Stephen Pio laces a two-run single to left in the third inning to start the scoring for the Phillies.
By Rich Bevensee
Julian Schenck typically provides the Bucks County Phillies Scout ballclub with a terrific performance every time he takes the mound.
But on this crisp evening at Diamond Nation, he received more offensive help than usual, and that vaulted the Phillies over the top against a team which had not lost in a month.
Bucks County scored five runs in the sixth and final inning to cap one of its best offensive games of the season, and Schenck rode that wave by pitching a complete-game shutout in a 9-0 win over Montgomery Superior in the Diamond Nation High School Fall League in Flemington.
“A big part of my comfort level is that I’ve been playing with most of the guys on this team since I was six years old,” said Schenck, a 5-11, 215-pound southpaw and a senior at Pennsbury High in Fairless Hills, Pa. “I know I have a massive team behind me and that gives me a lot of confidence.”
Bucks County (9-4) has won three straight and five of its last six. In that span, the Phillies have outscored the opposition, 44-14.
Better yet for the Phillies, they beat the league’s hottest team. Montgomery (13-4) was shut out for the first time this season and saw its league-best 11-game winning streak come to an end.
Montgomery entered Monday night’s game averaging 8.5 runs per game during its win streak, but Schenck quieted Montgomery bats by throwing as many curveballs at batters as he did fastballs.
He threw just 60 pitches and faced two batters over the minimum in his six innings by throwing curveballs for strike one and mixing his mid-70s fastball with his sinker.
“I rely on the curveball for the most part, that’s my favorite,” said Schenck, who recently committed to play for Division 3 Alfred University in upstate New York. “I figured out over the summer that working backward through counts with not having too much velocity behind me has been very effective. It’s about keeping people off their feet and giving them not what they’re expecting. Most pitchers will start with what they know they can throw for a strike, which normally is a fastball. I like to start with offspeed, which is usually a curveball for me.”
Only two Montgomery batters reached safely against Schenck, when Henry Maddox reached on an infield error in the second inning, and when Patrick Fogarty doubled in the third. Schenck struck out five and did not surrender a walk.
“I love that he keeps guys off balance,” Bucks County coach Steve Perry said. “They look at the scoreboard and see he’s maxing out at 74-75 mph and everybody gets big eyes and says, ‘I can hit this,’ and in comes this 72-mph spinner away from a righty who can’t get a read on it. He keeps you guessing. I love it.”
The six-inning, complete game shutout was Schenck’s seventh appearance this fall and easily his finest. He lowered his ERA to 3.04 in 23 innings pitched with 20 strikeouts and seven walks.
“He started the game with 18 straight strikes, which is incredible, and his ball-strike ratio (48 strikes, 12 balls) was remarkable and even when he missed he was right around the plate,” Perry said. “He is an absolutely great kid who had a lot of family here tonight so they got to see him pitch a great game.”
Schenk not only owes a debt of gratitude to his defense, which converted seven of eight ground balls into outs, but to an especially robust offense as well. The Phillies’ nine-run performance was the team’s fourth-best output this fall, enabling the team to gain a measure of revenge. Montgomery defeated the Phillies, 10-3, in the second game of the season on Sept. 10.
Julian Schenck pitched a six-inning, complete-game shutout for the Bucks County Phillies.
Pennsbury sophomore Stephen Pio sparked the Bucks County offense with a two-out, two-run single in the third inning and the Phillies never looked back.
Bucks County added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 4-0 lead before sending 11 batters to the plate in the sixth to forge a five-run rally.
“I think the biggest thing for us is the life in the dugout,” said Pio, who went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk. “We always pick up our players, out or hit. We’re always loud. There’s great chemistry on this team – a lot of us play on the same high school team. We love seeing each other do well.”
Bucks County made it 3-0 in the fourth inning when Pierce Perry drove in Liam Wasylak with a single to right.
One of the strangest plays of the season and some heads-up baserunning occurred in the fifth. The Phillies loaded the bases to start the inning and Owen Hawkes lofted an infield pop up that was ruled an infield fly, so the batter was ruled out. But the popup was mishandled and Danny Seidler, understanding the infield fly is a live ball, alertly dashed home from third to give Bucks County a 4-0 lead.
The Phillies really poured it on in the sixth, beginning with an infield single when Wasylak’s soft grounder rolled to a stop on the third base line.
Perry drove in Wasylak with a triple to center and he scored when the next batter, Cole Forester, executed a squeeze bunt for a 6-0 lead.
Jackson Tasker followed a walk to Seidler and a double by Pio with a two-run single to shallow right. Nico Gencarelli added an RBI single to right, capping the scoring.
For Montgomery, righty Jadon Krisanda pitched three innings and allowed two runs on two hits and five walks with six strikeouts. Zac Davis threw two innings in relief and permitted two unearned runs on one hit and four walks with two strikeouts. Aaron Corcoran pitched the sixth inning, giving up five runs on six hits and striking out two.