Brennani teamwork getting it done at eoly dhost
BucksLocalSports Editor
Holy dhost mrep (Hdm) sophomore Curtis Staropoli was a bull for the Firebirds this season, going T-0 for Hdm during the regular season.
When the postseason began however, classmate Tim Brennan took the ball and tossed it over the plate – to the tune of two district playoff wins and one state playoff opener.
Hdm head coach heith Smeraglio says the two sophs have been the ‘birds one-two punch on the mound all season long.
“Curtis was our number one and Brennan came in and saved all those games,” explained the coach. “StaUDSROL SLWFKHG DURunG fiYH innings and Brennan would come in and pitch the last couple; it was a good formula.”
In the mIAA pairing, a June 3 triumph over Littlestown, Brennan took just T9 pitches in recording a complete game 3-1 victory over District 3 runner-up Littlestown. Sixty-one of Brennan’s pitches went for strikes and he did not run the count to three balls on a single batter.
merhaps saving an ace up his sleeve for the postseason tournaments, Smeraglio limited Brennan’s innings to three or less until the last week of the season. Since then, Brennan started and won four games including district playoffs with mhoenixville and rpper Moreland, which helped the *KRsW sHFuUH LWs fiUsW GLsWULFW championship since 2003.
*** The head coach has spent a lot of time this season stressing the fact that his current group plays like a well-bonded unit. As such, different players have stepped up in each and every postseason game.
,n WKH D-1 sHPLfinDO wLn over mhoenixville, it was Nick mayesko stepping up in the bottom of the seventh with the score tied at 2-all. With a bases loaded, Nick ORIWHG D sDF fly WR FHnWHUfiHOG that plated Jon Naylor for the winning run in a walkoff.
In the top of the frame, just after mhoenixville deadlocked the score and was panning for more, it was Jack Seibert coming up with the big play. Big Jack recovered an errant offering from Brennan and tossed it back to Tim to nail the would-be go-ahead run at the plate.
Against rpper Moreland, leadoff hitter Bobby Reading registered the winning hit, a two-out double to ULJKW-FHnWHUfiHOG WKDW sFRUHG ULJKW fiHOGHU CROLn SPHUDglio, who got on board with a walk. While Brennan tossed a two-hitter from his spot on the hill, he also smashed a bases-loaded triple that scored Seibert (single), Smeraglio (error) and Cass DiYeso (walk), breaking the game wide open.
Against Littlestown June 3 at Spring-Ford, Hdm cenWHU fiHOGHU *HRUJH AUPHntani registered two hits and scored two runs including
the game-winner. Reading laid down two sac-bunts WKDW KHOSHG VFRUH WKH fiUVW two runs and Jack halmes, Ryan Malloy and Brennan batted the three runs across.
“Every game, you don’t know who’s gonna do it but someone always seems to step up,” said Smeraglio. “It’s a solid lineup one through nine and more on the bench, they’re coming off and doing their job too
“They’re just all playing very well right now; we’re peaking at the right time.”
A longtime coach for Holy dhost, Smeraglio’s Firebirds won a D-One title in 2003, KiV fiUVW yHDU Rn Bristol mike. It took coach heith 10 more years to add some more district gold to the trophy case.
Teamwork is what got it done in 2013, said Smeraglio.
“This group has just supported each other better than any team I’ve ever had,” said Smeraglio. “The kids on the bench are just as important to this team as the ones who are playing and that’s the truth.
“You hear it on the bench and you feel it. It’s hard to beat 24 guys that are that together.
“When you have that kind of support internally, it shows in how you play.
“The results speak themselves.”
What’s more, the current crop of Firebirds play with a lot of emotion.
“That goes back to the support and they’re excited,” the coach commented.
“They’re excited for each other and they’ve worked for it and they deserve the results they’re getting.”
In a word – or even two, it’s a true team, he said.
Now, the dhost goes up against defending state champion West York, a team that needed extras to get past D-12 champion Bonner-mrendergast in a game that saw 19 walks. All told, the nine runs plated by West York in the game came on just two hits.
for
GDIIHV PDGH in WKH fiHOG and the inability to put the ball over the plate hurt the Friars in the state opener. B-m starting pitcher mat sanderslice didn’t have command of his pitches, wDONinJ IRuU RI WKH fiUVW Vix hitters he faced, with two errors thrown in as the Bulldogs went ahead 6-0.
With the sides deadlocked at 6-all, the duel went to extras where West York used two more walks and two more errors to plate three more runs and win the game, 9-6.
♦♦♦ UPDATE: Holy dhost was eliminated in the state TuDUWHUfinDOV Ey :HVW YRUN, which tallied two runs in the top of the seventh to advance. With the bases loaded and two outs, West York VFRUHG fiUVW Rn D wiOG SiWFK and then, on a walk. While the Firebirds loaded the bases themselves with no outs in the bottom of the frame on singles by Alec Dollard and mayesko and a hit batsman (Malloy), to their cred- it, West York struck out the next three batters to send Hdm packing. Staropoli WRRN WKH ORVV, VFDWWHUinJ fiYH hits in six and 2L3 innings.
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