Springfield Township earned a spot in Friday’s District 1 4A title game with its win over Pope John Paul II. Photos provided courtesy of Geanine Jamison. CLICK HERE for a gallery of photos.
#1-2 Springfield Township 10, #1-3 Pope John Paul II 1
The Spartans wanted to start big on Tuesday, and they did that and then some.
After just two innings, Springfield led 8-0, and with ace right-hander Ethan Hamilton dialed in, they were well on the way to a District I 4A title game appearance. After losing in the semifinals as the higher seed a year ago, the Spartans’ seniors wanted to make sure they did all they could to prevent a repeat of that outcome.
"We've been playing good baseball all year," Spartans’ coach Dennis Primavera said. "We've been in almost every game we played. They're continuing to improve, they work hard and they understand what we're trying to teach them and I have a couple guys who can pitch."
Senior first baseman Morgan D'Amico had an emphatic say in the Spartans’ big start with four RBIs across the first two innings. His run-scoring single in the bottom of the first plated Max Perry for the first of four Spartan runs in the frame and he blew the game open with a three-run homerun to left field in the second inning.
Perry nearly homered on the first pitch he saw, but the shot went foul. He settled for a walk and scored on D'Amico's single. A two-out error by the Lions aided the Spartans, who proceeded to load the bases before Max Doll was hit by a pitch to score D'Amico. Sean Cornley added a two-run single to cap the first inning scoring.
Springfield would pound out 11 hits as a team and also drew four walks off Pope John Paul II's pitchers.
"I think our league gets us ready for the playoffs," Primavera said. "I know the PAC is a really good league also, but I look at some of the pitchers we're up against and we're playing them hard and losing by one run. Sometimes I knock these guys in the head for looking at pitches, but it's good practice and gets us ready."
Spartans nine hole hitter Joey McLaughlin led off the second with a single and a one-out walk to Kevin Keown set the table for D'Amico. The senior didn't waste his pitch, launching an offering over the left field fence to make it 7-1 and chasing PJP starter Brian Bendig from the game.
Catcher Brian Murphy made it a second straight four-run inning when he blasted a pitch off reliever Matt Kossey over the right field fence for a solo home run.
“We’ve been really stressing how we need to take the pitches where they’re pitched,” D’Amico said. “Today that kind of clicked for us. If a fastball was on the outer half, we took it that way. If there was anything inside, we took it to left field. If you had a curve ball that hung, crush it.”
That was all the cushion Hamilton would need. The righty struck out seven, with the biggest coming in the top of the third on a called third strike that left the bases loaded. He gave up only six hits.
“I just wanted to throw strikes and keep it low, let my defense make the plays,” said Hamilton. “I felt confident after our first couple innings."
Mitchell McCann had two hits for Springfield, scoring in the fourth on an RBI single by Ryan Deal. Perry got an RBI when his single plated Doll in the fifth inning.
The Spartans will face top-seeded and defending district champion Lower Moreland at 4pm Friday in the District I title game at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth Township Park.
Pope John Paul II 010 000 0 1-6-1
Springfield Township 440 110 x 10-11-1
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