Rockets sweep Section 2-A doubleheader
JEFFERSON — Jefferson-Morgan’s ace pitcher Gage Clark threw a no-hitter and the Rockets continued their winning ways in Section 2-A with a 9-0 triumph over Mapletown Tuesday evening.
Earlier in the day, the Rockets (6-4, 6-0) picked up a four-inning 16-1 victory over Geibel Catholic. After starting the season 0-3, J-M has won six of their last seven.
“The key for us has been our pitching,” J-M skipper John Curtis said. “We are starting to hit the ball now and I like our approach at the plate, but pitching is our most important thing. We’ve been getting a lot of good outings from our guys. Gage was outstanding today and was in a zone. He was aggressive and his fastball was on.”
With Greensburg Central Catholic’s 7-1 loss to Monessen on Monday, the Rockets sit atop Section 2-A and are the lone unbeaten team in section play. J-M will end the regular season with back-to-back games against GCC on May 9 and 10.
Clark threw 89 pitches and recorded 16 strikeouts with no walks in the seven-inning gem for the Rockets.
“I had some rest from last week and I just felt confidence in all of my pitches today,” Clark said. “These two games were big for us and we played great as a team. I elevated some of my pitches and got them to chase. We just left it up there and it worked.”
Coming off a wild 14-13 win over Geibel on Monday, the Maples (3-7, 2-4) struggled at the plate against the Rockets’ top pitcher.
“The win on Monday was an up-and-down rollercoaster for us,” Mapletown coach Dominic DeCarlo said. “We had so much emotion in that game with our comeback and I thought we might be a little flat today. Facing Clark is tough because he throws strikes and is always in the zone.”
Pinch-hitter Vince Walick, who reached base on an infield error in the seventh inning, was Mapletown’s lone base runner in the contest.
After two scoreless innings, J-M tallied three runs in the bottom of the third inning.
Clark drew a one-out walk, stole second and scored on a RBI single by Eli Rafail. After a stolen base and an infield error, Rafail crossed home plate on a sacrifice fly by Joe Headlee.
Jake Broadwater, who had a team high three hits for J-M, hustled for a single later in the inning and on the play courtesy runner Holden Headlee alertly scored.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Rockets increased its lead to 5-0 after a two-run single by Zach Gamble.
J-M sent eight batters to the plate in the bottom of the sixth and scored four runs on three hits. Rafail recorded a RBI double that scored Clark and sandwiched around a sacrifice fly by Gamble, were RBI base knocks by Broadwater and Brennan Kozich.
“We hit in bunches,” Curtis said. “One through six in our line-up we are pretty solid. If we can get production from our younger guys in the bottom of our lineup that would be a big help to turn the lineup over. Those guys need good at-bats and work those pitchers. The kids are coming together and we have had great team chemistry.”
Mapletown’s Austin Menear was tagged with the loss, going five innings and allowing five hits on five runs with five strikeouts and five walks.
“Austin had his best pitching day,” DeCarlo said. “That was his longest outing and he was able to battle through some innings. He threw a lot of strikes and that was a good battle for him. As a team, we have come a long way and I’m really happy with our effort. We are playing as a team and we have a lot of confidence on the field with this team.”
The Maples continued its section schedule with a road match-up with GCC today.
In the Rockets’ 16-1 win over Geibel, Broadwater earned the win, needing only 44 pitches for the victory.
Broadwater also aided the offense with a double, while Clark smacked a pair of two-baggers in the win. J-M scored three in the first, seven in the second, four in the third and two in the fourth to invoke the 15-run mercy rule.
“It took us some time to get going to start the season, but I really like where we are at as a team,” Clark said. “We know we have a couple of big home games left, and we are going to be ready for them. We learned from our losses and I think we became a better team.”
Isiah Knizner was issued the loss for the Gators (0-10, 0-8).
J-M is idle for the rest of the week and will start a stretch of four home games in five days on Monday when the Rockets host West Greene.