WILMINGTON – Riley Schultz and Jacob Kelly went toe-to-toe in a pitchers’ duel at Frawley Stadium on April 16, but in the end, Schultz’s Archmere Auks scored in the bottom of the seventh for a 2-1 walkoff win over Concord.
On a chilly night at the home of the Wilmington Blue Rocks, neither the Auks nor the Raiders were able to generate much in the way of offense. Reece O’Halloran singled for the Auks in the first, their lone baserunner in the first three innings. Concord had Adam Ferguson reach on an error to lead off the second, but he was thrown out at third on a sacrifice bunt by Kelly as rightfielder Jonathan O’Boyle retrieved an errant throw and fired to third.
The Raiders, who entered the game undefeated, finally broke through in the fourth. Ryan McAllister walked to lead off, then took two bases on a hit-and-run groundout. McAllister beat a throw home on a fielder’s choice ground ball off the bat of Kelly. Caden Brown then singled to put runners at first and second, and Kelly took third on a wild pitch. Schultz (St. John Neumann Parish, Bryn Mawr, Pa.) escaped further damage with a strikeout and a fly ball to center.
Archmere answered in their half of the fourth. O’Halloran picked up his second single of the night and moved to second on a wild pitch. He then took third on a groundout. Schultz helped his own cause, driving in O’Halloran with a sharp single to right.
Schultz seemed to get stronger as the game progressed. He kept the Raiders off-balance with his mix of fastballs and various off-speed pitches. Concord threatened in the sixth, putting two men on with one out, but Schultz got out of that jam with a strikeout and groundout. He retired the Raiders in order in the seventh, the fourth time he had done so.
Kelly was just as good for the Raiders. After the Auks scored in the fourth, they did not collect another hit. They had a runner reach in the fifth on a walk, and Kelly hit a batter in the sixth, but Archmere could not score. That changed in the seventh.
Silas Aulick led off by getting hit by a pitch. Luke Kenney (St. Mary Magdalen Parish, Media, Pa.) stepped to the plate, and on the second pitch he saw, he dropped a bunt a short distance down the third-base line. The throw to first eluded the first baseman, and Aulick was off to the races. He never stopped as he rounded third, sliding in with the winning run as his teammates streamed out of the dugout to celebrate.
Final statistics were not available late Wednesday night. Archmere (5-4) returns home on April 22 for a 4 p.m. matchup with Conrad. Concord (8-1) will play twice on April 22. They host Brandywine at 11 a.m. and visit Wilmington Charter at 3:30 p.m.
