Collegeville grabs early lead, holds off Valley Forge
As the ball continued sailing, Collegeville’s Brian Hartsell opted to just keep on running.
“I was thinking that their center fielder was really fast and I thought he was going to catch it,” he said. “But, no, once I saw him with his back turned I figured I’d just go for it.”
Hartsell’s hit out to Heuser Park’s deep center Monday night allowed him to dash around the base paths until reaching third base for a standup one-out RBI triple in the top of the third inning against host Valley Forge.
“It was a long ways,” he said. “It was a long ways to run.”
After the White Sox jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, Hartsell’s triple allowed Collegeville to regain a three-run edge. The Bucks pulled a run close twice more in the contest but the Sox answered each time to hold off Valley Forge to claim a 6-3 Perky League victory.
“Getting a lead against a team like this that can hit the ball is great but you’ve got to add on, which we did a good job of tonight,” Hartsell said.
Collegeville collected five singles in scoring three times in the top of the first and finished the night with 13 hits — nine coming from the third through sixth batters in its lineup as the White Sox (4-2) picked up consecutive wins over the Bucks (8-2) after handing Valley Forge its first loss 8-3 last Wednesday.
“Two good team outings,” Hartsell said. “We scored some runs, we hit through the lineup and we got good pitching so it was good.
Cody Clarke, hitting third, was 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored, No. 4 Scott Young went 3-for-4 with a double and scored twice, No. 5 Hartsell was 2-for-2 with two walks and an RBI while No. 6 Drew Frankenfield recorded two RBIs in going 2-for-4.
“Saw the ball pretty well,” Hartsell said. “It’s timing as we’re starting to play more, a little bit more, and see some more pitches, things start to slowly come together like that but hitting’s contagious, so
when everybody’s hitting it makes it a little easier too.”
Sox leadoff batter Kyle Feaster went 3-for-4 with a run scored while Brett Clarke struck out the first five Bucks he faced in earning a two-inning save. Starting pitcher Pat Carney picked up the win, allowing three runs — all earned – on five hits, walked two and struck out five in five innings.
Ryan Murphy was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI singles for Valley Forge, which visits Lansdale 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Lansdale Memorial Park. Collegeville also plays Tuesday, taking on Ambler in a doubleheader starting at 5:45 p.m. at James Memorial Park in West Rockhill Township.
Feaster began Monday’s game with a single to left then scored on Cody Clarke’s oneout RBI single — the first of four straight base hits. Young followed with a brokenbat single to left while Hartsell plated Cody Clarke with his base knock. Frankenfield’s single through the right side of the infield scored Young for a 3-0 Sox lead.
“We’re deep through the lineup one through nine, we can hit for some power but we also just can kind of bleed you to death too,” Hartsell said. “So it’s nice when you’re getting production one through nine like that, absolutely.”
Valley Forge made it 3-1 in the bottom of the first as Murphy’s RBI single brought home James O’Toole.
In the top of the third, Collegeville went back up three thanks to Hartsell’s RBI triple that scored Cody Clarke, who led off the inning with a single.
The Bucks cut the margin to 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth. Matt Seiple connected on a one-out double then scored two batters later on Scott Seiple’s two-out RBI single.
Young answered for the Sox in the top of the fifth with an RBI double to right center. Murphy’s two-out RBI single in the bottom of the frame had the Bucks once more within two, but the hit was Valley Forge’s last of the night.
Collegeville added an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Frankenfield’s RBI single gave the visitors a 6-3 lead.