Town and Country Newspaper

Sports Article

Braves Remain at .500 with Another Win

Written by Lindsey Nolen, Correspondent
2012-06-21

Braves second baseman Josh Fell makes an easy play out of a bouncing infield ball in Monday night's home game against NorChester.

The 15-under Upper Perkiomen Braves Jr. Legion baseball team defeated the NorChester Big Dawgz by a score of 1-0 Monday night, bringing their overall record to 5-5.

With nine out of the current 14 team members having played on last year’s state championship winning 13-under Warriors team, it is no question that the Braves entered this season already having a strong sense of camaraderie.

This teamwork, combined with excellent pitching from Levi Stoudt, is what helped them hold NorChester scoreless for the game’s entirety.

“The pitching really kept us in the game,” commented assistant coach Eric Schantz.

With two strikeouts and no walks, Stoudt was able to demonstrate his remarkable consistency on the mound. However, in the top of the seventh inning after giving up a double, a pitching change was made placing Eric Stalford on the mound with only one out and a runner on second. Stalford prevented NorChester from scoring, successfully closing the game.

“I feel like I did a good job, but my defense definitely backed me up,” admitted Stoudt.

With a play at second by catcher Jacob Breyer to pick off the lead runner, and a run-preventing grab in left field by Tom Aaron, it was an all-round effort.

Although the Braves were unable to execute their offense early in the game, in the top of the fourth inning Stoudt again helped his team with a lead-off single. Then Stalford's and Nate Weinstein’s at-bats helped advance Stoudt to third base. Tom Aaron then drove a grounder through the legs of the NorChester shortstop, scoring Stoudt. This essential run would prove to be the only run scored by the Braves for the win.

“The kids in this league are a lot bigger, stronger, and faster than the ones in Junior Prep,” also commented Stoudt.

Having already seen all the teams in the league once this season, and having many of those games end in one-run losses, the Braves are confident in their ability to finish the season on a stronger note than they started.

“I believe we’re going to turn our one-run losses into wins. We are a much better team than the first half of the season showed,” said head coach Perry Breyer.

The Braves will play their next game today at 7 p.m. at the Upper Perkiomen High School against the Phoenixville Phantoms.

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