Moore Township defeats Jim Thorpe in title game

For five innings on Sunday morning, Jim Thorpe was on the cusp of winning the Lehigh Valley Connie Mack Baseball League championship. With a two-run lead and just six outs to get, this team that had played brilliantly from the sixth seed position in the league playoffs to get to the title game was on the verge of hoisting the title trophy.

But top seeded Moore Township, which carried a league best 18-2 record to the finals with plenty of mercy rule victories along the way, proved why they were the best team in the league all season long.

Ryan Kovatch led off the home sixth with a pop fly double to short right field. A walk and a single loaded the bases with no outs. Casey Jones singled to left to drive in two runs that tied the score at 4-4. A sacrifice fly, a walk and two more hits capped the six-run inning that propelled Moore Township to an 8-4 victory that denied Jim Thorpe its championship dreams.

“We had it for five and a half innings,” said Jim Thorpe coach, Pay Joyce. “We’re thrilled we got here. We wished we could have won it all, but I’m proud of the heart and hustle these kids showed us all season long.”

Jim Thorpe jumped out to an early lead. In the first inning, Spencer Hunsicker walked and promptly stole second. Two batters later, Ian Hubbard lined a single to left scoring Hunsicker. Jared Marykwas then singled, but Hubbard was thrown out at home. Brandon Fasolino’s infield hit plated the second run of the inning.

After Marykwas pitched a scoreless bottom of the first, JT tallied two more runs in the second. Blaine Dart was hit by a pitch and stole second. With two outs, Jared Joyce singled to center and after an infield error, Marykwas singled to left to put his team up 4-0.

Moore coach Josh Corrow pulled his starting pitcher in the top of the third and his move changed the climate of the game. Jeffrey Erschen quieted the Jim Thorpe bats with five innings of one-hit ball while walking only one.

“We’re blessed with a lot of good pitching and Jeffrey had a nasty slider that was very effective and gave us the chance to come from behind, “ said Corrow. “We came out flat, but this team has been resilient all season and I felt we would get the sticks going.”

Thorpe never again mounted a serious threat and Moore’s six-run sixth sent them on to win the league championship.

“They have a lot of thunder in their lineup,” said Joyce. “Jared battled all game long and he struggled with location at times, but he’s a real warrior and we have been running him out there against the best teams.”

Thorpe qualified for the finals with a stellar 1-0 win over Northeast Bethlehem on Saturday. Michael Cadugan-Daugherty pitched six innings of shutout ball and Marykwas pitched the seventh for a save. Ian Hubbard drove in the only run with a booming triple in the home half of the sixth inning that drove home Richie Strack who pinch ran for Jared Joyce, who led off the inning with a single.

MOUND MAGNIFICENCE ... In Thorpe’s three playoff wins, their pitching staff allowed only one run with two shutouts. In Saturday’s semifinal game, Cadugan-Daugherty stranded 10 Northeast Bethlehem runners and pitched himself out of several jams to preserve the 1-0 shutout.

UP NEXT ... Jim Thorpe qualified for the Connie Mack state tournament and is seeded fifth in the 12-team format. It opens up play on Friday at Limeport Stadium in Limeport.

Jim Thorpe 220 000 0 - 4 5 1

Moore Twp. 002 006 x - 8 10 2

Marykwas, Richebacher (6) and Hubbard. Kovach, Erschen (3) and McGaughran. W - Erschen. L - Marykwas.