La Salle holds off Wood in battle of PCL unbeatens

WARMINSTER >> La Salle’s pitchers struggled with control Friday afternoon. Kevin Kell, Cole Kochanowicz and Connor Bogansky totaled 11 walks and two hit batters across seven innings against Archbishop Wood.

The trio of right-handers came through when it mattered most. They held the Vikings to one hit and left the bases loaded three times, including the sixth and seventh innings, during the Explorers 3-2 Philadelphia Catholic League win at Archbishop Wood High School.

“Our guys were around the zone and sometimes not getting the breaks you want,” La Salle

La Salle 3, Archbishop Wood 2

Up next for La Salle: The Explorers are at Bishop McDevitt on Monday. coach Kyle Werman said. “You find yourself in those situations and you have to make pitches. You have to challenge the opponent. Our guys did a good job. This was a tough environment — a lot of fun with both sides having a ton of fans. There’s a lot of buildup to a game like this. For our guys to be in that environment — it’s a fun situation.”

Bogansky picked up the save by recording the final two outs. He entered the game with a 3-1 lead, a runner on first and

THE SCORE

one out after left fielder Justin Machita made a diving catch to save an extra-base hit. He struck out the first batter he faced — Wood cleanup hitter Luke Cantwell, who doubled earlier in the game — before walking back-to-back batters to load the bases.

Aidan Meyers scored from third on a wild pitch and the other two runners advanced to put the tying run on third and the winning run on second. An intentional walk loaded the bases before Bogansky struck out Patrick McKinney to end the game.

“You bring a senior into that environment,” Werman said. “It’s not an easy situation for (Bogansky), but he’s been our

ED MORLOCK/MEDIANEWS GROUP Brian Baquero (20) and La Salle celebrate after scoring a run against Archbishop Wood Friday.