Haven’s varsity baseball team defeated the Marple Newtown Tigers 4-1 on Wednesday, April 2 after a strong comeback in the sixth inning.
The first two innings started very strong for Haven. Senior pitcher Luke D’Ancona pitched 1-2-3 innings, striking out six people. While there weren’t many hits, almost every Panther got contact on the ball, limiting the number of strikeouts.
In the top of the third inning, the Tigers’ ninth batter hit a solo shot out to left-center field, putting the Tigers up by one.
In the top of the fourth inning, D’Ancona, after striking out ten Tigers, injured his shoulder while throwing a pitch. The forced substitution allowed junior relief pitcher Jasper Hals to take the mount and continue D’Ancona’s innings.
“[At the time] I was more worried about him, but I know it’s my job to come after him and keep the runs down, keep our offense in it, and let them do their job,” Hals said.
The score stayed at 1-0 for the Tigers until the fifth inning. Junior catcher Eli Price hit an RBI single, sending senior second baseman Matt Caputo to the plate, tying the game.
One inning later, Caputo stepped to the plate with bases loaded and zero outs. He hit the ball hard into the shortsop, who was unable to make the play, and into left-center field, hitting a two RBI single.
“You don’t feel safe with just a one run lead,” Caputo said. “So, it was nice to get those two [runs] to come through in a big moment for the team.”
Hals recorded seven strikeouts and allowed zero hits for his three and a third innings. Caputo went 2-3, putting up two RBIs and scoring one run.
“It’s easy to get discouraged after four straight innings of doing nothing against a pretty good pitcher,” Caputo said. “But we started having good at bats, and we started making hard contact on the ground, which is all you have to do with a good pitcher like that.”
The Panthers will travel to Garnet Valley High School on Monday, April 7, looking to continue their four-game win streak.
