Glaspey’s homer lets Schalick breath easier in its playoff win over Glassboro for record-tying 20th of the season, improves to 4-0 at Elmer LL complex, hosts Woodstown in semifinals
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I
Thursday’s quarterfinals
Audubon 4, Buena 0
Maple Shade at Pitman (Friday)
Woodstown 2, Pennsville 1
Schalick 7, Glassboro 2
Tuesday’s semifinals
Woodstown at Schalick
Maple Shade-Pitman winner at Audubon
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
ELMER – When Evan Glaspey saw the memo informing him Schalick’s South Jersey Group I quarterfinal game with Glassboro was being moved to the Elmer Little League complex, he knew it was going to be a good day.
It’s not that the sophomore second baseman dislikes playing on the Cougars’ on-campus field, there’s just something about the Little League complex that makes him feel comfortable.
Glaspey has never thought of himself as a power hitter, but Thursday he hit his second homer of the season and a double in the Cougars’ 7-2 win. He also made a nifty diving stop in the field to secure the final out of the game. Both of his homers have come here on the complex’ William R. Higgins Field.
“I love playing here,” he said. “I’ve played here for a long time. Used to play here for my travel team. Played here for a lot of years. It feels like home because of all the years I’ve been playing here.”
With the win, the Cougars (20-2) matched the single-season school record, set by the 1992 team that went 20-5 and lost to Emerson Boro in the state finals. They now host sixth-seeded Woodstown (16-10) in Tuesday’s semifinals.
It would be Cougars’ coach Sean O’Brien’s preference the game be played at their on-campus field.
Glaspey was in the middle of his U.S. History class when word came that the game was moving to Elmer after athletics director Doug Volovar and an army of parent volunteers worked all morning to get the field in shape.
The Cougars are now 4-0 on the field this year having beaten Woodstown, Salem, Buena and Glassboro. Glaspey is 7-for-12 with seven RBIs, two homers and six extra-base hits in those four games.
“I was in class and then I got a ring so I was like can I check my phone real quick and I checked it and it said we were playing here,” he explained. “I knew it was going to be a good day because coming here is always just fun.
“I think we were anticipating not playing at all because the field was really mucky and we got pictures of this field this morning and it was really bad. Surprised they got it that good.”
Glaspey’s three-run homer to left — just about the same place as his first one against Buena — highlighted a four-run sixth inning that put the game out of reach. It came right after Lucas D’Agostino singled home an insurance run.
Until the big inning O’Brien was a little concerned, calling it “a little stressful.” The Cougars had to come back from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 to take the lead, but they also missed several opportunities early to take control.
The Bulldogs reached Schalick ace Luke Pokrovsky for a run in each of the first two innings. Pokrovsky got the run back in the first with a mammoth leadoff homer O’Brien called the longest he’s ever seen in this park, but it wasn’t until the fourth they took the lead for good on Ricky Watt’s short sacrifice fly and Evan Sepers’ go-ahead double.
The Cougars loaded the bases with no outs after Pokrovsky’s homer, but Glassboro pitcher Gavin Dillard struck out the next three hitters to kill the threat. They also left two runners in scoring position in the fifth.
“We weren’t doing the situational hitting that we’ve done most of the year,” O’Brien said. “We had opportunities to get guys in and we just weren’t doing it and you can’t do that against good teams, especially young teams that have hope. You’ve got to try to get on them early. If not, they’re tough, they’re going to make you pay.”
And the Bulldogs challenged in the top of the sixth. Pokrovsky was lifted with two on and two out after reaching his pitch limit. Jamari Whitley walked his first batter to load the bases, but put out the fire and proceeded to record a four-out save.
Even when Pokrovsky is a little off, he’s still better than most. He allowed only two hits in his 5 2/3 innings, walked four and struck out 11. His game-tying homer, punctuated by a majestic bat flip, was his 10th of the season and 22nd of his career. The Bulldogs intentionally walked him each of his next two times at bat.
“He’s had that treatment especially when the playoffs come around,” O’Brien said. “Both his brothers had the same treatment, so he got the same thing. I’m comfortable with that. If they’re going to walk him then we’ve got Ricky following and Jamari. I’m good with it. I’ll take it.”
| Glassboro (11-12) | 110 000 0- | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Schalick (20-2) | 100 204 x- | 7 | 11 | 0 |
Top photo: Somewhere in that mass of humanity Schalick sophomore Evan Glaspey is being congratulated by his teammates after hitting a three-run homer in the sixth inning that coach Sean O’Brien called “a big moment in the game.”.
Riverview Sports News 