You gotta have HART! Two dominating arms doesn’t hurt either

Unionville rebounds to beat Ridley. Improves to 1-1 

By Dave Conard Sport Editor UnionvilleTimes.com

 

WARRINGTON—It’s been said that baseball is a simple game.

You catch the ball, you throw the ball and most importantly in a pool format like the 2012 Southeastern Pennsylvania State tournament hosted by Warrington Youth baseball you hit the ball.

 

After a debacle that represented anything but Unionville baseball in their opening round 17-1 loss to New Oxford, the Indians got back to those core basics, when they took the field in an afternoon match up with Ridley.

 

And oh yeah by the way, they also threw in, pardon the pun, an almost flawless combined pitching effort by starter Taylor Bohn and Connor Gilden as the dynamic duo allowed just one hit, a single by Isaiah Payton in an 8-1 thrashing of the Raiders.

 

The Indians (8-6) jumped out to an early 2-0 edge in the opening frame, as Sam Biddle (1-for-2, 2 BB, 2 runs) rapped the game’s first hit and later scored when Peter Murphy (2-for-3, 2 runs, 3 RBI) crushed a double into left center field that found its way al the way to the fence.

 

The heart of the order, more notably Murphy and Ricky Hart, who drove in three runs with two base hits including a second inning two out double which was the big blow of the game.

 

“They were pitching me a little inside which is where I like it,” said the 12-year old Ricky Hart who attends Patton Middle School. “It feels pretty good to get back on track with a win like this.”

 

“We are really excited to be here at the state tournament,” added Hart after making three solid catches in centerfield, whose favorite player is Ichiro Suzuki. “I like playing the outfield because there is always a lot of ball hit to me.”

 

Unionville took full advantage of the only fielding mistake that Ridley made as they posted six runs in the second inning to take a commanding 8-0 lead, from which they never looked back with Bohn and Gilden throttling the Raiders hitters.

 

“We needed to relax and play our game,” said Bohn, who will be heading into sixth grade at Patton Middle School in the fall. “This is so amazing to be playing in the state tournament, we knew we needed to win this game or tomorrow would have been really tough.”

 

“It’s crazy to even think about us being here,” added Bohn, who rescued his teammates, pitching the last three inning of the first game of the day. “It is like a dream come true, this is so much fun.”

 

The real fun for Unionville got going as Connor (a.k.a “Bubba”) Gilden took the mound in the fourth inning and proceeded to allow just three base runners without giving up a base hit over the final three stanzas.

 

After allowing a two out walk in the fourth and fifth inning, Gilden shut down the top of the order in the sixth inning by forcing Payton to ground softly to shortstop after chasing two high heaters before fanning clean up hitter Joe Leonard on four pitches to end the game.

 

“My four seam fastball was my best pitch today,” said 12-year old Bubba Gilden. “They were hitting the curve ball and slower stuff, so the coach just told me to throw my fastball. They kept going after it so I just kept throwing it high and hard. It feels much better to play like we know we can, we put the pressure on our selves.”

 

Unionville sent nine men to the plate in the 6-run second inning as Bohn, Will Prysock (BB, Run), Biddle and Murphy along with Brian Denmark (1-for-3, Run) and Gerry Ulatowski, who drew a bas on balls, all scored in the frame.

 

The Indians are right in the thick of things in the national pool as only new Oxford emerged from Saturday’s action with a 2-0 record. Hilltop and Honesdale are both 1-1 along with Unionville, who they play on Sunday at 10:30 and 3:30 respectively on Tim Raymond Memorial Field.

 

 

To view gallery of photos from the game click  http://drcphoto.photostockplus.com/

 

Unionville                2  6  0  0  0  0  –   8  9  1

Ridley                     0  0  0  0  0  1  –   1  1  1