LEADING OFF
Pennsylvania's quest to return the Big 26 title to home soil began well enough Friday night at Metro Bank Park. Skipper Mike Welsh of Pottsville worked in nine pitchers, including West Perry starter Ben Dum and Trinity southpaw Andrew Scarpelli, and PA turned 13 hits into a 9-1 victory over Maryland in the best-of-3 opener. Twelve different all-stars on the winning side collected hits, including Oley Valley's Nick Distasio's fifth-inning home run that extended PA's lead to 4-0. In all, those nine pitchers shared 12 strikeouts.
TURNING POINT
Dum and Scarpelli set the tone from the opening pitch, each banking a pair of strikeouts in 1-2-3 innings. Welsh was determined to give his entire pitching staff one inning to shine. Did they ever. Susquehanna Twp. lefty Laron Mitchell picked up two strikeouts against one hit allowed in his session, while Central Dauphin's Nate Dickey, a late addition to PA's roster, rebounded from a lead-off single by Maryland's Gabe Maymon (3-for-4) before retiring three straight.
Maryland trailed 6-0 before posted its only run on Mike Hubbard's RBI double in the eighth. “At first it was nerve-racking because there are a lot of people here,” said Mitchell, operating under the watchful eye of a dozen college coaches and scouts. “After you throw your first strike, then it's easier. You work hard for the opportunity. There's lots of preparation in the weeks leading up to the tryout.”
NOTES AND NUMBERS
Susquehannock CF Sammy Miller, PA's Player of the Game, opened with a double and scored the first run on a RBI single by Ted Williams. Meadville's Williams later scored on a fielder's choice by Spring-Ford's David Gulati. Miller added a second-inning sac fly. …
Distasio's solo home off Maryland reliever Jeremy Stewart, landed about three rows up in the Ollie's Cheap Seats in left. … Red Land OF Jeremy Hileman turned in a brilliant at-bat in PA's three-run eighth. Hileman fouled off five pitches on a 2-2 count, and three-more on a full count, before slapping a RBI double off Maryland's Dave Stauffer. … Miller preserved a 3-0 lead with a catch-and-throw double play from center to home. … Lower Dauphin seniors Kaylor Kulina, Deon Stafford and Gio Torres of Susquehanna Twp. did not record a hit.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
“It's great playing with guys you know, of course, but it's always good meeting these new guys and just having a good time. Our Legion team just lost in regionals last week, so it was nice to get back on the mound.” – Scarpelli
WHAT'S NEXT
In an effort to overturn Maryland's 2-1 series victory in last year's inaugural Big 26 Classic, Welsh will try a more traditional plan during game 2 today at 1:35 p.m. “Our pitchers did a heck of a job. I think they kept their hitters off balance. They couldn't get any timing down,” said Welsh. “We'll change it up a little because some guys don't want to [pitch] back-to-back. We'll give some guys off and then have them come back to pitch Sunday.”
Epler on Twitter: @threejacker