Schultz gives Post 625 strong start; Wildcats sent out by Wanderers
Only one thing could have made Adam Schultz’s night complete Friday: Pitching a complete game.
The dictates of the American Legion baseball pitch count left Schultz one out short of achieving that. But he still gets considerable credit for hurling Post 625 past Boyertown, 5-3, on the first night of the Pa. Region 2 tournament at Boyertown.
Schultz racked up 10 strikeouts against a pair of walks, and he shut the Bears down after the third inning. The Wildcats supported his mound efforts with the tying run in the fourth, and the margin of victory in the fifth.
“He hit 103 on his last batter,” 625 manager Rich Spatz said, “so we had to pull him. But it all worked out.”
The ‘Cats, making their first-ever visit to a stateregional tournament, took a 1-0 lead in the first inning with Angel Velez’ single driving in Nick Sager. It scored again in the third, Andrew Torres singling Sager home, for a 2-1 lead Boyertown overtook with a pair in the bottom of the frame.
A Sager grounder to second base pulled the Schuylkill/Berks second seeds even with Boyertown in the fourth, Josh Rehr (single) coming home on the play. In the fifth, Rehr doubled home Velez after Torres (single) was awarded home plate off a balk by Boyertown reliever Tony Xanthopoulos.
“We’re excited. We want to prove we belong,” Spatz said. “(Friday night) went a long way toward that, and we’re hoping to continue.”
Boyertown’s first run in the second inning came off a Billy Coleman single that drove in Caleb Harrison, who was hit by a Schultz pitch and moved to third on a pair of wild pitches. In the third, Pat Wieand scored off a Chase Mercon fielders’choice play before Sam Legerton (walk) came home off Chris Davis’ sacrifice fly to right. Post 625 allowed two runs in the top of the seventh to fall to South Parkland 5-4 in a winners bracket game of the Legion Region 2 Tournament Saturday at Boyertown’s Bear Stadium.
Post 625 carried a 4-3 lead into the final inning, but a leadoff walk, a single and a pair of errors led to two runs. The winning run scored with two outs.
The Wildcats had taken the lead with three runs in the fifth, the big blow a three-run double by Tom Hegedus.
South Parkland went up 2-0 in the first on a two-run home run by Matt Ervolina. Post 625 cut it to 2-1 in the third when Josh Rehr, who led off with a double, scored on a wild pitch.
An RBI single by Adam Mellinger gave South Parkland a 4-2 lead in the fifth.
The Wildcats loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth, but did not score. The inning ended when James Wiley flied out to left and Rehr was thrown out a home to complete the double play.
Rehr and Timothy Hornbuckle each went 2-for-3 for Post 625.
Dominic Yeager allowed three earned runs on seven hits and two walks in six innings for the Wildcats. He struck out six.
Four Wanderers pitchers combined to allow just four hits and a single run to Post 625 as the Wildcats saw their season end in a 5-1 defeat Sunday at the Region 2 tournament at Boyertown’s Bear Stadium.
Tom Hegedus had two hits and drove in Post 625’s lone run in the fifth inning. Dominic Yeager and Andrew Torres had the Wildcats other hits.
Starting pitcher Torres went five innings and allowed three runs on five hits with a strikeout and three walks.
Wanderers, out of Bethlehem, got a 2-for-3, two-RBI game from Jack Lees.