Sullivan swings away as Chichester beats Radnor
UPPER CHICHESTER >> Zach Taylor threw 90 pitches over six innings in near 90-degree heat Monday to give Chichester a chance in its District
1 Class 5A baseball opener with Radnor.
But Taylor wouldn’t have been able to get the decision without a missed bunt sign, of all things. It ignited a sixth-inning rally that catapulted the third-seeded Eagles to a 3-1 win over 14thseeded Radnor.
The victory moves the Eagles (17-2) within one victory of making their first trip to the states, which can be accomplished in Thursday’s quarterfinal against Bishop Shanahan, the 11th seed that tipped No. 6 Upper Dublin,
13-12, Monday.
“This is huge,” said Taylor, who pitched a completegame three-hitter with six strikeouts and just two walks, using 104 pitches. “After the Del Val, this was the second goal that we wanted. It feels good.”
Taylor and the Eagles trailed, 1-0, entering the bottom of the sixth inning. That’s when he singled and came around on a triple by Logan Sullivan, who explained how he overlooked the signal to bunt because he fell in love with a pitch from Sam DiLella, who had given up just two hits and recorded seven strikeouts to that point.
“I was really nervous,” Sullivan said. “The coach told me to bunt. I didn’t bunt, hit the triple to left field. After Damian (Thompson) stole second, they missed the ball, and I scored on the error.”
An errant pickoff attempt between DiLella and second baseman Jack Lee allowed Sullivan to score, and a throwing error allowed Thompson, who made several outstanding catches in center field, score the third and final run.
It was one of those innings. You might even argue that Sullivan’s triple, which bounced off the tip of the glove of the left fielder, was a three-base error.
No one will remember that when the Eagles host Shanahan Wednesday in the quarterfinals at 4 p.m. The survivor of that game plays Friday, and most likely against defending state champion Marple Newtown. But that’s another story for another day.
The Eagles faced a burgeoning Central League replica of Marple in Radnor, coached by Mark Jordan, who guided the Tigers to that state title.
Jordan and Raiders assistant coach Jim Balk know what it’s like to win the last game of the postseason.
“Kudos to Zach Taylor,” Jordan said. “He pitched a heck of a game. He mixed his pitches up, changeup, curve ball, spotted them well. He’s a very good pitcher. Give him all the credit. We didn’t hit him. And the centerfielder (Thompson) made some nice plays. George (Hoysgaard) hit a bomb off him. If the field has a fence it’s probably a home run. (Thompson) made it look easy. He was that good.
“And that pickoff, we had him picked off by 30 feet. We just couldn’t catch the ball. You catch it, tag him out it is two outs and a 1-1 game and we’ve got chances.”
The Raiders (9-12) didn’t look remotely like a distant seed through the first five innings. After Seamus Kennedy plated Gavin McCall with an RBI single in the third inning, it looked like the score might hold up.
When Hoysgaard went deep with no outs, it looked like there was no way Thompson would get to it. It was as if the ball found its way into a high-speed wind tunnel. Thompson ran almost to the football field to track down the 370-foot shot. And that gave a spark to the Eagles, who instead of falling behind 2-0, got out of the inning unscathed.
“Phenomenal,” Chichester coach Dan Singley said. “It’s just amazing how these kids played defense and kept it going. We were just into it defensively. I saw kids battle. It’s been like this all season. Down a little bit and the kids just battle back and they fight.”
Thompson made a handful of dazzling catches. The Raiders just couldn’t get enough timely hits, as they stranded four runners to one for their hosts. Jordan wished Singley the best.
“At this stage of the year you move on,” Jordan said. “I told the coach, I said, ‘Dan, you never know.’ But we came a long way from last year. Last year Radnor wasn’t in the playoffs. Now we’re in the playoffs and hopefully our underclassmen will learn from it and Radnor baseball is on the upswing.”
The Eagles have momentum. They have confidence. And they have a free spirit in Sullivan, who Singley says is “a good bunter who can beat them out.”