CLAYMONT — After four innings of baseball on April 23, Archmere held a slim 2-1 lead over Tower Hill. The game was moving crisply, but that all changed in the fifth and sixth innings, when the Auks tacked on another eight runs on the way to a 10-1 win.
The Auks and Hillers were tied, 1-1, heading into the bottom of the fourth. Brecken Kessler led off with a triple, then scored on a single by Silas Aulick. Hillers starter Dylan Michels did not allow any further damage.
After Grady Wheeler set Tower down in the fifth, the Auks resumed with the offense. Luke Kenney drew a one-out walk, and Kevin Fox singled to left. Michels got the second out on a ground ball to first, but Kessler brought both runners home with a double to left.
Archmere pulled away in the sixth. Aulick doubled, and Luke Luzader (St. Mary Magdalen Parish) walked. Both runners — courtesy runner Chris Lotkowski replaced Aulick on the bases — moved up on a throwing error. Lotkowski scored on a wild pitch. Michael Fabris singled Luzader home to make it 6-1.
A sacrifice bunt followed, and Shane Harding scored Fabris with a single to center. After a pitching change, Kenney doubled to deep center to score another run. By the time the hits stopped, the lead was nine.
The Auks’ first run, which came in the third inning, was noteworthy not for the offense involved, but the defense. Fox drilled a ball to deep left field, which slopes up as the fence approaches. Hillers left fielder Kyle McConnell dove up the hill toward the fence to make a spectacular catch, turning the would-be hit into a sacrifice fly.
Wheeler allowed four hits and one unearned run. Archmere (5-3) plays Friday at 4:15 p.m. at Caesar Rodney.
Tower Hill (7-3) plays St. Elizabeth on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Canby Park.
Photos by Mike Lang.
