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Wildcats claw back, 5-3
Aaron Jones’ 2-run homer completes comeback over Twp.
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Article RatingAaron Jones didn’t have to wait long to find a pitch he liked.
“It was a fastball right down the middle,” Jones said of the first pitch Susquehanna Twp. relief pitcher Mike Amthor sent him. “I was just looking to make contact. I didn’t even swing hard and it just went.”
Jones sent the ball over the right field fence in the fifth inning for a two-run home run, which ended up being the difference in Mechanicsburg’s 5-3 Mid-Penn Keystone win over Susquehanna Twp. at Memorial Park.
“We hit the ball well the last couple of days so today was kind of a shock for us to only have five hits,” Susquehanna Twp. coach Matt Rau said. “But (Mechanicsburg) hit the ball about the same as they did the last time against us (a 6-5 Mechanicsburg win April 16) so they were deserving of what they got.”
Mechanicsburg (8-9, 7-6 division) must win two of its final three games to qualify for the District 3 Class AAA playoffs. The Wildcats travel to Middletown on Monday before hosting Cumberland Valley on Tuesday and James Buchanan on Saturday.
Against Susquehanna Twp. (11-5, 8-5), Mechanicsburg fell behind 3-0 in the second inning as right-handed pitcher Matt Koveleski struggled to find a groove.
Sam Phillips was caught trying to steal second to end the inning and, after a lead off walk in the third, Koveleski retired 11 straight for his fourth win this season.
“He’s thrown great for us all year and threw another great game today,” Mechanicsburg coach Clay McAllister said of Koveleski. “Early on he was having trouble hitting his spots. He stayed calm and hung in there. Once he gets going, gets a couple outs and ground balls, things really go better for him.”
The game featured 10 walks, four of which were from Koveleski in the first three innings while facing an Indians lineup that housed six left-handed batters.
“(Koveleski) doesn’t really like pitching to left-handers,” Jones said. “I guess he just fought through it.”
“It’s tough on him a little bit (against left-handers),” McAllister said. “His ball runs a little bit out over the plate ... he gets used to starting his curveball at right-handers and when there’s nobody in the opposite box he sometimes struggles a little bit with that.
“But I’m proud of him. He battled.”
Mechanicsburg clawed within one after three innings thanks to a run in the second and third.
Devon Hensel’s single brought in Jimmy Spanos to make it 3-1 and Ben Anderson, who reached on a single, stole second, moved to third on a throwing error by catcher Kyle Hollingsworth and scored on a wild pitch.
In the fourth, with two gone, a hit batsman and two more walks - Matt Morell was issued a free pass earlier - forced in the tying run.
The win pulled Mechanicsburg’s record to 5-5 in games decided by two runs or fewer and gave the Wildcats a shot at the postseason before moving from Class AAA to AAAA next year.
“I guess we’re getting used to (close games), we’ve certainly had a lot of practice at it,” McAllister said. “The kids are battling right now. They’re taking it personal and they’re battling. We got a big swing out of Jones and made a bunch of good defensive plays in the last two innings. It was a good effort.”
NOTES: Hershey, thanks to losses by Susquehanna Twp. and Gettysburg, clinched the Mid-Penn Keystone Division on Friday with a 13-2 rout of Bishop McDevitt. The Trojans lead Susquehanna Twp. and Gettysburg by two division games with one remaining.
“Obviously we need to continue to play hard since we’ll be in districts so we need to focus on what we’re doing,” Rau said. “We’ll need to forget about this (loss), build off it and know that we made some mistakes. We have to limit those mistakes if we want to continue to win games.” ...
Elsewhere in division races: Shippensburg, via its win over Waynesboro on Friday, can clinch the Colonial by beating West Perry on Monday. ... Chambersburg will clinch the Commonwealth with a win over Carlisle on Monday. ... James Buchanan trails Greencastle-Antrim by one game in the Capital with two to play after beating the Blue Devils, 6-5, Friday. All other Capital teams are mathematically eliminated.
Commonwealth
Central Dauphin East 5, Carlisle 3
Derrick Mease went 3-for-4 and teammate Jordan Blackburn collected a triple but visiting Carlisle couldn’t hold a 3-2 lead and lost, 5-3, to Central Dauphin East.
Eric Dukes went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI to pace Carlisle. Drew Somma knocked in a run for Carlisle.
Colonial
Susquenita 5, Northern 4
A day after upsetting Waynesboro, the Blackhawks took down Northern 5-4 on the strength of Mike Magaro’s 2-for-3 outing.
Dan Hammaker scored twice and also collected a double for Susquenita. David Bauer allowed 11 hits but picked up the complete-game win.
Northern’s Hank Sanders went 3-for-4 and teammate Joe Tuschak finished 2-for-3.
Big Spring 6, East Pennsboro 0
Garrett Shumaker struck out nine, scattered four hits and walked three to help visiting Big Spring down East Pennsboro, 6-0.
Zach Swartz, who no-hit the Bulldogs on April 18, struck out 10 but gave up five runs - two earned - and suffered the loss.
Ben Smith went 1-for-4 with two runs scored, an RBI, and a triple.
