H.S. BASEBALL: Pottsville makes statement with Division I win at Tri-Valley
HEGINS - Pottsville did all of the little things right for a 4-1 Division I road win at Tri-Valley on Wednesday afternoon.
Dominic Rynard paced Pottsville (6-4) on the mound with a six inning, one run, 11 strikeout performance while the bats woke up in the third inning when Brody Eroh and Rynard each delivered base hits to take the lead.
"Last year we lost both games to Tri-Valley so it was nice to come out here and take a W today," Rynard said. "Especially after last week going 0-2 against two really good teams."
It marked the Crimson Tide's third win against a Division I league opponent this season as Tri-Valley (8-4) drops just their second game in the Division I standings.
"If you're a baseball fan this is the type of game you want to come to see and Schuylkill League baseball every day right now is going to be tough," Pottsville coach Michael Welsh said. "Day in and day out there's no gimmies or easy games."
Rynard started out hot on the mound for Pottsville, sitting down the Bulldogs 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first and striking out the final three batters in the second and third innings for six of his 11 total strikeouts.
"We were jamming them inside and it really allowed the breaking ball to break off of the pitch," Rynard said. "It was nice to get through their lineup today."
It took the Crimson Tide one time through the order to find the bats as Eroh lifted an RBI single into left field to score Christian Alvarez for the 1-0 lead.
One batter later, Rynard came through with an RBI groundball single into center field for the 2-0 lead.
"I think it was just expecting what he (Doyle) was going to throw because the first time through the lineup you really don't know what he's going to throw," Rynard said. "The second time around we knew he was going to prioritize the breaking ball and once we laid off that and seeing the fastball we took advantage of it."
The Crimson Tide used the small ball to set up the next score in the top of the fourth. Brody Hess led off the inning with a double to left field and Harrison Ciavarella moved him to third base on a bunt single to the pitcher. Two batters later, Christian Alvarez reached on a groundball error to shortstop for the 4-0 lead.
Peyton Schley singled into left field to score Gavin Klock to put Tri-Valley on the board for the first time for a 4-1 deficit in the bottom of the fourth.
Rynard struck out three of his last six outs against Pottsville's lineup across the fifth and sixth innings before Hess came on for the final inning and didn't allow a hit. Rynard finished his day going six innings, allowing one run on five hits with 11 strikeouts.
"He's (Rynard) earned these types of starts and I just ask him to trust his stuff and he did a really good job of continually staying in the strike zone," Welsh said. "He limited baserunners and damage because that's a really good lineup and his performance is where it all starts, on the mound."
Rynard led Pottsville's lineup with three hits and an RBI while Alvarez brought home two runs and Eroh had the other RBI. Rynard and Hess each doubled for the Crimson Tide's extra-base hits.
Pottsville hosts Tamaqua on Thursday at 6 p.m. and Tri-Valley welcomes North Schuylkill on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
Pottsville 4 - Trout RF 4 1 0 0, Eroh CF 4 0 1 1, Rynard P 4 0 3 1, Clews 3B 3 0 1 0, Hess 2B 4 1 1 0, Ciavarella C 3 1 1 0, Allen SS 3 0 0 0, Morris DH 3 0 0 0, Alvarez 1B 3 1 0 0. 31 4 7 2.
Tri-Valley 1 - Wehry CF 4 0 0 0, Stewart SS 4 0 1 0, Doyle P 4 0 0 0, Klock 2B 2 1 1 0, Miller 3B 3 0 1 0, Schley 1B 2 0 1 1, Kaslavage DH 3 0 0 0, Bruso LF 3 0 1 0, Scheib RF 3 0 0 0. 28 1 5 1.
P (6-4);0;0;2;2;0;0;0;-4
TV (8-4);0;0;0;1;0;0;0;-1
LOB - Pottsville 7, Tri-Valley 8; 2B - Hess, Rynard; SB - Ciavarella, Eroh, Alvarez, Rynard, Stewart, Bruso, Klock
Pottsville
IP H R ER BB K
Rynard 6 5 1 1 2 11
Hess 1 0 0 0 0 0
Tri-Valley
Doyle 6.2 6 4 0 0 9
Schley 0.1 1 0 0 1 1
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