Bears rally to hold off Daniel Boone
UNION TOWNSHIP » Nobody walks away satisfied after a game that features a combined 12 errors and 13 walks.
That was the case Thursday night as the Boyertown American Legion baseball team rallied late then held off a last-ditch charge from Daniel Boone on the way to a 13-8 win at Optimist Field.
“That’s definitely not the game we expected,” said Boyertown’s Nick Diciacco. “We’ve got a lot of things to change — our character, our attitude, our approach. We need to change everything — not just to beat teams like this — but to beat other teams in our league. We’re hosting states this year. We’ve got to be a lot better by then.”
The Bears (5-2 Berks Conference, 10-3 overall) committed four errors which led to four unearned runs on the day. Using three pitchers, Boyertown gave way to six walks against six strikeouts.
“We’re a young team,” said Diciacco, who walked on at Penn State-Berks this past spring. “It’s an inexperienced team. But I think the younger the better. The younger you are, the more potential you have and the more you’ve got to prove to yourself and to the team.”
Diciacco finished with a hit to go along with three runs scored and a pair of RBI. He pitched the final 2-2/3 innings, where he struck out three and let up two runs (one earned).
Every Boyertown hitter reached base safely, with all but one starter registering a hit in the win.
Second baseman Brocc Babb had a hit and three runs scored batting out of the leadoff spot while shortstop Chris Davis and first baseman Tate Yergey each had two runs scored and two RBI.
Daniel Boone (4-4) starter Jeb Kurtz settled in after giving up seven runs (one earned) through the first two innings. The righty scattered five hits and six walks against four strikeouts across 4-2/3 innings pitched. Bradyn Detwiller pitched the rest of the way where he was tagged for six runs (one earned) on four hits.
“We made way too many errors,” said first-year Boone head coach Bruce Uba. “We gave a lot of runs away and let them get on us right away.”
For the second straight game, Boyertown scored four runs in the in the top of the first inning. Unlike that 4-1 win over Shillington on Wednesday, though, the Bears kept their foot on the gas and eventually took a 7-0 lead after two innings.
Daniel Boone then answered with a run in the bottom of the third before putting together a five-run rally in the bottom of the fourth inning to make it 7-6.
“We’re scrappers,” said Uba. “They had some errors that helped us out, but we capitalized on their mistakes. We didn’t hold back.”
Unfortunately, neither did the Bears.
Boyertown crossed three runs in the top of the sixth then added three more in the top of the seventh, giving Diciacco all the cushion he’d need to close it out.
“I was calm, taking my time out on the mound,” said Diciacco. “When it’s all said and done, I know I’ve got to stay cool and calm on the mound to be successful.”
A night earlier, Daniel Boone used some late-inning run production Tuesday to overtake Boyertown’s American Legion baseball team and come away with a 6-3 victory in Berks County League play.
John Dinnocenti threw a complete game for Boone, scattering six hits and striking out three. The Mavriks, who trailed the Bears by a 3-1 count through four innings, pulled even with a pair in the fifth and three in the seventh, getting two RBI from Josh Piccarreta.
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BOYERTOWN 8, OLEY-TOPTON 6» Tate Yergey’s triple highlighted the Bears’ three-run sixth inning that proved to be decisive in a back-andforth Berks County League win last Monday.
Winning pitcher Drew Hartman overcame home runs from Tyler Wentzel (3for-3, RBI) and Daymond Zweizig, who hit a grand slam in the fifth inning to level the game after Boyertown led 5-1. Hartman went six innings, allowing five runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Stephen Cisik got the save.
Nolan Kline’s three-run double ignited the Bears’ five-run third inning. He had two hits, as did Broc Babb, Chris Davis (two RBI) and Nick DiCiacco as part of Boyertown’s 12-hit offense.
BOYERTOWN 6, ROCKLAND CO. 5 » Fueled by a fourrun fifth inning, the Bears edged their guests from New York in a non-league pairing.
Tate Yergey and Sean Sutterby each drove in pairs of runs for Boyertown, which nullified Rockland’s four-run first. Yergey led the offense with his 3-for-4 showing, and Caleb Harrison added a 2-for-4 and RBI to make a winner of Chase Mercon, with Tony Xanthopoulos getting the save.
WHITEHOUSE 10, BOYERTOWN 8 » The Bears mounted two big run-scoring at-bats in their Berks Invitational game with Whitehouse Post 284 (N.J.), but the efforts fell short of them going perfect in Bracket 1 play.
Nolan Kline and Pat Wieand each drove in pairs of runs for Boyertown, which edged Bordentown (N.J.) earlier in the day, 2-1. The Bears’ first four-run outburst cut into Whitehouse’s early five-run lead, and the second in the fifth was offset by Whitehouse’s own four-spot in the top of the fourth.
Boyertown ended up 2-1 in pool play, including Friday’s 6-5 win over Rockland County (N.Y.).