Spring City exits early with two losses
ROYERSFORD >> It was hard for Sean Hochhausler to hand over the ball. He knew he had to do it though.
Hochhausler pitched 6.2 shutout innings before giving way to Owen Lynch for the final out in Yardley-Morrisville’s 4-0 win over Spring City in the first round of the American Legion Region 3 Tournament on Friday at Ram Stadium.
Hochhausler was at 78 pitches and relinquished the opportunity for a complete game shutout in order to stay under the 80-pitch limit and make himself available if needed later on in the tournament.
“It definitely hurt, but it’s a smart decision ... Hopefully I come back Tuesday,” Hochhausler said with a smile after the game.
Yardley advanced to the winner’s bracket to face Nether Providence on Saturday night, while Spring City fell to the loser’s bracket for an elimination game against J.P. Mascaro. The Red Sox lost to the Haulers, 3-0, ending their tournament run and season.
Hochhausler limited Spring City, last year’s Region 3 and state champions, to just five hits in the game Friday and rarely found himself in trouble.
A two-out walk by Andrew Huang followed by a single by David McCury gave Spring City an early runner in scoring position before Hochhausler induced a lineout to get out of the jam.
Colin Amerine’s two-out double in the bottom of the fourth was the only other threat the Red Sox had as they failed to get a runner to third base in the game.
Amerine went 3-for-3 with a double, and McCurry went 2-for-3 to account for Spring City’s only five hits.
“We just gotta hit the ball better and in better situations,” Amerine said. “Every time I got on base there was no one on.”
“We never really sparked a hit off this kid today,” McCurry added. “I thought one inning we’d come around and get the job done, but we just couldn’t.”
Jason Bilotti matched Hochhausler through the first four innings, holding Yardley to one hit in four scoreless frames.
A single and a misplayed bunt put two runners on with no outs for Yardley in the top of the fifth. Bilotti ended a 10-pitch at-bat with a strikeout to get the first out of the inning, temporarily relieving some of the stress.
The sigh of relief was short lived, however, as three hits and a sac fly brought home four runs for Yardley. Ryan Braim (double), Sean Doherty (single), Justin Fogel (sac fly) and Justin Massielo (double) were responsible for driving in the runs. Doherty and Braim led Yardley with two hits.
“It’s a really nice feeling,” Hochhausler said. “Especially on a hot day, you finally get to sit down for a while... It’s great getting the run support from these guys.”
Bilotti went all seven innings, shutting down Yardley for the final two frames. He allowed one earned run on six hits, striking out eight batters without a walk.
Mascaro’s Griffin shuts out Spring City
Familiar foes met up Saturday afternoon in the Region 3 Tournament.
Two months after Spring-Ford knocked Methacton out of the Pioneer Athletic Conference tournament at Ram Stadium, a J.P. Mascaro squad led by a number of those Methacton players returned the favor to a Spring City team featuring several of those same Rams.
Mascaro defeated Spring City, 3-0, on Saturday, knocking the Red Sox out of the tournament and ending their season.
The pitching matchup Saturday between Spring City’s Zach Male and Mascaro’s Zack Griffin was the same as that PAC semifinal. Things worked out differently this time around.
Griffin tossed a complete game against the Red Sox on Saturday, allowing just three hits. Noah August, Andrew Huang and Andy Craig tallied the knocks for Spring City. In the two tournament games, the Red Sox were held without a run, tallying eight total hits.
Male lasted 2.1 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits. He walked three batters and struck out three. Tyler Leonard, Kevin Hynes and Nolan Ramanjulu held Mascaro scoreless the rest of the game.