Kirwin Ks 10, Towamencin tops Balliet

Advances to Thursday’s winner’s bracket final

Dan Kirwin allowed three hits and struck out 10 while Towamencin took the lead by scoring four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning as it advanced to the Pennsylvania State Connie Mack Tournament winner’s bracket final with a 6-1 win over Balliet Tuesday night at School Road Park.

“Get them on, get them in, get them over,” Towamencin catcher A.J. Catanzaro said. “That’s what we’ve been doing all year. We got hot at a good time, makes it easy.”

Catanzaro went 2-for-3 and reached base on all three of his plate appearances as Towamencin advances to face either Harleysville or Souderton — which played in Tuesday’s second game at School Road — 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Limeport Stadium.

“We’ve got lots of experience from last year, lot of guys back,” Catanzaro said. “So we’re ready — guns loaded, we’re ready.”

Balliet faces Warrington Blue in an elimination game 5 p.m. Wednesday at Limeport.

Kirwin gave up only one earned run in a complete-game effort, that coming in the top of the fist on AJ Brosious’ RBI single. The right-hander proceeded to surrendered two more hits – a single in the second and fifth — in shutting out the Vikings over the final six frames.

“Fastball today. I worked mostly fastball,” Kirwin said.

Balliet starter Justin Welch took the loss, giving up six runs — two earned — on eight hits over 4 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out five.

Towamencin, which finished second to Harleysville in last year’s tournament, broke through to tie the contest in the third. With one out, Mike Mulligan reached second on a two-base error then scored on Owen Thomas’ two-out RBI single down the first base line.

Four more runs came across for Towamencin in the bottom of the fourth. Shamus Shields led off with a base hit, with an error on a pickoff allowing Shields to reach third. Colin Brown’s RBI single the next at-bat plated Shields to

put Towamencin up 2-1.

Brown’s pinch runner, Stephen Baymor, stole second then scored on an error on Catanzaro’s ground

ball to short.

After a Tyler Siddal oneout walk, Balliet second baseman Zach Anglestein leaped to haul in a Mulligan liner, but Joe Picozzi singled to right center field to bring in two runs for a 5-1 advantage.

“When we click, we click,” Catanzaro said. “You saw that in that one inning.”

Catanzaro, hitting eighth in the Towamencin lineup, made it 6-1 in the fifth as his two-out single brought home Gavin Moretski, who led off the inning with a walk.

“I got hot at the right time,” Catanzaro said. “Seeing the ball recently. I like hitting (in a) lower spot, get the order up.”