Bucs shut out by Freedom, lose in pitchers’ duel
Chartiers-Houston starting pitcher Josh Colletti delivers a pitch against a Freedom hitter. Colletti got the loss but allowed only one unearned run in five innings.
Freedom's Noah Henderson fists off an inside pitch.
Chartiers-Houston's Cam Hanley takes a swing that ended in a scorching line out to the second baseman.
HOUSTON – Early season baseball games aren’t usually pitchers’ duels.
Cold weather, wind and a lack of repetitions lead to more walks, errors and other oddities, all of which increase the chances of a sloppy game with multiple unearned runs.
That wasn’t the case Monday afternoon, as Freedom’s Noah Yeck outdueled Chartiers-Houston’s Josh Colletti to lead the Bulldogs to a 1-0 non-section win.
Yeck braved the windy, sub-50-degree weather to throw a complete-game shutout and earn his first win of the season. The junior allowed only three hits, walked one and struck out one.
Freedom (1-0) head coach Daniel O’Leary said the plan wasn’t for Yeck, who was the team’s closer last season, to throw all seven innings.
“His pitch count was extremely low for going seven (innings),” said O’Leary. “He wanted the complete game, and he earned it by keeping his pitch count down. It was a heck of a performance.”
Leading to Yeck’s low pitch count was the aggressiveness of the C-H offense, as multiple times the leadoff hitter of an inning got out on the first pitch.
“My team’s a very aggressive team, so they’re not going to strike out. I want my hitters to be aggressive,” said C-H head coach Vince Capozza. “He was moving the ball a little bit, and he threw strikes.”
Jacob Calvin Meyer/Observer-Reporter
Jacob Calvin Meyer/Observer-Reporter
Freedom starting pitcher Noah Yeck delivers a pitch to a Chartiers-Houston hitter. Yeck threw a complete game shutout to lead the Bulldogs to victory.
As Yeck shut down the Chartiers-Houston offense, Colletti kept the Bucs (0-1) in the game. The junior allowed one unearned run and two hits in five innings, and struck out five.
To start the season opener for both squads, Freedom’s leadoff hitter Josh Beck reached on an error. He stole second base and scored the unearned run on a dying quail from Kevin Lawrence. Capozza said it’s a good lesson for his team that while a game never comes down to one play, how the first play of the game is handled can be the deciding factor.
“I teach that every play matters, no matter the situation,” he said.
Colletti’s only jam came in the fifth inning. Two walks and a single sandwiching a popped up bunt saw the Bulldogs with the bases loaded with one out. The righty struck out the next two batters, though, to escape the threat.
“I thought our pitching was really good today,” said Capozza. “Josh is a very good pitcher. He has a really nice breaking pitch. It’s early, so I can’t complain with how he threw.”
The Bucs had four batters reach base in the first four innings, but their first runner to be in scoring position came in the fifth inning. Andrew Kowalski hit a two-out double, but Brian Price popped out to the second baseman.
Destin Weiser replaced Colletti to start the sixth inning and put the first two batters on base via a hit batter and a walk. The senior settled down, getting the next three Bulldogs out to escape the threat. Weiser tossed two scoreless innings in relief, striking out three without allowing a hit.
With only one out remaining, C-H’s Noah Minney hit a two-out double – the team’s third two-out double of the game – to give the Bucs a chance. Cam Hanley left Minney stranded in scoring position when the senior grounded out to second base to end the game.
“The one thing that pleased me was that we had three extra-base hits and we didn’t strike out a ton,” Capozza said.
Chartiers-Houston plays again Wednesday, as the Bucs travel to Brownsville for a 4:15 p.m. start.