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PLYMOUTH >> In a win-or-go-home situation, Mount Carmel came out swinging.
The third-seeded Mounties scored four runs on three hits in the bottom of the first inning against No. 5 Valley Forge and that was more than enough with Todd Picard Jr. on the mound. The right-hander allowed just three hits in a five-inning 11-1 win at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth Friday evening.
The Mounties will face No. 4 Whitemarsh in another Greater Norristown American Legion Baseball League elimination game Saturday at 1 p.m. at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School. The rivals – each with plenty of Plymouth Whitemarsh players – played three times in the regular season. Each won once and they tied the rubber match, 1-1, on June 29.
Mount Carmel’s first four batters of the game reached base and scored. Brayden Ryan plated two with a single before Picard added another with a grounder to shortstop. Lance Gundlach made it 4-0 with an RBI single.
“I’m much more relaxed when I pitch when I do have a couple of runs to not play around with, but a couple runs I know will give me a cushion,” Picard said. “It’s very important. I appreciated every hit and every catch and every play made today.”
Picard didn’t allow a hit until there were two outs in the third inning, when Valley Forge’s Tyler Spence hit an RBI single for his team’s only run. Across five innings, Picard struck out three batters to four walks and allowed the lone run on three hits.
“I was just sticking to the fastball, mostly,” he said. “(Catcher) Lance (Gundlach) made good calls behind the plate. Curveball worked when we needed it to, changed speeds when it didn’t. Just fastball and locations today. Other than that it was just leaving it up to the defense.”
The Mounties added five more runs in the third inning. Roan Harrington and Evan Wineburg hit RBI singles before Chase Olszyk, Ryan and Picard worked back-to-back-to-back bases-loaded walks, extending the lead to 9-1.
“It’s real tough (to be patient) especially because I consider myself slightly aggressive when I stand in the box,” Picard said. “I found my zone throughout the season, really trying to stick to what I know I can hit and what’s in there. I think everyone really did a good job with staying consistent today. Three strikeouts ain’t bad for us. It’s a good outing.”
Luke Hildebrand had an RBI in the bottom of the fourth and Harrington put the 10-run rule into effect with an RBI single in the fifth.
Ryan, Harrington and Brian Tralies each had two hits for the Mounties. Ryan scored two runs with three RBIs, Harrington scored once and knocked in two and Tralies scored once.
Owen Potten went 1-for-1 with a walk for Valley Forge. His hit was a leadoff double in the top of the fourth inning, but he was stranded on third base. He also made a strong defensive play at the hot corner, throwing out a runner at home in the third.
In the winner’s bracket final, Perk Valley defeated JP Mascaro, 2-1, Friday night. Matt Poruban’s walkoff sends PV to Monday’s championship game. JP Mascaro will face the winner of Mount Carmel and Whitemarsh in the loser’s bracket final Sunday.
Mount Carmel 11, Valley Forge 1 (5 innings)
WP: Todd Picard Jr. 5 IP 3 K 4 BB 3 H 1 R
LP: Quinton Sarne 2.1 IP 1 K 1 BB 7 H 6 R
Lock Plate 2B: VF: Owen Potten. MC: Todd Picard Jr., Brian Tralies.