Matthews shows hes 100 percent healthy
Right-hander allows just 2 hits in Game 1 win
“As soon as we went up 1-0, pitching with a lead lets you challenge guys and that’s pretty much what I was doing the whole time. We had good defense out there, I’m a contact pitcher, I get guys out with a lot of ground balls so you just trust your defense.” – Ambler’s Andy Noga
UPPER DUBLIN » Andy Noga found his zone.
The Ambler Brewers righthanded pitcher took the ball for Game 1 of their Perky League semifinal against Nor-Gwyn and shut down the Packers. Noga, an assistant coach at Hatboro-Horsham, retired 15 of the last 16 men who came to the plate, including 13 straight at one point.
His offense didn’t make the most of its chances, but it got enough as Ambler claimed a 4-0 win to take a 1-0 series lead Thursday at Temple-Ambler.
“As soon as we went up 1-0, pitching with a lead lets you challenge guys and that’s pretty much what I was doing the whole time,” Noga said. “We had good defense out there, I’m a contact pitcher, I get guys out with a lot of ground balls so you just trust your defense.”
Noga gave up a leadoff hit to Nor-Gwyn’s Bob Filler but came back to induce a 4-6-3 double play and got a pop-up to second
to end the first inning without harm. The Brewers then looked poised to do some early harm against Packers starter Chuck Delagol.
Ambler loaded up the bases with one out but Delagol got Brewers player/ manager Peter Moore to chop one to third, with Nick Mulvey making the play for a force-out at home. Nick Fasano ended up scoring on a wild pitch, but Delagol managed to strand three runners and minimize the damage.
“That was first time all season he extended to 100 pitches and he did a heck of a job,” Packers manager Tony DiBricida said. “He had a long college season, so he’s been on a pitch count but we let him run it out tonight and he did a nice job for us.”
Delagol did walk seven batters but only allowed five hits and two of the four runs were unearned via a pair of sixth-inning fielding errors. Di-Bricida said it was an adjustment made by coach Lou Lombardo that helped Delagol get out of the tough spot in the first.
Moore, who caught, picked off a runner at first base to end the second inning and stranded two Nor-Gwyn runners and after that, it was all Noga. The righty allowed just two hits, one each in the first and second innings and he retired the side in order in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
“I’m not going to change my game, I’m going to continue to challenge guys, that’s what I do,” Noga said. “I’m not really a strikeout pitcher so I want to challenge them and get them out in any way possible.”
Noga, who retired the first batter of the seventh before an error ended his streak at 13, said he didn’t realize how much of a roll he was on during the game. Ambler scorekeeper Matt Cummins went over the game with Noga when it ended and only then did he see how he had been able to quiet Nor-Gwyn’s lineup.
A fast worker both in warm-ups and once batters come to the plate, Noga can control the tempo of a game when he’s got his stuff going.
“Andy is the reigning pitcher of the year and he’s a really good pitcher that keeps you off balance,” DiBricida said. “He pitches quick, but I actually like pitchers who do that.”
Ambler added a run in the fourth when Ryan Pater’s sac fly to left scored Eric Ruhland. Errors in the bottom half of the sixth allowed Bob Drozdowksi and Brett Reynolds to tack on insurance runs.
DiBricida felt like his hitters made good contact when they hit the ball and rightly noted there’s plenty of series left in the best-offive semifinal. The Packers feel like they have the pitching depth to extend the series, especially after winning in five games during the first round.
“We have a lot of depth with our pitching,” DiBricida said. “They also have a nice staff, especially in there starters. We have to find a way to get to their starters to make something happen and extend the series.”
Moore is slated to pitch for Ambler on Friday, when the teams will meet at Hostelley Field for a 7:30 p.m. start with Nor-Gwyn as the home side.
While Moore will get the ball looking for a two-game series lead, he had a big part in Thursday’s opener catching for Noga.
“Pete and I work well together, if I shake off a pitch, he usually knows what I want,” Noga said. “Sometimes, I’ll step off and run it back and realize ‘Pete’s right here’ and throw that. He’s one of my favorite catchers I’ve ever thrown to.”