Upper Moreland defeated Pottstown 6-1 to earn a spot in next Wednesday’s District One AAA title game. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Mary Jane Souder
ROYERSFORD - Eddie Decker made pitching look easy when Upper Moreland faced Pottstown in a District One AAA semifinal contest on Thursday afternoon at Spring-Ford High School.
The Upper Moreland junior, who retired 13 of the first 14 batters he faced, allowed just four hits while leading the Golden Bears to a 6-1 win.
"That was phenomenal," coach Ernie Rehr said. "We talk about pitching to contact all the time, and he did exactly that today. He wasn't going to get hurt by putting guys on base, and the key to that is getting the defense to play behind you."
While Decker was working his magic on the mound, Kyle Irwin was doing the same at shortstop, assisting on all three putouts in the second inning and making a backhanded play of a tough one-hopper on a screaming line drive to close out the inning look easy.
"You look at the way Kyle played in the (second and third) innings - he had four opportunities to make plays, two of which were extremely difficult, and he made both of them," Rehr said. "One was just a fantastic upper level play, and that just settles a pitcher down.
"Our outfield kept everybody to one base, and that's big. No mistakes, no errors, and we capitalized when they did. That's about as flawless as we're going to play. I was very impressed with the way they handled themselves."
No one appreciated the flawless effort of the Bears’ defense more than Decker.
"That's very big," he said. "It helps take a lot of pressure off you. You feel that any ball they hit - they're going to get to it.
"I just tried not to do too much and do what I've been doing all game and that's throw the pitches, let them hit it and let my teammates back me up.”
The win vaulted the Golden Bears into the state tournament, but no one was celebrating. It turns out the team - which lost a heartbreaker to Phoenixville in last year's district title game - has some unfinished business to take care of when they take the field on Wednesday for the district title game against Holy Ghost Prep.
"I'm sure that there are other teams that would be happy with this, but they want to win on Wednesday, there's no doubt about it," Rehr said.
The Golden Bears scored all the runs Decker would need in the bottom of the first. Kohn picked up his first of two hits with a single to left. One out later Charlie Hooker singled. Pat Driscoll drew a walk to load the bases, and a pair of runs crossed the plate when Colton Hooker singled to right.
In the second inning, the Golden Bears capitalized on a pair of Pottstown errors, a hit batter and Kohn’s RBI single to take on two more runs, opening up a 4-0 lead.
Pottstown broke up Decker’s shutout bid in the fifth when Dylan Vermeesch roped a two-out double to left center, plating Derek Beyer, who doubled earlier in the inning.
Upper Moreland answered with two runs of their own in the fifth to go on top 6-1. Charlie Hooker collected a one-out single to center, and he scored on Driscoll’s double to right field. Courtesy runner Kyle Bennis scored on Colton Hooker’s groundout to first.
Pottstown’s Ricky Masciarelli led off the sixth with a single and stole second, but he was stranded there as Decker retired the next three batters he faced and six in a row to close out the game.
"Eddie gets all the credit in the world," Kohn said. "He's 7-0 in the league and then comes out here and does this. He handles the pressure. We give him a few runs, and he just threw strikes all day.
"(Our coach) said it was a perfect game in his mind. We had no errors in the field. People were getting on base and working counts. It was definitely a team effort."
The Golden Bears improved to 18-3 and, more importantly, kept their season alive.
"When we clinched a spot in playoffs, coach asked the seniors to say something, and we all just said 'don't let it end,’” Kohn said. “This is it for us, and that's all the motivation we need."
There’s also the added motivation of seeing one of their regulars have the opportunity to return to the diamond.
"This (win) was very big because our player who has been there the whole year, Robert Knox, has been sick, and we're trying to get him back for at least one more game his senior year," Decker said.
EXTRA INNINGS: The Golden Bears will face Holy Ghost Prep in next Wednesday’s district title game…the Bears were led by the two-hit efforts of Kohn and Charlie Hooker. Mike Cavanaugh and Driscoll each contributed a double.
Pottstown 000 000 0 0-4-3
Upper Moreland 220 020 x 6-7-0
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