Shikellamy grabs victory in regular-season finale

May 22—SUNBURY — Older, more experienced pitchers could learn a lot from Shikellamy sophomore Dom Angelillo when it comes to working out of a jam.

Angelillo got the ball in the third inning of Friday's regular-season finale with Williamsport, and he soon faced a pair of runners in scoring position.

The visiting Millionaires had made some of the best contact against Braves pitching all season, but Angelillo pretty much brought that to a halt. The crafty right-hander stranded both runners to spark a string of six consecutive outs that carried him into the fifth inning while Shikellamy surged into the lead.

"That changed the whole momentum of the game," Braves coach Derek Alex said of the varsity newcomer's Houdini act.

Angelillo threw four scoreless innings of relief; his team scored him five runs without the benefit of a hit; and Shikellamy closed a league championship regular season with an 8-3 win.

"It feels really good," Angelillo said of his third win. "My coaches say that I'm on varsity for pitching. That makes me feel like I'm a really big part of the team, and that I can do a lot for them."

The Braves, champions of Heartland Athletic Conference-Division I, take a 16-4 record into the postseason. Winners of four in a row and 15 of 16, they project as the No. 3 seed in the District 2/4 Class 5A field with a home game Monday against a team to be determined, likely Abington Heights (10-6).

On Friday, Williamsport ripped five hits off six-game winner Mason Deitrich in just two innings, forging a 3-all tie before Alex ended the righty's stay-loose start and went to the bullpen.

"The plan was to try to get 40 pitches out of Mason, maybe get him to three or four innings. We know he's going to be very valuable next week," Alex explained. "So then you start attacking a little more with fastballs, trying to get contact early, and they were squaring him up. Once I went to Dom, I knew that he was going to be able to give us 50 or 60 (pitches) as a reliever."

Angelillo had parlayed his first 12 2/3 varsity innings into a pair of wins and a handful of successful middle-relief outings. However, he admitted to being anxious getting the ball for the third inning. The Millionaires promptly lashed his first pitch for a hit, and doubled runners into scoring position on his seventh delivery.

"Seeing them hit Mason," he said, "it kind of made me nervous because Mason's a really good pitcher — a better pitcher than me."

Williamsport six-hole hitter Tommy Aversa smashed an 0-2 pitch at third baseman Davis Marshall, who was in on the grass, for the inning's second out. Braves second baseman Duncan Weir then knocked down a hot shot, and fired the ball to first base in time to end the inning with the score tied at 3. Shikellamy went ahead for good in the bottom of the third.

"I just focused on the batter, took a deep breath, and just put the ball where my catcher wanted it," said Angelillo, who allowed only one more hit and walked one in his relief outing. "I was kind of surprised with my performance and how I pitched against them. It was one of my best of the year, and probably one of the best of my whole career."

The Millionaires (4-16) stranded six runners, five in scoring position, including three by Angelillo who used his curveball to get ahead in the count and kept his fastball away from the middle of the plate.

"We've seen that all year from Dom. He's really been a stopper for us," said Alex. "We've brought him with the bases loaded, two guys on, and he's really gotten out of pretty much everything. It's been very impressive to see."

Angelillo, Deitrich and Brady Wilson, another sophomore righty who pitched the seventh Friday, have combined for 11 wins. They have been integral to Shikellamy's success in the absence of junior Kaden Hoffman, who is working his way back from October shoulder surgery.

"The big thing has been keeping them ready," said Alex. "It's playing some JV baseball; (throwing) bullpens to stay ready; and wanting the ball and being ready when your time is called."

Braves senior Drew Balestrini, Duncan Weir and Connor Fitzgerald all scored a pair of runs in Friday's win. Each walked to lead off an inning and raced around the bases on a combination of steals, errors, wild pitches and passed balls. In fact, after Marshall's two-run single made it 3-1 with one out in the first, the Braves scored five more times with no runner advancing on a hit.

Blaise Wiest matched Marshall with two RBIs on a pair of groundouts. Every Williamsport starter had one hit, including an RBI triple by leadoff batter Cameron Sims that tied the score at 3 in the second.

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Shikellamy 8, Williamsport 3

Williamsport;120;000;0 — 3-9-4

Shikellamy;301;211;x — 8-5-1

Kydreece Burks, Owen Berry (5) and Braedon Mazzante. Mason Deitrich, Dom Angelillo (3), Brady Wilson (7) and Drew Balestrini.

WP: Angelillo. LP: Burks.

Williamsport: Cameron Sims 1-for-3, triple, run, RBI; Xavier Taylor 1-for-4; Mazzante 1-for-3; Berry 1-for-3, RBI; Atreyu Murray 1-for-3, double; Tommy Aversa 1-for-3; Derek Gehr 1-for-3, run; Cayden Robertson 1-for-3, run; Joey Signor 1-for-3, RBI.

Shikellamy: Balestrini 2 runs; Blaise Wiest 2 RBIs; Duncan Weir 2 runs; Connor Fitzgerald 1-for-2, 2 runs; Davis Marshall 1-for-3, 2 RBIs; Wyatt Faust 1-for-3, run; Wilson 1-for-2; Colin Zechman 1-for-3, run.