Plymouth Whitemarsh inaugurated its new turf field with a win over Upper Moreland in the only SOL baseball game played on Wednesday. Photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. CLICK HERE to go directly to our photo galleries.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 4, UPPER MORELAND 1
Ben Mascio is a gamer. The sophomore hurler – much like his coach – had a hard time watching one game after another wiped out because of the weather.
“He and I were talking yesterday how much we always hated rainouts,” coach Chris Manero said. “I was telling him when I played (American) Legion or Connie Mack, I used to hate it when we had a rainout.
“He’s like, ‘Oh my god, in little league, I used to get so upset when we had a rainout,’ so it was just good to know he was so eager to get on the mound.”
Mascio – who was impressive in his debut in the Colonials’ 2-1 win during their spring break trip to Florida – was even more impressive on a windy, chilly day Wednesday. The sophomore hurler allowed four hits and one run in six strong innings, striking out seven and walking three.
“Last year, as a ninth grader, he played jayvee and really just was lights out,” said Manero, who coached Ben’s older brother Jake. “We gave him a cup of coffee at the varsity level mid-season to late season last year, and he took his bumps. I saw him pitch over the summer, and he really looked strong, so we were intrigued about him.
“He came out today and essentially repeated his performance down in Florida. I think he was something like 65 percent strikes. Ben is a fun kid to coach and he’s fun to watch because he just loves playing baseball. He’s very confident in himself.
“As a coach, you hope that your pitchers set the tone for your team, and I think he did that today. He walked the leadoff batter, and then got into his form. He got ahead of guys, his fast ball was really good today, and he set the tone for everything we did today.”
While Mascio stole the spotlight on the mound, junior Mike Orensky was the hero at the plate, driving in all four runs. It was a three-run double by PW’s number nine hitter in the bottom of the second inning that turned a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead. The Colonials had loaded the bases without a hit, benefitting from a pair of walks and a hit batsman.
“He had two pitches to hit, and he just didn’t look comfortable,” Manero said of Orensky. “With two strikes and into the wind – it had to be a 40-mile-an-hour wind, he just really squared up and hit it over the leftfielder’s head, and it ended up being a bases-clearing double.”
In the fourth inning, Orensky came up with a runner in scoring position, and once again he delivered, this time hitting a two-strike, two-out RBI single that gave the Colonials their final margin of victory.
“He had a really good fall and kind of opened up our eyes a little bit,” Manero said of Orensky. “He still has a few things he needs to work on, but I think it was great for him to get off to a good start today.
“We also played pretty good defense. We turned a couple of double plays. Junior Anthony Tomassetti played a really good third base for us. Kevin Reilly, our catcher, threw out a couple base runners stealing. We got some bunts down. We really did a lot of little things and then got good starting pitching and a couple of big hits with two outs.”
Orensky accounted for two of the Colonials’ four hits. Kevin Reilly added a double.
Upper Moreland collected five hits – four singles and a double by John Reice.
Zach Chandler threw a scoreless inning in relief to earn the save, and the Colonials are 1-0 on their brand new turf field.
“That bases-clearing double was the first hit on that field, and that’s pretty remarkable – that’s a nice way to start,” Manero said. “We’ve been fortunate that we’ve probably been able to get out there and practice on a lot of days when other teams haven’t.
“It’s a beautiful facility. I have to give a ton of credit to the Colonial School District for investing in that and really kind of saying, ‘We’re going to do this project, whatever it takes to get it done.’ People show up, and they’re in awe over it. It’s nice to be able to play games on days when nobody else can, and to be able to practice when nobody else can, it helps our guys, especially early in the season to get in that routine and rhythm.”
For the Bears, Collin Bates absorbed the loss, allowing four hits and four runs in five innings. Connor O’Donnell did not allow a hit in a scoreless inning in relief.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (2-1, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Wissahickon on Thursday, and Upper Moreland (0-1) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday.
Upper Moreland 010 000 0 1-5-0
Plymouth Whitemarsh 030 100 x 4-4-2
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