this is going to be some series. Jared Carney singled home the winning run with two outs in the eighth inning.
Kendall Small collected four hits and four RBIs to give Aston Valley a 1-0 lead in the series. Sam Farnell added two hits. Tyler Campbell picked up the win in relief of starter Zach Rumford, who pitched 7⅔ innings.
Bryan Rubin had a big day with two doubles and four RBIs. Game 2 is set for 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon at Buggy Field. Aston Valley will throw lefty Zach Youngberg, while Wayne goes with right hander Jimmy Kingsbury.
Aston Valley came from behind three times. The Knights erased a 3-0 lead with three runs in the second inning and took a 5-4 lead on a sacrifice fly by Farnell and an RBI single from Small. AV had to rally again after Wayne tied the game in the seventh inning and took a 6-5 lead in the top of the eighth.
Small drove in his fourth run of the game to knot the score at 6-all and Carney followed with his walkoff hit to help the Knights draw first blood in the series.