Entering the final weekend of the East Coast Collegiate Baseball League regular season, the Quakertown Blazers needed to win four of their final six games.
Playing 43 innings from a first pitch at 7 p.m. Friday night to a 4 p.m. first pitch Monday, it wasn’t going to be easy to accomplish this.
The Blazers needed strong performances from their pitchers and bullpen, and they got exactly this on Friday and Saturday en route to securing a spot in the postseason.
The Blazers compete with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Miners, Southside and the Pocono Timber-Rattlers in the Northern Division.
The top team gets a first-round playoff bye. The second and third teams compete in a play-in game, which will be played Wednesday July 24.
The fourth team in the division does not qualify for playoffs.
Friday night, the Blazers defeated the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Miners 2-1.
“A win (Friday night) was huge. I mean it gave us a bump for today, pitching was just outstanding,” said Blazers manager Mike Fitzgerald.
In Saturday’s doubleheader, the Blazers swept the Trenton Generals, giving up one run in each of the seven-inning games.
The Blazers struck first in the 2-1 Game 1 victory.
Drew Simpson led off with a walk from Generals starter Ryan Iberer. Carter Rieben advanced Simpson to second off a sacrifice bunt.
Casey Vaughan was hit by a pitch and Mason Woolwine popped out to center field to record the first out of the inning.
Wyatt Harrar walked and then Dylan Broderick walked, allowing Simpson to walk into home plate.
“It was big for us to keep the runs coming in from last night, keep the momentum and get it started in Game 1,” Simpson said.
Both runners that scored in Game 1, Simpson and Matt Curtis, were able to advance to second base on a sacrifice bunt.
Bunting in Game 1 was a key strategy for the Blazers, who got inside the head of the Generals’ field and their manager.
He called a mound meeting and had his first and third baseman play very shallow on the grass, his middle infielders covering first and third and his center fielder covering second base.
“I felt like if we got those sac bunts down and got a lead, with our pitching, we’re not going to give it up. If I didn’t have confidence in our pitching staff, we wouldn’t be trading outs for moving runners,” Fitzgerald said.
“Their defense, when they brought an outfielder in, I took the bunt off. Thinking if (Curtis) got a strike to hit, he’d clear the bases, but they didn’t give him a strike to hit.”
After Curtis walked in the bottom of the fifth, Ty Everitt advanced him off a sacrifice bunt. Simpson hit the ball to the Generals’ Robert Kelly, who jumped and threw off to Sean Martinez at second base, hitting the field ump.
The error allowed Curtis to advance to third and Simpson to first. Kelly got Simpson out on Rieben’s ground ball to Kelly, but Rieben was safe at first and Curtis scored, taking a 2-0 lead.
Deacon Bowne scored the only run for the Generals in Game 1 in the top of the sixth inning.
Kannon Zdimal pitched all seven innings in Game 2, recording the Blazers’ first complete game from their pitching staff all season.
Everitt hit two doubles in Game 2’s 3-1 win and spoke about his approach as he batted ninth in the lineup, contrasting his usual leadoff or second spot.
“It’s kind of the same approach because 1 and 2 batters are fast, but 9-holes turning that over. I’m just trying to get on base, so they can do their thing up there,” Everitt said.
He also fielded a clean game in right field, not his usual position.
Normally, he plays third base or shortstop.
“It’s a whole different world out there…the ball’s going to spin a little bit different. Getting used to it and feeling good out there, but it’s definitely a different game out there,” Everitt said.
It was a timely complete game as the Blazers needed to have arms ready in the pen for Sunday’s doubleheader and Monday night’s regular season finale. After dropping Game 1 (continued from earlier this season) of the Sunday twin bill 6-4, Quakertown bounced back in a big way, winning Game 2 9-0 to secure a play-in berth.
This weekend marked the first time all season the Blazers, who are hot heading into the inaugural ECCBL playoffs, won three games in a row.
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