Archbishop Carroll’s baseball team bounced back after a couple of losses and defeated William Penn Charter, taking home the W with a score of 5-3 on April 5.
The win came even though Mother Nature decided to pour rain as game time hit. It didn’t look good for the Pats, as this would be their third game canceled because of rain. The coaches talked it over and decided to get things going as the forecast indicated it was going to clear up.
The first inning could not have been better for the Pats, as they quickly put runs up on the board. Penn Charter’s pitcher walked seven batters, resulting in four runs being scored. Going into the top of the first, the Pats were already up by four.
Senior Gavin Wray took the bump for the Pats, and he did not disappoint. Wray consistently threw strikes. With a good defense behind him and senior Marco Petroccia making a diving play to get an out, the Pats left this inning giving up zero runs.
In the top of the second inning, the Pats could not get things going offensively. There seemed to be a Quaker defender wherever the Pats hit the ball.
In the bottom of the second inning, Wray found himself with two outs from Petroccia making another diving play for an out, and a catch by senior Anthony Auteri in right field. The Quakers had a man on third when the batter hit a single which brought in one run. The score was 4-1 going into the top of the third.
The bats for the Pats were not working the best for them, and they went into the bottom of the third up 4-1. The Quakers offense put up one more run as there was an error in the outfield by the Pats’ defense. The boys were still up 4-2 going into the top of the fourth.
Nothing much happened for the Pats’ offense in the top of the fourth, but Wray was still dealing for the Pats. Wray and the defense got two quick outs and were just looking for that last one. When the count was 2-2 with a Quaker batter up, he smoked a ball that seemed to be a single but found the glove of pitcher Wray for the out. With that great catch, the Pats had awesome momentum going into the top of the fifth.
Nothing happened offensively for the Pats in the top of the fifth, but they were still up by 2 going into the bottom of the fifth. Gavin Wray’s day on the bump ended, and younger junior brother Liam Wray’s day had just begun. Liam was pitching nothing but strikes for the Pats, and only gave up one run in the bottom of the fifth. Going into the top of the sixth, the Pats’ four-run lead dwindled to a one-run lead.
There was little to no action in the top and bottom of the sixth as both teams didn’t have much going offensively.
The top of the seventh was eventful for the Pats, to say the least. A new pitcher for the Quakers was put in, and the boys woke up a little. With an early double by junior Matthew McGaughey, the Pats found themselves with a man on second and third. With a swinging bunt from Auteri, Petroccia was sent home but thrown out by the pitcher. Just moments later, McGaughey found himself stealing home after a passed ball and was also called out at the plate. A couple batters later, the bases were loaded, and the Penn Charter pitcher walked in a run. Going into the bottom of the seventh, the Pats were up 5-3.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Pats found themselves with two outs and runners on second and third. With a ground ball hit to Petroccia, the Pats got the third out and the game was over.
“It felt great to get our first win back from Florida,” senior Stephen Thomson said.
“Our defense played great today,” junior Mark Fohner said. “As long as we get the bats going, we’re gonna be a hard team to beat.”
“The hay is in the barn,” Coach Mark Cavara said.
