May 22, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

CHA snaps three game losing streak
by Justin Goldman

Pitcher Brandon Sady went the distance and got the win for the Blue Devils.

The CHA baseball team snapped its three game losing streak with a 7-6 win over Haverford School on Tuesday. Even though the win was sloppy, it was nice for the Blue Devils to get back into the win column.

“This was important for us. The season’s not over. We may not have a shot at winning the league title (The Blue Devils actually helped Malvern clinch that honor on Thursday after beating Germantown Academy), but for the pride of the team and for how hard they’ve worked, it is important for us to finish strong,” said CHA head coach Stan Parker.

The teams were on the seesaw for most of the game, and it was clear that whoever had the last at-bat was going to win. Lucky for the Blue Devils, they were the home team. After leading through the first three innings, CHA’s momentum was stripped when Brandon Sady gave up a three run homerun to Haverford, and the Fords took the lead 5-3. But CHA did not wilt, and continued to chip away. Even with some mishaps on the basepaths, the Blue Devils managed to tie the game at five in the fifth.

“We had some mental mistakes and some at-bats that we didn’t execute, but we got the final execution when we needed it,” Parker said.

It didn’t help that CHA has had limited practice time in previous weeks due to the stormy weather.

“Not being able to be outside every day definitely did not help matters,” Parker said. “Other schools have to deal with the weather, too, so this is by no means an excuse for us. But not being able to rep everyday definitely played a part in us not being as sharp as we normally are.”

Despite everything, CHA scratched and clawed and found a way to win. In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Hillers put  men on second and third with one out. Then, in an interesting move by the Haverford coaching staff, the Fords elected to walk Bobby Martz intentionally to load the bases for Mike Mattei, the Blue Devils’ best hitter.

“I wasn’t surprised by that move at all,” Parker said. “Bob had hit a double earlier in the game, and he is a great contact hitter. They took their chances by putting him on base so they could set up for the double play.”

However, that strategy didn’t work, as Mattei was able to lift the ball to right field for a sacrifice fly that scored Jon Kuneck and won the game for the Blue Devils.

“It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win,” Parker said.

CHA continued those winning ways on Thursday, when it travelled to Germantown Academy for a pivotal league showdown for bragging rights. Even with Malvern at the forefront of the league, it is still a great show of competition when these two schools get together. The Blue Devils pulled off a very impressive 4-2 win behind another extremely strong performance from Mattei.

Mattei shut down an impressive Patriot lineup through four innings, and only gave up two runs in the latter stages of the game.

Mattei also helped himself at the plate, going two-for-two with a double and three RBIs. It is safe to say that he was the MVP of the day for CHA. On the mound, he scattered eight hits and struck out five. This was Mattei’s second win of the week, due to him getting the victory over Haverford on Tuesday in relief.

This win by the Blue Devils actually clinched the league for Malvern. The Blue Devils continued their momentum with another league win on Saturday, this time over host Episcopal. CHA erupted for seven eleven runs, but none of them were more pertinent than the back-to-back homeruns that Mattei and Steel Russell hit on consecutive pitches in the first inning. Mattei’s three run job and Russell’s solo dinger gave the Blue Devils the momentum they needed and they carried it all the way until the final out. CHA exploded for four more runs in the second inning to give it an insurmountable 8-0 cushion.

Brandon Sady went the distance and got the win for the Blue Devils. He threw another strong game, but got let down a little by his defense in the latter innings. The Churchmen did manage six runs in the final two innings, but most of those were a credit to the six errors that CHA had in the field. Even with those mishaps, CHA is riding high and has the confidence it needs going into the state tournament this week, when it hosts Christian Academy on Tuesday.