Haverford School’s Genther, Reed enjoy special moment

PHILADELPHIA » No one wants to be on the wrong side of a 14-3 decision, the fate of the Inter-Ac/Independent stars at the expense of Tri-Cape Monday in the Carpenter Cup semifinals.

But by playing it out on a steamy, 87-degree morning, and at Citizens Bank Park, it still was a win-win for InterAC/Independent.

Particularly The Haverford School battery of catcher Eric Genther and pitcher Ryan Reed, who presided over their team’s only 1-2-3 inning in the eighth and were one walk from making it two in a row. In their last game together, the duo agreed that at this point in life, it doesn’t get any better than playing the game you love in a major league stadium.

“I mean, the loss stinks and obviously you’re here to win,” Genther said. “But you don’t get many opportunities like this. Even as a 19-year-old kid now, I feel like a Little Leaguer playing out here. You walk on to the field. You get to hang in that dugout. You get to be out in the bullpen. All the guys you watch on TV, the stars that you watch on TV, they shared the same space with you. Obviously, it’s a dream come true.”

Genther is off to the University of Rhode Island on a full scholarship to play baseball. He’s old school, a piece of the supporting evidence was him getting hit by a pitch three times in three Carpenter Cup games, tops in the 16-team, single-elimination tournament showcasing almost 400 baseball players in Pennsylvania, Delaware

and New Jersey.

“I’ll gladly take hit-bypitch in any at bat,” said Genther, who went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in the tournament. “You get on base. Obviously, that’s the name of the game, especially in tournaments like this. You just try to get on and see if you can make something happen. I actually get hit a lot with two strikes. I’ll get bailed out a lot. I don’t really think I crowd the plate. I think part of it is because I don’t really move out of the way. I just take it if it comes near me.

“But I’m not on a big upon-the-plate guy. I usually get hit in the behind.”

Other than Tommy Ball (Shipley) slugging an RBIsingle, and Jon Aman (Friends Central) producing an RBI, there weren’t a lot of offensive highlights Monday for Inter-AC/Independents, coached by Joe Ishikawa of Springside Chestnut Hill and Joe Rubin of Friends Central. Haverford School coaches Bob Castell, Joe Martin, Mike Palumbo and Luke Kania assisted them.

Reed brought his stuff to CBP, the lefthander retiring six of the seven batters he faced, striking out a pair. Of Inter-Ac/Independents’ five pitchers, he was the only one who didn’t give up a run.

That was significant because Tri-Cape entered the semi batting .402 on the tournament, and hammered 15 more hits Monday, including four doubles. Chase Swain (Woodstown) was 4-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored.

“Everything was working for me pretty well,” Reed said. “I had to get around it being humid today. The ball was sticking to my hands a little bit. But you look at the result. The Inter-Acs and the Independents play some of the best ball in Pennsylvania. To get rolled around like that, I mean they’re really good. Really good.”

Jayden Shertel (Holy Ghost) belted a 375-foot homer into the right field seats Monday, giving TriCape two of the five jacks in the tournament to date. Julian Costa (Clearview) and Jimmy Kirk (Malvern) also went deep at FDR Park, site of the earlier games.

Beyond those numbers, the Carpenter Cup experience featuring Citizens Bank Park in all its glory, including public address announcer Dan Baker introducing players and position changes is the type of unforgettable experience players will talk about in years to come.

Reed indicated he was a good kind of restless Sunday talking with his parents about being able to share the field “in a roundabout way” with the 2008 World Series champion Phillies.

“When we first got here, first got on the field, taking it all in it was kind of a goosebumps moment,” Reed said. “Once we got into the game it was easy to focus on just baseball. But it was definitely a cool moment. I know it sounds like a cliché, but everyone talks about it when they’re a little kid, about sitting in the Phillies’ dugout, in the bullpen and being on the field. Some people make it back here, some people don’t.”

Genther is going to miss Reed, who has one more year for the Fords.

“Ryan and I worked together a ton this year,” Genther said. “We’ve been teammates for a couple of years.

Ryan is a heck of a pitcher. It’s been a pleasure catching him and being out here today with him is just awesome.”

Wherever their lives go, Genther, Reed and the rest of their Fords teammates

will take the Carpenter Cup memories with them.

“It’s such a beautiful field,” Genther said of Citizens Bank Park. “You know, it’s different when you’re in the stands watching, and I’ve been here a ton of times. When you actually get to play and you’re

out there catching you can see everything out there. You feel like a little kid in a candy shop.”

Tri-Cape takes on Mercer County, which defeated Lehigh Valley 6-5, Thursday at 10 a.m. at Citizens Bank Park for the title.