Steelers down Perkiomen Post
Pottstown’s youth, experience mesh as Steelers down Perkiomen Post
POTTSTOWN » It’s been a delightful blend for Pottstown this summer.
Take some youngsters from the high-school ranks, mesh them with college-age players — fixtures in the program in past seasons, back for one more go-round — and you get the success the Pottstown Steelers have achieved with 2-½ weeks of Bux-Mont League action under their belts.
The Steelers continued their run in the upper reaches of the league June 14 by rallying for a 5-3 win over Perkiomen Post at “Pat” Sundstrom Field. A three-run sixth inning pulled Pottstown (7-1) in front of Perkiomen, and in a first-place tie with Quakertown.
“Tonight, we were a little sluggish. We didn’t hit as well,” Pottstown manager Todd Endy said. “Their pitchers kept us off balance — the curve was their best pitch.”
So Pottstown, down 3-2 in the sixth, went into its bunt rotation. It got successive singles from Mike Gantert and Blake Strain, both of whom advanced a base off Dalton Mullen’s sacrifice bunt back toward the mound, before Logan Pennypacker — with brother Mason, a big part of the team’s veteran presence — was intentionally walked.
A wild pitch, with Mason at bat, enabled Gantert to score the tying run. After Mason drew a full-count walk, Josh Gery singled to left to bring home Strain and Logan, leaving Brandon Gebhard in good position to finish a completegame pitching effort.
“We did enough at the end,” Endy added. “Two bunts, and a big hit.”
Gebhard, admittedly pleased to get a moresubstantial second lead, merged with the Steeler defense to close Perkiomen (5-4) down in the seventh. His first start of the summer featured seven strikeouts in a mound showing pocked by eight hits and three walks.
“It gave me a second wind, kept me going,” Gebhard said. “My curve was there sometimes. I started working it during school, and it came back to me.”
The Legion program’s surge in the wake of the Pottstown High School team’s lesser level of success in the spring has been no surprise to Mason Pennypacker. The Steelers shortstop, back from Penn State Berks as a defensive anchor, is enjoying the interaction with teammates as much as the team’s lofty standing.
“We’ve all been friends since we were young,” he said. “We have good chemistry.”
Mason scored Pottstown’s first run in the first after singling to left. Gery’s grounder and a wild pitch were key to him giving Pottstown an initial 1-0 lead.
The Steelers pulled even at 2-2 in the fourth, Noah Rimel (single) brought around by other hits from Aidan Owens and Dalton Mullen.
“I don’t remember the last time we were in first place,” Mason said. “Things have been working out for us.”
Perkiomen, trying to work through three starters absent in the wake of Senior Week, got on the board in the second inning when Glenn Boyer (2-for-4) scored on Tyler Ritsick’s sacrifice fly to center. It went ahead 2-1 in the third when Boyer singled home Brett Fullerton (single, two stolen bases), then up 3-2 in the fifth when Fullerton (2-for4) scored off a wild pitch.
“We don’t have a full roster,” Perkiomen skipper Mike Fitzgerald said. “When we have everyone, we can compete. But we’re not deep enough to deal with this.”
Hunter Gooch gave Perkiomen a two-hit, twostrikeout starting mound assignment for three innings. But he was replaced by Robert Guzman after Rimel’s leadoff single in the fourth, and Guzman worked to prevent Pottstown from doing more than forcing a 2-2 tie.
“He was tired,” Fitzgerald said of Gooch. “He was struggling to get first-pitch strikes.”
Fitzgerald also cited his defense’s inability to get into its bunt rotation in the sixth as another problem area.
Pennypacker explains that the Steelers are motivated by last season.
“The biggest thing for us this year,” Mason said, “is we lost so many onerun games last year. Winning these games will help us climb in the standings.”
“The difference between a good and bad team is winning the close games,” Endy said. “Our goal is to make it into the playoffs. We have a lot of players returning from last year who felt we didn’t achieve our goals.
“The schedule is going to be a grind,” he added. “The guys who get to play have to step up.”
NOTES » The high point of Guzman’s relief performance was striking out the side in the fifth. He finished with five whiffs against just one walk . ... Mason Pennypacker had one of the Steelers’ bigger defensive plays, ending Perkiomen’s sixth with an on-the-knees relay throw to get Brett Fullerton at first. “Logan and I practice all kinds of different plays like that,” he said. “You never know what’s going to happen out there.”