HS Baseball: Marian jumps early, holds off Shenandoah Valley behind balanced effort
Marian pitcher Chase Grier (left) and first baseman Jimmy Cannon (right) (Photo by Eli Doyle).
SHENANDOAH — Marian didn’t need many hits early, just timely ones and patience at the plate to seize control.
The Colts built a quick lead and never let Shenandoah Valley fully recover, earning an 8-4 victory in a Schuylkill League Division II baseball game Thursday.
“We’re playing good baseball,” Marian coach John Petrilyak said. “I’m very happy with our team and we bring 20 kids here every week, and we play 16-17 kids regardless of who we play. I’m happy with the bench-play, I’m happy with the pitching, we’re getting really good pitching. Where were at right now, our goal is to win 15 games, today is number 11. I’m really happy with where we’re at.”
Marian struck right away in the first inning, capitalizing on a mix of walks, hit-by-pitches and productive outs to plate four runs despite just one hit.
Jimmy Cannon and Jonathan Derr each drove in runs, while Brayden Grant and Chase Grier also contributed as the Colts took advantage of early wildness. They added another run in the second and pushed the lead to 7-1 by the third after Noah Bauder delivered an RBI single and Chase Quinn-Gutsie added a run-producing groundout.
Bauder finished with two hits and an RBI, while Cole Jordan added two hits and drove in a run. Roman Bednarek and Cole Defrancisco each chipped in key extra-base hits as Marian made the most of seven hits and continued to pressure with baserunning, swiping multiple bags and forcing Shenandoah Valley into mistakes.
Shenandoah Valley, which actually out-hit Marian 9-7, showed life early and kept battling. Chase McCole led the way with three hits and two stolen bases, while Ethan Bench added two hits. Jostin Lajara, Freddy Gradwell and Kvyonn Christopher each drove in runs as the Blue Devils cut into the deficit but couldn’t get over the hump.
Grier earned the win for Marian, working five innings while allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits. Bednarek closed things out with two scoreless innings in relief.
“He’s a funky guy,” Petrilyak said of Bednarek. “He comes in and throws from all different angles; he throws like five different pitches. He keeps hitters off balanced, sometimes he tries to quick pitch you. Other times he’ll slow it down and lengthen out his delivery. He just keeps guys off balanced.”
Bench took the loss for Shenandoah Valley after allowing seven runs (four earned) over three innings, with Haden Kechula settling things down in relief.
Despite the loss, Shenandoah Valley continued to generate offense and put pressure on the bases, but Marian’s early execution and ability to capitalize on opportunities proved to be the difference.
Game Summary
MARIAN (8) — Quinn-Gutsie cf 3 1 1 0, Knock ph 1 0 0 0, Bauder 3b 4 2 2 1, Bednarek ss-p 3 2 1 0, Cannon 1b 2 0 0 1, Jordan 1b 2 0 2 1, Defrancisco lf 2 1 1 0, Derr dh 3 0 0 1, Labenburg c 0 0 0 0, Grant 2b 1 1 0 1, Diaz 2b 1 0 0 0, Grier p 2 0 0 1, Lemus s 1 0 0 0, Ashfield rf 4 1 0 0. Totals 29 8 7 6.
SHENANDOAH VALLEY (4) — McCole 1b-3b 4 1 3 0, Kechula c-3b-p 4 1 1 0, Jt. Lajara cf-c 3 1 1 1, Bench p-1b 4 0 2 0, Getz rf 1 0 0 0, Gradwell rf 3 0 1 1, Saba dh 2 0 1 0, Preneta 2b 0 0 0 0, Christopher 2 0 0 1, Jw. Lajara ss 3 0 0 0, Sinkus lf 3 0 0 0. Totals 29 4 9 3.
| Teams | 123 | 456 | 7 | — | Runs |
| Mar (11-3, 8-2) | 412 | 001 | 0 | — | 8 |
| SV (8-6, 6-4) | 103 | 000 | 0 | — | 4 |
E — Marian 0, Shenandoah Valley 4
DP — Marian 0, Shenandoah Valley 1
LOB — Marian 8, Shenandoah Valley 7
2B — Defrancisco, Bednarek, McCole 2, Jt. Lajara
SB — Grant, Defrancisco, Quinn-Gutsie, Bauder, McCole 2
CS — Jt. Lajara
Marian
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| Grier W (3-1) | 5 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Bednarek | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Shenandoah Valley
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| Bench L (3-3) | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Kechula | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
