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Four seventh-inning runs pushes Prep past Meadville 11-8

alex topor, the meadville tribune, pa.
·4 min read

Apr. 30—Meadville was on the cusp of defeating Cathedral Prep for the first time since 2019, but the Ramblers' firepower shined through.

Prep defeated Meadville 11-8 at Eldred Glen in a Region 5 matchup on Monday afternoon.

The Bulldogs trailed 7-6 in the bottom of the fifth before senior Brighton Anderson went yard. His two-run shot with two outs send the Bulldogs' dugout into a frenzy and gave Meadville an 8-7 lead.

With one out, catcher Bradyn Miller gunned down a steal attempt at second base. On the next pitch, Feleppa earned his second strikeout of the inning and Meadville was three outs away from an upset win.

Cathedral Prep had an answer with the top of their order slated to bat. Nick Jackson, Andrew Costello and Jason Fultz, who are committed to play baseball at Mercyhurst, Wake Forest and Clemson, respectively, went to work. Jackson was hit by a pitch before Costello drilled a double to right field. Meadville head coach Tony Tartaglione elected to intentionally walk Fultz, which walked the bases with no outs.

The Ramblers scored on a two-RBI single, a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch. Up three heading into the bottom of the inning with Fultz on the mound. Meadville singled twice and walked on base to load the bases with two outs. Fultz earned a strikeout to ice the game.

"They have three kids that you really have to be careful with and it came to that part of the order," Tartaglione said. "We hit a guy to start the top of the seventh then that brought up their power. They piece the ball up and got a little momentum and scored some runs.

"I thought we had momentum in the bottom of the seventh. They brought their ace in to close it. Now we know we can hit him, but we didn't finish it, that's all."

The loss dropped Meadville to 5-4 in the region and 8-4 overall. It was a confidence boost, though. The Bulldogs out-hit Prep 9-8 and held a lead late in the ballgame.

"We out-hit them and I harped going into the game we have to hit with them and we did. I'm not disappointed with the effort," Tartaglione said. "We just need to get back on the horse Wednesday and carry momentum."

Meadville got two hits from Cam Arpin and Anderson. Ian Miler, Bradyn Miller, Rocco Tartaglione, Henry DeSantis-Biggs and Jacoby Thompson each added one hit.

On the bump, Rocco Woodrow pitched four innings with two strikeouts and four earned runs. Feleppa pitched the final three innings and tallied four strikeouts with four earned runs.

The 'Dogs had five errors to Prep's four. A few of which led to some early-game runs for the Ramblers.

"Going into the game we knew we could compete and beat them. We continue to need to do the little things and hit," Tartaglione said. "Pitching was good for us today. Defensively I think we may have had one or two errors. You can't have errors against them but that didn't cost us."

Meadville had a few opportunities to add to their run total. The Bulldogs loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth and tied the game at 6 before a miscommunication slowed the team's momentum. Meadville left runners on base in six of seven innings.

"We had a couple mental breakdowns. Little things like bases loaded and someone thinks I give them the bunt sign when I don't. Things like that come back and haunt you," Tartaglione said. "Overall, the kids should leave the game with a little confidence."

The Bulldogs are scheduled to play at Erie on Wednesday for another region game before hosting Mercyhurst Prep on Thursday.

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Cathedral Prep (11)

(AB-R-H-BI) Jackson 3-2-0-0, Costello 4-4-3-2, Fultz 3-2-2-1, Flanagan 3-0-2-1, Laird 2-0-0-3, Koshan 4-0-0-0, Friedman 3-1-0-0, Sprickman 3-0-0-0, Oblich 3-0-1-1. Totals 28-11-8-8.

Meadville (8)

(AB-R-H-BI) I. Miller 4-2-1-0, Tartaglione 4-1-1-1, B. Miller 5-0-1-0, Anderson 5-2-2-4, DeSantis-Biggs 4-0-1-0, Arpin 2-0-2-2, Kleist 3-0-0-1, Woodrow 3-0-0-0, Feleppa 0-0-0-0, Thompson 3-1-1-0. Totals 33-8-9-8.

Cathedral Prep 302 110 4 — 11 8 4

Meadville 200 420 0 — 8 9 5

BATTING

2B: CP — Costello, Oblich.

HR: CP — Costello; M — Anderson.

PITCHING

(IP-H-R-ER-SO-BB) CP — Oblich 2-2-2-2-5-3, Sprickman 1.1-4-4-1-0-2, Ciukaj 0.2-0-0-0-0-0, Phillips 2-1-2-0-3-2, Fultz 1-2-0-0-2-1; M — Woodrow 4-5-6-4-2-0, Feleppa 3-3-5-4-4-1.

Alex Topor can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at atopor@meadvilletribune.com.