Pierce Perry fueled Bucks County’s seventh inning rally when he reached on an outfield error.
By Rich Bevensee
There are few players in high school baseball who have an understanding of the word patience more than Pierce Perry.
In September of last year, Perry, a senior left-handed pitcher at Pennsbury High in Fairless Hills, Pa., underwent Tommy John surgery. He primarily plays first base for the Bucks County Phillies Scout team, which is coached by his father, Steve, and competes in the Diamond Nation High School Fall League in Flemington.
As prescribed by his son’s doctors, Steve has been ultra-careful to keep his son on a short leash in terms of innings pitched. Pierce had pitched a total of three innings – in one-inning increments – in 10 games.
It may not sound like much, but on Monday night the younger Perry was permitted to pitch two innings or reach 35 pitches, his longest stint since before surgery.
Perry made the most of his latest opportunity, using 24 pitches to throw two scoreless innings and strike out four, but his performance proved to be much more than that. It provided the impetus for the Phillies to emerge from a pitcher’s duel with a victory.
Perry teamed with Pennsbury classmates Jackson Tasker and Julian Schenck to produce one of the most well-pitched games in the league this season, holding Flemington American Legion Post 159 to a single run in an immensely satisfying 4-1 win.
“We’ve been with him all the way from the surgery to the rehab and it’s been a long road,” said an emotional Steve Perry after the game. “He has been an absolute trooper. He’s dedicated to coming back and I’m really proud of him.”
This was the rubber match between these two rivals. Flemington won 14-2 on Sept. 15 and Bucks County evened the score with an 8-6 win on Sept. 24.
On Monday, the Flemington defense suffered a late meltdown. The score was tied at 1-1 before Flemington surrendered three unearned runs in the top of the seventh inning.
Bucks County’s Owen Hawkes singled with one out, took second on a wild pitch and scored on an outfield error following a Nico Gencarelli base hit. After Sam Flansburg walked, Gencarelli scored on another outfield error on a Perry fly ball. Cole Forester added a third run with a sacrifice fly.
Perry recognized that his courage to patiently continue his rehab with another short stint set a precedent for the rest of his teammates.
Flemington’s Andrew Fisher tied the game in the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly.
“I felt like I set the tone for the game,” Perry said. “It gave us a little stepping stone to build on through the rest of the game. We struggled at times – we had that one inning where it could have been a disaster – but we stayed calm, and they stranded runners on third three or four times.”
Perry was enthusiastic about his latest outing and expressed relief about his gradually returning arm strength.
“It was a little different experience today,” said Pierce, who is committed to Division 2 Millersville (Pa.). “I’ve been going out there one inning at a time and this was my first time going two innings. I was focused on each batter, throwing strikes and getting ahead. Keeping the count as low as I can knowing I’m on a pitch count. I think I threw really well.
“It’s been frustrating but I feel amazing. My arm feels good. I know I can do more but I’m restricted right now.”
Tasker and Schenck picked up where Perry left off, and together they helped strand seven baserunners, including three at third base. Tasker pitched two more shutout innings and allowed three hits and one walk with two strikeouts.
Schenck pitched the final three innings and earned the win thanks to Bucks County’s three unearned runs in its last at bat.
Schenck, who permitted an unearned run in the sixth, allowed three hits and one walk and struck out two as the ‘Rauders improved to 7-4 in the fall.
It was a frustrating night for Flemington (7-4), which struggled to score in support of a terrific effort on the mound by Hunterdon Central junior righty Ben Annese.
Annese took the loss in the first game against Bucks County and he was coming off an uneven performance in his most recent outing against Allentown Legion on Sept. 28.
The Annese who took the mound on Monday night looked like a different pitcher. He allowed one run on two hits and five walks with six strikeouts.
“It was more of a mindset thing,” Annese said. “The last time I pitched against them, they came out and hit me and did what they were supposed to do and I didn’t do what I was supposed to do.
“My dad was watching Game 1 of the NLCS and (Brewers pitcher) Jacob Misiorowski gave it his all even though he pitched 4⅓ innings. My dad was like, ‘That’s what you have to do, give it your all no matter how long you go.’ So I was going out there thinking I don’t care how hard I throw, I don’t care where it goes, I’m just gonna throw strikes, and it worked. There’s not much else I could have done.”
Bucks County struck first when Gencarelli led off the third inning with a walk, advanced to second on a groundout and scored on a Forester two-out double.
Flemington stranded runners on third base in the third, fourth and fifth innings, but in the sixth it finally broke through, as Mason Jacquish led off by reaching on an infield throwing error. Jacquish raced to third on a Luke Schenkel base hit and tied the game at 1-1 when he scored on an Andrew Fisher sacrifice fly.