Cherry Hill West baseball shows grit, upsets Lenape in first round of Diamond Classic
MEDFORD – Dan McMaster shook his head when he heard the number.
“That’s what it was?” he asked, his sunglasses unable to hide his surprise.
The Cherry Hill West High School baseball coach knew his pitchers got out of some tight jams against Lenape, but he had no idea it was to the extent it was.
The 17th-seeded Lions survived against No. 16 Lenape 5-4 in the opening round of the 49th annual Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic Tuesday as hurlers Jaxon Casdia, Zach Smith and Austin Hanni combined to strand 16 runners on base.
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“We’re a team that’s going to get after you every single game, no matter who we’re playing,” Casdia said. “It’s hard to intimidate these boys because we practice three hours a day, five days a week. We practice on the weekends. There’s rarely ever a day off. It’s hard to find boys that want it more than we do.”
McMaster knew his team’s will was going to be put to the test before it stepped on the field.
Less than 24 hours earlier, Cherry Hill West lost a 3-0 lead in the seventh inning and fell to No. 1 Shawnee in extras, 4-3.
“We were right there and nearly played the perfect game, which is what we’re going to have to do to beat a team of that caliber,” McMaster reflected.
Going into the Diamond, his message to the Lions was simple.
“Trust the work you put in, believe in yourself, believe in your teammates and good things will happen,” McMaster said.
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That’s exactly what Casdia, Smith and Hanni did.
None of the three pitchers had their “A” game, but multiple Lenape runners were left standing on the base paths after every inning because one of those hurlers had a strikeout to end the threat.
“You really got to compete and bear down,” said Casdia, who got the win after allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and 6 walks while striking out 9 over 4 innings.
The pressure negatively impacts many athletes, but Casdia, Smith and Hanni all said it focused them against Lenape.
Smith was tense after allowing a two-run homer by Jon Adelmann to close the gap to 5-4 in the sixth. He then loaded the bases after that, but managed to freeze Tommy Kohler on a 2-2 pitch to end the frame.
“I tried to put the team on my back and deliver some big outs,” Smith said.
Hanni admitted he was nervous coming into seventh in a one-run contest, but settled in after his first pitch.
“I could really feel my adrenaline running,” he said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever got thrown into that big of a situation. … I doubted myself at first, but when I got on the mound I (figured) myself out.”
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The Lions did too.
They learned they’re going to fight tooth and nail to the very end.
“You see the grittiness and the toughness,” McMaster said. “We’re not always going to be the most talented team out there, but we’re going to work really hard and we’re going to scrap and claw for everything we can get.”
Game notes
Cherry Hill West will get a rematch with top-seeded Shawnee in the second round. The date and time are still to be determined.
Nick Mirarchi drove in what turned out to be the game-winning run with an RBI double in the sixth inning, which put Cherry Hill West up 5-2. He plated a pair on the day.
Brendan McCargar also had 2 RBIs for the winners while Jon Young Jr. was 2-for-4 with a double and 2 runs.
Lenape’s Grant Hunter finished 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs.
Lenape has lost back-to-back games to Cherry Hill West in a seven-day span. It stuck out a combined 32 times over those contests.“We have to do a better job with two strikes,” head coach Mike Wasienko said.
The last word
“We’re very comfortable playing this brand and this style of baseball. We know we’re going to move runners, try to steal bags and be aggressive on the bases. Just about every one of our games this year was tight. They’re usually low-scoring affairs, an old-school, National League-style of baseball. We know we’re going to be in tight, close games. I think that instills confidence, because we’ve come out on the positive side on a majority of those. The guys have been in these moments before, we’re comfortable in these moments.”
– Cherry Hill West coach Dan McMaster
Josh Friedman has produced award-winning South Jersey sports coverage for the Courier Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times for more than a decade. If you have or know of an interesting story to tell, reach out on Twitter at @JFriedman57 or via email at jfriedman2@gannettnj.com. You can also contact him at 856-486-2431. Help support local journalism with a subscription.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Cherry Hill West baseball tops Lenape in 1st round of Diamond Classic
