Bears top Bulldogs in Legion action
Boyertown splits with Norchester in home-and-away series
BOYERTOWN 6, NORCHESTER 3
BUCKTOWN >> It’s making up for lost time ... and in a big way.
Boyertown’s American Legion team, as a result of the high-school program’s statechampionship run earlier this month, saw its Berks County League schedule effectively delayed until this week. But the Legion Bears are proving as high-energy as the highschool squad, most recently with June 22’s 6-3 victory over Norchester at Owen J. Roberts.
With three runs in the top of the sixth inning, Boyertown (4-1) broke out of a deadlock with the Bulldogs (6-3) in the first game of a home-and-away series between the local rivals. It also broke up their tie for first place in the BCL’s East Division.
“We started off slow the first few days,” Boyertown manager Rick Moatz recalled, in the wake of the high school’s state title on June 16. “We weren’t focused as much on wins and losses the first few game. We just wanted to get on track.”
The Legion Bears have done better than that, recording wins over West Lawn, Daniel Boone and Exeter in a four-day
(June 18-21) span after being edged by Exeter on June 17. They continued the roll against Norchester, parlaying four hits and some timely sprints on the basepaths into the game-clinching response.
Nick DiCiacco, Mike Xanthopoulos, Mike Raineri and Cory Melchior all hit safely in the pivotal sixth inning, with DiCiacco pinch-runner Gavin Mourar and Raineri stealing bases to move into scoring position. Mourar scored off Raineri’s bunt single while he and Wieand came home off Melchio’s shot up the middle.
“Our approach to the season right now,” Moatz said, “is to solidify our lineup. We have a lot of kids battling for spots.
“There have been times we’ve (the varsity team) either won states, or gone to states before. It’s a little tough, but we’re not concerned. We want to finish with the best schedule we can, and hope to be in full gear in July.”
After the Bears scored two in their first at-bat, Tyler Kreitz’s double up the middle plating Raineri (hit by pitch) and J.T. Cooley (fielder’s choice), Norchester fought back to take a 3-2 lead through three. Andrew Fisher (single) scored off Alex Condello’s fielder’s choice play in the first, Austin Levengood (walk) came home in the second off Riley McGinley’s single and Joe Zgleszewski (safe on error) scored when Eric Keppel singled to right-center in the third.
The “rivalry” game got racheted up in the third when Condello, caught in a rundown between third and home, leveled Tyler Kreitz trying to score. Kreitz, who drove in three of Boyertown’s runs with 3-for-4 hitting, held on to make the forceout.
“He hit me like a freight train,” Boyertown’s third baseman, who initiated the rundown after Keppel singled, admitted. “But I held my ground and got the out. I knew my teammates had my back on the play.”
When the dust cleared after ejections were assessed against Condello and Boyertown second baseman Quinn Mason — the latter for a profane response to the play — the Bears got out of the frame with no further damage. Norchester mustered only one hit the rest of the way, though it drew a combined three walks off Boyertwon starter Xanthopoulos and Justin Wieand, who threw the last two innings of nohit relief.
“He did a great job,” Moatz said of Wieand. “He was throwing strikes, and he has a sneaky fastball. We’re looking at him and Trevor Waldman as guys who will go one or two innings of relief, but there may be times they’ll start.”
Like Boyertown, Norchester faced a stackedup schedule resulting from manager Richard Harrison’s extended high-school season with Oley Valley. The Lynx went on to win the District 3 Class AA playoffs before falling in the first round of states.
“It is what it is,” Harrison said. “It feels strange, though, to have a condensed schedule and playing every day. We came out ready to play over a week from now, but it can get mentally taxing.
“We were where we wanted to be in the bottom of the fifth. But they executed and played real well. In these rivalry games, it’s all about momentum.”
Boyertown, for its part, kept its momentum going from high school to Legion. It’s facing a tough stretch, with 14 of 17 games league contests in advance of the Berks playoffs.
“I thought we might be a little burned out,” Kreitz said about the high school’s state championship chase, “but we made a smooth transition. We play all year round, so it’s not a problem.”