Yates’ sac fly turns ‘crazy’ game into Strath Haven win
Strath Haven baseball coach Brian Fili has been in a lot of wild games during his career. Few, though, could top the Panthers’ 3-2, nine-inning victory over Harriton Tuesday for sheer drama.
“It was crazy,” Fili said. That may be an understatement. The Panthers had to turn a triple play and throw a runner out at the plate in the eighth inning before Andrew Yates lofted a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning to plate shortstop Noah Atsaves with the winning run.
The drama started in the bottom of the sixth inning when the Rams loaded the bases with no outs. Pierce Hagg hit a line drive to second baseman Chris Thack, who threw to first baseman Andrew Yates to double off the runner there. Yates turned and fired a strike to Atsaves at second base to get out of the jam.
Strath Haven’s defense wasn’t done. After the Rams scored a run in the bottom of the eighth inning to tie the game, left fielder Jake Fisher cut down the go-ahead run at home plate to keep the game even.
Atsaves and Brady Mutz led off the Strath Haven ninth with consecutive singles. Koll Peichel laid down a sacrifice bunt and Yates followed with his sacrifice fly to put the Panthers in front. Sophomore Chris Willette closed out a solid 2.2 innings in relief of Peichel to secure the victory.
Yates drove in two runs and Atsaves and Chris Felder pitched in with two hits each to keep Strath Haven’s District 1 Class 5A playoff hopes alive.
“We’re in 16th place and the top 16 get in,” Fili said. “Some other teams have games left so we’re going to need some help.”
Elsewhere in the Central League: RIDLEY 7, CONESTOGA 1 >> Ethan Pecko came through on the mound and at the plate for the Raiders.
Pecko combined on a four-hitter with Matt Rowles and went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Pecko allowed two hits and fanned eight in five innings before giving way to Rowles, who tossed the final two frames.
T.J. McNeely scored twice and drove in a run. Trent Pierce was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
In the Del Val League: CHICHESTER 16, PENN WOOD 0 >> Ryan Boyers and Justin Printz drove in three runs each as the Eagles won the league title outright.
Printz also scored three times. Damien Thompson went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored and Dylan Walls was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Christian Johnson had two hits for the Patriots including a triple.
In nonleague action: NEUMANN-GORETTI 4, HAVERFORD SCHOOL 3 >> The Saints scored two runs in the top of the fourth inning to take the lead for good. John Bonini tied the game for the Fords with a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning.
Jacob Stacy singled home a run an inning later to cut the deficit to the final score. Jonny Flieder tossed three innings of scoreless relief to keep the Fords in the game.
Boys Tennis
Max Safanov pulled out a tough three-set victory at first singles to help Radnor upset District 3 champ Hershey, 3-2, in the opening round of the PIAA Class 3A team tournament at the Hershey Racquet Club.
Safanov recovered from a slow start to defeat Andreas Wingert, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1) and clinch the victory. Alex Weiss downed Anthony Eichman, 6-1, 7-5, at third singles, and Ethan Lee and Luigi Giacomucci defeated William Field and Andrew Schreck, 7-5, 6-4, at third doubles.
The win sends Radnor, the No. 4 seed out of District 1, into Friday’s quarterfinals against District 10 champ Cathedral Prep from Erie.
Cathedral Prep downed Peters Township, 3-0.
Boys Lacrosse
Jack Henderson’s work in the X, and big offensive games from Nick Bates and Charlie Cunniffe paced Episcopal Academy to a 10-8 win over Germantown Academy in the quarterfinal round of the Inter-Ac League Invitational.
The win earned the Churchmen a date with Malvern Prep in Friday’s semifinals at Cabrini University (5 p.m.).
Henderson was 12-for-20 on face-offs. Bates scored three goals and Cunniffe added two goals and three assists. Nate Hunter pitched in with two goals, while goalie Matt Chess made nine saves.
The Haverford School plays Penn Charter, a 9-4 winner over Springside Chestnut Hill, in the second game of Friday’s semifinal doubleheader.
In the Catholic League: CARDINAL O’HARA 17, ARCHBISHOP WOOD 7 >> League MVP Ryan Culp dominated the X, winning 17 of 26 face-offs to power the Lions past the Vikings in the league quarterfinals Monday.
O’Hara advances to Wednesday’s semifinals against second-seeded St. Joseph’s Prep.
Culp also had two goals and one assist. Jimmy Yocum paced the offense with four goals. Aidan Gahagan (three goals, one assist), James Kutafaris (two goals, three assists) and Troy Percival (two goals, two assists) also came up big for the Lions.
Girls Lacrosse
Marissa White collected six goals, two draw controls, one caused turnover and one ground ball to pace Agnes Irwin to a 17-7 Inter-Ac League victory over Baldwin.
Emily Wills added five goals, one assist and four draw controls, while CC Senyk and Natalie Pansini (two assists) pitched in with two goals each.
Softball
Victoria Natale jumped on the opportunity to score the go-ahead run by racing home on a wild pitch in the top of the eighth inning to lift Academy Park to a 6-4 nonleague victory over Pottsgrove.
Jessica Jirak did the same thing by scoring on a second wild pitch to give the Knights (2-15) an insurance run.
Ashya Young got things started with a two-run single in the first inning and Sierra Thomas pitched a complete game with a pair of strikeouts.
In the Central League: HAVERFORD 12, LOWER MERION 0 >> Amber Moscoe hit a two-run single and Addison Joseph had two runs batted in and two runs scored as the Fords (16-4, 14-2) finished the regular season in a first-place tie in the Central League standings.
Ali Murphy scored a run and Emma Taylor pitched two solid innings to record the win.
GARNET VALLEY 5, UPPER DARBY 1 >> All-Delco catcher Lindsey Hunt belted a two-run home run to go along with a triple, Audrey Shenk went 3-for-3 with three singles and Olivia Dicampli had a double for the Jaguars.
Rebecca Sorrentino had the Royals’ lone run on a solo shot in the bottom of the seventh.
RADNOR 15, MARPLE NEWTOWN 5 >> Audrey Rosenblum did a little bit of everything with two hits, two walks, three runs scored and three stolen bases while Tess Massaro was 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs.
Emma Gibbons was on base four times (one hit, three walks) and Lilah Demmy had three hits with three RBIs and three runs scored for the Raiders.