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KING OF PRUSSIA – Chris Baker has been working on his pitching mechanics.
It was time well spent – at least if the Upper Merion hurler’s performance in Wednesday’s SOL opener against Cheltenham is any indication.In five brilliant innings, Baker allowed just two hits while fanning five, propelling the Vikings to an impressive 10-0 win over the Panthers in a game that was halted after four and a half innings because of the mercy rule.
“Coming down to the game, I was really excited, really energized,” Baker said. “I felt good.
“I have been working on taking a little further step (on the mound), and when I do that, everything flows, and it’s there every time.”
Everything was certainly flowing for Baker in Wednesday’s opener. The Panthers hit just three balls out of the infield. The rest were harmless ground balls that the Vikings’ infield gobbled up, and on a day when they played error-free defense, the Vikings closed out the game with a short-to-second-to-first double play.
“After we went to Hatboro-Horsham yesterday and didn’t have our best day (a 10-3 Viking loss) and knowing that today really mattered, this win was huge,” Upper Merion coach Jason Darnell said. “Baker is our (number) one pitcher, and he needs to come out every week and get us a win.
“That’s the best I’ve seen him pitch, and I’ve known him for four years. He was confident, he was loose and he was smart. If he pitches the way he pitched today – then I think that prediction is wrong.”
‘That prediction’ – by SOS.com baseball writer Scott Huff – had Upper Merion finishing sixth in the American Conference. If the Vikings needed motivation, they got it from that.
“We expect more than sixth or seventh place,” senior catcher James O’Toole said. “This was a big win. First league game - it’s making a statement. We just have to play up to what we just did today the rest of the season.”
Take away the first inning when the Vikings scored all of their runs – only two were earned, and the two teams might still be playing.
“Unfortunately, that’s baseball,” Cheltenham coach Frank Decembrino said. “We have some guys that are new to their positions, so we’re still working on some things. A couple of plays here, a couple of plays there, and we’re right back in it and we’re still here.”
A bright spot in the loss was the performance of Anthony Caringi, who relieved Jordan Hofferman with two outs in the first and retired nine of the last 10 batters he faced to close out the game.
“It’s always good to end on a high note,” Caringi said. “We have a game on Friday, and we have to move past this. Stuff like this happens – it’s baseball.”
After Baker retired the side in the first – striking out a pair, the Vikings went to work at the plate, ignited by an O’Toole double to right center to open the inning.
“As the leadoff batter, my job is to get on base, and getting that double – I know how big it is,” O’Toole said. “I remember back when I was a sophomore and we played Oxford in the playoffs – Oxford scored six runs on us in the first inning.
“I was the leadoff back then, and I got a hit, and we came back and scored seven runs.”
This time around, Upper Merion did even better, putting 10 runs on the board. With a big assist from the Panthers.
Kevin Neufer singled over third to plate O’Toole, and then Baker drew a walk. One out later, Greg McCuch reached first on a walk, and the bases were loaded.
It looked as though the Panthers could escape relatively unscathed when they collected the inning’s second out on a popup to the infield, but Ryan Dolga drew a bases-loaded walk that plated a run to make it 2-0, and then came an error that opened the floodgates.
Two runs crossed the plate on an errant throw to first, and the Vikings were just getting started.
Joe Koza followed with a two-run single to left, and O’Toole and Neufer drew back-to-back walks to reload the bases. Baker’s single off the second baseman’s glove plated a pair, and another costly Panther error sent two more Viking runners home.To their credit, the Panthers – behind the standout performance of Caringi – played flawless baseball the rest of the way.
“You just have to go in and do your job, do what you have been working on in practice” Caringi said. “You can’t really worry about what’s going on.
“We can swing the bats really well. I thought we were in it until the last inning. There was no doubt in my mind we could come back.”
The Panthers, however, never threatened. Baker saw to that.
Hofferman lined a single to left to open the fourth but never got past first base as Baker retired the next three batters he faced – the final two on strikeouts.
“He’s usually always on,” O’Toole said of his batterymate. “We have been together for a long time, so we know how to work – in and out, change speeds, up and down.
“The team chemistry is feeling awesome right now. We’re just clicking on all cylinders.”Cheltenham’s Dan Brown led off the fifth with an infield single, but Baker coaxed a popup to third out of the next batter he faced and then a ground ball to short that Greg McCuch flipped to second baseman Ryan Dolga, who pulled the trigger on a game-ending double play.
“I still believe we have the offensive capability to hit with most of the teams,” Decembrino said. “Unfortunately, your offensive play changes when you’re behind.
“We weren’t able to string anything together. Baker did an outstanding job – just throwing strikes. He did what you’re supposed to do when you pitch ahead – put the ball over the plate and make us swing our way back into it. He didn’t give us anything for free. It was just an outstanding job by him.”
“It feels good,” Baker said. “We just played two tough teams, and coming into this game, we all felt good.
“That loss yesterday – we wanted to come off a loss like that and win.”
UPPER MERION 10, CHELTENHAM 0
Cheltenham (0) – Chris Moore 2 0 0 0; Jordan Hofferman p,3b 2 0 1 0; Jake Smith 2b 1 0 0 0; Anthony Caringi rf,p 2 0 0 0; Sam Zakrewski dh 2 0 0 0; Matt Brown 3b 0 0 0 0; Dan Brown rf 2 0 1 0; Harry Perilstein ss 2 0 0 0; B.J. Stuetz 1b 2 0 0 0; Jake Kring-Schreifels cf 1 0 0 0; Andrew Schmid c 0 0 0 0. TOTALS 16 0 2 0.
Upper Merion (10) – James O’Toole c 2 2 1 0; Kevin Neufer lf 2 2 1 1; Chris Baker p 2 0 1 2; Joel Paradis rf/cf 3 0 0 0; Greg McCuch ss 1 1 1 0; Matt Shannon cf 3 0 0 0; Tom Foy rf 0 0 0 0; Ryan Dolga 2b 1 1 0 1; Ben Dworecki 1b 2 1 0 0; Joe Koza 3b 2 1 1 2; Phil Botti cf 0 2 0 0. TOTALS 18 10 5 6.
E-Cheltenham 3, Upper Merion 0. DP-Upper Merion 1. LOB-Cheltenham 2, Upper Merion 2. 2B-O’Toole.
Cheltenham 000 00-0
Upper Merion 1000 0x-10
IP H R ER BB SO
Cheltenham
Hofferman (L) 2/3 3 8 2 4 0
Caringi 3 1/3 1 2 0 2 3
Upper Merion
Baker (W) 5 2 0 0 1 5
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