BRANDYWINE HUNDRED — Concord had tied its baseball game with Archmere in the bottom of the sixth inning of their April 7 matinee, and the Raiders had the bases loaded with nobody out. But the Auks managed to escape without further damage, and they scored in the seventh and left with a 4-3 win.
Concord scored twice in the second off Archmere starting pitcher Zachary Buchta to take a 2-1 lead. Ryan McAllister tripled to deep right-center field with one out, and after Caden Brown walked, a throwing error on a stolen base allowed McAllister to score the tying run. Brown later scored on a single by Alex Ferreri, which put two Raiders on base with one out. Buchta got out of the jam with a strikeout and a groundout.
The Auks evened the score in the fourth. Silas Aulick opened the frame with a single, and Brecken Kessler doubled down the left-field line. Luke Luzader (St. Mary Magdalen Parish) then lofted a fly ball to center, knocking in Aulick. Concord starter Jason Schiff struck out the next two batters to end the threat.
The Raiders loaded the bases with two outs in their half of the fourth, but a ground ball to first baseman Luzader ended the inning. Archmere took a 3-2 lead in the fifth, scoring a two-out run. Reece O’Halloran walked and moved to second on a wild pitch, and Kevin Fox followed with the go-ahead single to center.
Concord tied the game in their half of the sixth with consecutive singles by Brown, Jacob Kelly and Ferreri, and Shane Harding was summoned to relieve Grady Wheeler. Harding walked the first batter he faced, loading the bases. With the infield in, Harding snagged a one-hopper right back at him and threw home to begin the 1-2-3 double play. Luzader ended the inning with a sprawling catch of a popup between first and second.
Nick Schwartz began the Auks’ half of the seventh with an infield single. The next two batters struck out, but Schwartz had moved to third on a pair of stolen bases during those at bats. Fox brought him home with a base hit to left.
Harding hit a batter with one out in the bottom half of the seventh, but he rebounded with back-to-back strikeouts to close out the win.
Fox led the Auks with two hits and two runs batted in, and O’Halloran reached base twice, scoring once. Buchta, Wheeler and Harding allowed six hits. Archmere improved to 4-1 and meets Conrad on April 14 at 4:30 p.m. at Conrad Field at Richey Elementary School.
For the Raiders, Ferreri was on base three times with two hits, and he scored twice. Brown reached twice, scoring both times. Schiff and Kelly combined to allow five hits, and they struck out 13. Concord (3-3) visits Dickinson on April 15 at 3:30 p.m.
Photos by Mike Lang.
