The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Valenti, Collins power H-T over Souderton
Top league leader Souderton
HATFIELD » Joey Valenti wanted to make a statement on Saturday.
Souderton has sat atop the BuxMont Legion standings since the start of the season, but it’s Valenti’s team in Hatfield-Towamencin that is the league’s defending regular season and tournament champion. The Titans have hit their stride, moving up to second in the table before welcoming Souderton to School Road Park in the blistering heat.
Valenti, a rising senior at North Penn, made his statement with a complete game victory as H-T topped Souderton 5-2.
“I just wanted to keep my fastball low and mix it with my curveball,” the left-hander said. “Doing that, I was really able to keep them off-balance and got them to ground out a lot.”
Souderton beat Hatfield-Towamencin 4-1 in their first meeting of the season, which only added to Valenti’s incentive on Saturday. The Post 933 hurler was for the most part quick and efficient, a definite bonus under the sun and 90-plus degree heat.
Yet, after two innings, it looked like Valenti was heading for a short stay on the mound. A couple long at-bats and a fielding error in the second extended his stay on the mound and led to a game-tying run from Souderton that put him at 42 pitches once he got out of the frame.
Instead of slowing down, the southpaw sped up and used just six pitches the next inning as he faced the minimum number of hitters in the third, fourth and fifth innings, at one point retiring eight straight batters.
“Getting the short innings definitely helped, I was able to rest a little longer, not be out in the heat and I think that helped develop my curve ball as the game went
along,” Valenti said. “You just keep doing what you’re doing. If you’re throwing everything the same and the last inning was quick, you have to think this next inning will be quick.”
Valenti also did a good job of keeping the ball on the ground, which neutralized some of the potent bats in the Souderton lineup. He had just five fly ball outs for the game and even most of Souderton’s seven hits were kept on the ground.
“He pitched well, he was able to change it up,” Souderton manager Paul Meara said. “He doesn’t throw blazing fast and evidently we struggle with that. He had total control though, he was around the plate the whole time. He had a high pitch count after two innings, then settled in and coasted. We were hitting the ball hard early in the game, then he settled in.”
Valenti used a pickoff to induce an inningending rundown in the first, then left three more men on in the second, taking away valuable chances for Souderton. On the other hand, the Titans were able to poke through a couple of their early opportunities against Post 234 starter Dan Knechel.
Knechel, who has been one of the top pitchers in the league all season, struggled a bit with his command on Saturday and walked four batters while giving up eight hits. Hatfield-Towamencin scored in the bottom half of the first after Jake Drelick doubled and came home on Joe Picozzi’s one-out RBI single.
“Knechel trooped through it, they put a couple balls in the air that were up there for a while I though we could get to, but we didn’t get to and they all scored,” Meara said. “He’s always around the zone and doesn’t usually walk many people. I don’t have any excuse and I know he won’t, maybe we catch a couple fly balls and save ourselves one or two runs.”
Picozzi, who left his own graduation party to play in Saturday’s game, made sure it was worth the trip by going 3-for-3 with an RBI and run scored.
After Souderton tied it 1-1 on Tim Robinson’s RBI single in the second, Zach Moretski gave H-T the lead back when he singled in Ryan Bealer in the third inning. Knowing it was going to need more than two runs, Post 933 got the hit of the game a few innings later when Billy Collins finally caught a break.
Walks to Bealer and Drelick preceded a single by Picozzi to load the bags with one out and following a strikeout, Collins set himself in. The first baseman walked his first time up but also flew out to center on a hard-hit ball in the third, a recent trend he wanted to break.
“When I saw that ball drop, I was so happy,” Collins said. “The last two nights I’ve been hitting them right at fielders so to see it get down, I was just relieved.”
Collins had noticed that Souderton’s right fielder was shaded in well off the line and after working a 3-2 count, got a fastball on the outside corner. He was able to send it to right, where it trailed away from the chasing outfielder, dropping fair and clearing the bags for a three-run triple that included the eventual winning run.
“You have to keep a positive outlook and keep going through the game one pitch at a time,” Collins said. “We take every game as serious as the last and for each player, do everything you can to win the game. I think we did everything right today and that’s when the best outcomes find you.”
Souderton remains atop the league standings now at 15-2 while Hatfield-Towamencin improved to 12-3 with the win. The Titans visit Lansdale on Sunday night at 7 while Souderton hosts Perkiomen at the same time.
The Bux-Mont regular season champion secures an automatic bid to the Region 2 tournament, as does the league tournament champion. Souderton still controls its own destiny in that race with the season ending July 8 for most teams and the day after for the rest.
“The kids that come in off the bench are good and it’s been that way all year,” Meara said. “We have the right 12, everybody mixes in and they stay together. It doesn’t matter, we’re plug and play and we’re pretty good that way.”