Legion playoff action continues
Davis delivers Bears past Shillington in Berks playoff opener
BOYERTOWN » It probably ranks as one of the biggest hits of Chris Davis’ young youth-baseball career.
It got even bigger at the end of Boyertown’s playoff game with Shillington, securing a 4-3 walk-off victory for the Bears in Wednesday’s opening round of the Berks County League playoffs. But Davis wasn’t booking it until it was official in the scorebook.
Davis’ infield single, with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning of a tie game, gave Boyertown a leg up in the post-season. It gave the Bears a happy cap to a game that started out for them as a gem, then got scuffed up in the later innings before they pulled it out in the ninth.
“I didn’t want to assume anything,” Davis said of his gamewinning hit. “I just hustled down the line ... ran as hard as I could.”
While Davis was drawing the attention of the Red Sox defense on the right side, teammate Tyler Kreitz was trucking home from third base. Kreitz had reached base off a full-count walk, went to second on Nick DiCiacco’s sacrifice bunt toward the mound and took third off Tate Yergey’s long fly out to right.
It was the saving grace on a night where Boyertown (20-12), the Berks second seed, took a 3-0 lead in the sixth off Mike Xanthopoulos’ triple to right and Kreitz’ single to right-center. That advantage took a serious cut in the eighth inning, when Shillington scored twice off the combined pitching of starter Trevor Waldman and Xanthopoulos, then pulled even in the ninth.
“It was a close game all around,” Davis noted. “But I knew my teammates had my back, and I wanted to have theirs.”
The Bears assured themselves of home-field advantage for the remainder of the Berks playoffs with the win. They will take on West Lawn Thursday, then Boyertown will serve as host for the remaining rounds of the tournament.
But manager Rick Moatz and his coaching staff saw a game Boyertown dominated in the early frames become considerably more interesting.
“It was,” Moatz admitted. “I would have liked to keep it 3-0. Their kids came in with some big hits, but we got them back.”
The game was a veritable pitchers’ duel for the first five. Waldman took a two-hitter into the seventh, then faltered as Shillington’s Matt DeMarco and Michael Francis started off with singles to send him off for the night in favor of Xanthopoulos.
Noah Angstadt, who worked a five-hit shutout through five, greeted Xanthopoulos with a single to right-center that plated pinch-runner Pete Ocasio. Franks then scored off a Bear throwing error to third.
“It was hard,” Moatz said of the decision to pull Waldman, who had three strikeouts against one walk while throwing just 77 pitches. “We haven’t done it before ... it’s a mental wall to get over. In that situation, having (Xanthopoulos) come in looked to be the good choice.”
Loose defensive play again hurt Boyertown in the top of the ninth. Shillington’s Austin Baker reached base on an error, then came around off Trevor Woolwine’s double to the right-center gap with two outs, raising the specter of the game going into extra innings.
But Davis capped a classic small-ball rally — the Kreitz walk, another free pass to Mike Martin, then sacrifices by DiCiacco and
Yergey — by connecting off the 1-1 offering of Red Sox reliever Woolwine, finishing the nine-inning affair in a brisk 2:08.
“Chris has come up big for us in the ninth spot,” Moatz said. “That was a nice at-bat.”
Shillington had an edge on Boyertown in the field, turning three double-plays. It also racked up three hit Bear batters, J.T. Cooley getting plunked twice and Mike Raineri once.
NOTES » Davis reported he and his Boyertown teammates weren’t worried about the inability to get to Angstadt until the sixth. “We knew to follow the fundamentals of hitting,” he said. “If we could get on base early, we could get on the guy any time . ... Raineri had the unquestioned defensive play of the game. The Bears’ second baseman made a lunging dive to steal a hit from Shillington’s Austin Baker at the start of the fourth inning.