Levi Stoudt has accepted the fact that he probably won't pitch with a big lead. Whether it's in the spring or for Perkiomen's American Legion baseball team, he says run support is scarce.  "That's just the way it has been the last couple years for me," Stoudt said. "If we could score five runs behind me, the game would be a lock."

        His July 4 outing proved typical. The Indians scored a run in the first inning against Hatfield without a hit.  Then Stoudt made it stand up in a 1-0 victory in the Bux-Mont League at Bonekemper Field. He tossed a shutout, scattering five hits and recording 11 strikeouts.

        "I'm used to pitching like this," he said. "We get that early run, so I have to go out and get the job done."

        Stoudt stranded runners at third base in the first, second, third and sixth innings for Post 184, which had lost four of its five previous games.

        He worked around leadoff hits in the first and second innings. The right hander also utilized an effective curve ball and a Vulcan changeup, a pitch gripped between the middle and ring fingers, to record four of his strikeouts with runners in scoring position in the second and third innings.

        "Levi was huge," Perkiomen manager Mike Fitzgerald said. "He really battled and gave us a huge boost."

        The victory clinched a second-place finish in the Bux-Mont League's regular season standings for the Indians, who ended their schedule with an 8-5 win over Lansdale on July 5.

        Later Sunday, Stoudt, Chris Kachmar and Daron Pijanowski represented the team in the Bux-Mont League All-Star game at Immaculata University. Perkiomen (14-6 league, 19-8 overall) is assured two home games in the eight-team, double elimination tournament, which begins Thursday.

        "Obviously, we would have preferred first place, but we're very proud of the season we've had so far," Stoudt said. "This is a pretty good team. The coaching staff said a Perkiomen team hasn't finished the regular season this high in a long time."

        According to Stoudt, Post 184 will figure out a way to generate more runs in order to contend for the post-season title clinch a berth in the Region 2 Tournament.  "I've heard a lot of people say we've got the best pitching staff in the league," he said. "I agree with that. But we're not known as a team that rakes."

        The Indians scored the game's only run in the first inning. Bryan Pijanowski and Stoudt opened the game with walks against Hatfield starting pitcher Zach Coll. Both advanced on Tom Aaron's sacrifice, and Bryan Pijanowski scored on Daron Pijanowski's groundout.

        Perkiomen's only other base runners were thrown out on the bases. Erik Stalford led off the second inning with a single to center, moved to second on a sacrifice and tried to advance to third base on the same play.

        Daron Pijanowski singled to right with one out in the fourth but was tagged out at second trying to stretch it into a double.

        Fitzgerald said he welcomes the aggressive base running. According to the manager, the team practices advancing from first to third base on a bunt fielded by the third baseman.

        "We want to force the infielders to make two perfect throws," Fitzgerald said. "If they can, so be it."

        The manager described Daron Pijanowski, the team's fastest runner, as a logical candidate to attempt to take an extra base.  "There was already one out, and he would have been in scoring position," the manager said.