Casey’s Place Hooligans and Perkasie Baseball Club were winners in Friday’s third round of the Bux-Mont Baseball Classic. Casey’s Place/Perkasie Baseball Club photos provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos.
CASEY’S PLACE HOOLIGANS 9, BUCKINGHAM PATRIOTS 3
Casey’s Place Hooligans needed a win.
In their first two games of the Bux-Mont Baseball Classic combined, Casey’s Place was outscored 24-3. The squad came together and found its stride in the third and final game of the tournament Friday night.
“It was nice because we had a few more guys than the first two previous nights, and I think a lot of the rust was shaken off from the first two nights,” recent Quakertown graduate Matt Tuley said. “We really started playing together as a team.
“A lot of the players on our team are limited with their experience on a varsity level, so I think it’s guys getting comfortable playing at this level.”
Tuley – who will be continuing his baseball career at Ursinus College - got the starting nod in Friday’s contest. It was his first stint on the mound in this week’s tournament, and he effectively set the tone.
Tuley allowed just two hits and one run in 2.1 innings, fanning three and walking none.
“I like competing, going out there and throwing – there’s nothing like it,” Tuley said. “It was nice to be back finally. After the first few pitches, it felt like I never lost a step. It was a lot of fun out there.”
Buckingham got on the board first with a run in the second. With one out, Sam Tierney singled to left and immediately stole second. He scored on a single by Eric Hiller.
Casey’s Place took a lead it would not lose with five runs in the third. Leadoff batter Anthony Rostick jumpstarted the rally with a leadoff double to left and then stole second. Ty Everitt drew a walk, and both runners scored when Justin Butler doubled to left. Brandon Pierce singled and stole second. Butler scored on an error, and Pierce raced home on a passed ball. Ben Eichorn kept the inning alive with a double, and Tuley brought him home with a two-out single, giving Casey’s Place a 5-1 lead.
Both teams scored two runs in the fourth. Rostick and Everitt led of the top of the inning with back-to-back doubles, and the bases were loaded when Butler was hit by a pitch. Rostick scored on a sacrifice fly by Pierce, and Everitt crossed the plate on a Buckingham miscue.
In the bottom of the inning, Tyler Young reached first on an error, and Blake Ravkin ripped a two-run home run to left, making it a 7-3 game. Buckingham would get no closer. Casey’s Place tacked on single runs in both the sixth and seventh innings.
Rostick led Casey’s Place attack with a 2-for-4 showing out of the leadoff spot. Ethan Bell and Tyler Nielson each threw a scoreless inning in relief for Casey’s Place.
Buckingham managed just five hits.
For all the players, the tournament provided an opportunity to get back on the diamond after the spring high school season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was tough,” Tuley said. “All the seniors on our team were looking forward to having this year. We really thought that we could prove ourselves and we thought we had a lot of potential to be a really good team in the league. It was upsetting to have it cut short.
“It’s good to have somewhat of an ending to our senior season and something to look forward to and just getting to play baseball.
Both squads finished the tournament 1-2. Casey’s Place Hooligans will return to action on Monday in the Lehigh Valley Tournament.
Casey’s Place Hooligans 005 201 1 9-8-3
Buckingham Patriots 010 200 0 3-5-5
PERKASIE BASEBALL CLUB 17, ALLENTOWN RBI 1 (5 innings)
Craig Whitten knew what was at stake if his team entertained any hopes of competing in Wednesday’s championship game of the Bux-Mont Baseball Classic. With the possibility of several teams finishing 2-1, the determining factor was going to be runs allowed.
“Matt Dubyk started the game and threw four innings,” Perkasie coach Craig Whitten said. “I alluded to it Wednesday, and I was texting with him yesterday and said, ‘We have to keep them at zero, and we can still be in this.’
“He had a shaky first, but they didn’t score – he left the bases loaded, and he was in a groove and was awesome from then on. There was only one bad pitch – he had a guy 0-2 and hit him. It was a fastball up and just hit the kid on his shoulder.”
Dubyk limited Allentown RBI to one run in four strong innings while Perkasie erupted for 17, but it wasn’t enough to vault the squad into the title game.
Perkasie took a 6-1 lead into the fourth when they erupted for 11 runs in the bottom of the inning to put the game out of reach.
“Ray Knight hit the ball really hard tonight,” Whitten said. “I moved Paul Croyle over to third and Ryan Healy played short, and he had a huge double. Kyle Moran hit the ball really well tonight too. He had a double in that inning too.
“Sean Lerro hit the ball as he has been this whole week – he stung the ball pretty good. One through nine – every single at-bat was not an at-bat that the kids walked away not doing what they wanted to do. Everybody was patient, saw their pitch. Every at-bat was a four or five pitch at-bat for every one of our hitters. All in all, we were just stinging the ball. Every single hit that we had was a no-doubter.”
On the heels of a perfect 4-for-4 game in Perkasie’s win over Buckingham on Wednesday, Sean Clayton picked up where he left off, picking up hits in his first two at-bats.
“Even his third at-bat, their first baseman did kind of a Michael Jackson look-away with his glove open, and it just landed in there and tug him out at first base,” Whitten said. “Carson Wells came in to pinch hit, and he hit the ball hard between short and third – that was a spark that kept the inning going. He hit fifth or sixth that inning, and we just kept pouring it on that inning.
“We got a little bit lucky, but every single one of our approaches at the plate was awesome. Every single kid was looking for their pitch, everyone battled.”
Whitten gave senior Ryan McAloon – a pitcher only – a rare at-bat.
“I told him, ‘Hey, get some swings in the cage. If we get a six-run lead, I definitely want to see you swing the bat,’” the Perkasie coach said. “He had a seven pitch at-bat. He buckled on a curveball for strike three, but he still battled up there. It was awesome to see him work.
“He’s going to be pitching for us next week. He pitched on Monday but didn’t pitch on Wednesday, and I wanted to give him something tonight. Even though it wasn’t the outcome he wanted, he made them throw pitches, and it was an awesome at-bat. It was great to see him go out there and battle.”
Pennridge rising senior Cameron Schaubel threw a scoreless fifth to close it out.
“I said, ‘I just need you to throw strikes and let your defense do the work,” Whitten said. “He threw 10 pitches. The first guy got on, and the next batter – on the second pitch – hit the ball to Ray Knight, who fielded it, tagged the guy out on his way to second base and threw to first. The next batter – he popped him up.
“He came up in a big spot, and it was a spot he wanted. Cam was texting me all week – ‘I want to get some work, I want to get some work.’ I said, ‘I definitely want to see you throw against some varsity guys,’ so I put him in and he didn’t disappoint.”
Perkasie Baseball Club will be back in action on Monday in the Lehigh Valley Tournament with games at 2 and 5 p.m. The team enters the tournament on a high note after putting 30 runs on the board in the last two games combined.
“As much as I’d love to play in this championship and win the tournament, I’m thinking in the back of my head – who do I have available on Monday,” Whitten said. “We’re playing (Casey’s Place Hooligans) on Monday, and they got the win tonight over Buckingham. They’re going in on a high night.
“I told my coaches, ‘This tournament was like a good spring training for us going into next week. We can shake some rust off. It’s great to get these three games under our belt. Our bats came alive on Wednesday, and they stayed up. Now we know what we have.”
Perkasie Baseball Club finished the tournament with a 2-1 mark, tied with Knights Baseball, but the Knights - who allowed eight runs in three games - had the advantage over Perkasie in runs allowed.
Allentown RBI 001 00 1
Perkasie Baseball 231 110 17
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