Delaney’s Two-Hitter Leads Summit Christian To Pivotal 4-2 District Win Over Pope

Pope’s Zander Retamar watches as Summit’s John Silviano singles during the Saints 4-2 win.

Anthony Delaney kept telling himself that he could do it.

He kept reminding himself to finish strong.

No matter what happened, Delaney wanted to stay on the mound and pitch through until the end.

The right-hander got his wish, pitching seven full innings to lead Summit Christian to a pivotal 4-2 district victory over host Pope John Paul II in a game played in Boca Raton on Monday afternoon.

“I knew I needed to go do my best and if I kept us in it our good hitting would get us the win,” Delaney said. “I tried to stay in a groove, and I just kept telling myself to finish strong.”

The junior surrendered only two hits throughout, throwing 68 of his 91 pitches for strikes, to lead the Saints (9-2, 2-1 in District 3A-13) to their third straight victory. He finished with nine strikeouts without issuing any walks, although he did hit two batters.

“It was another great performance from Delaney,” Summit Christian coach John Drouin said. “He left some pitches up later and they went for line drives to right field. But he hit his spots, and when he does that he is lights out.”

Summit Christian broke a 1-1 tie with three runs in the top of the fifth. It was Delaney coming through with the big hit, connecting on a liner that skipped over first base for a double that drove in Efren Sanchez and John Silviano. Sanchez had reached after also hitting a double, and Silviano had gotten aboard on an error.

Junior pinch-hitter Brandon Swass then cracked a single through the left gap to drive in Delaney.

“It was all just gut feelings,” Coach Drouin said about the move to Swass. “We needed hits early; we stranded too many early on. He was supposed to have the day off, but we gave him a shot.”

Summit’s Efran Sanchez takes a big swing. Sanchez was 3-for-4 with a double and a run.

Sanchez was 3-for-4 and Silviano was 2-for-4 with a pair of stolen bases.

The Eagles (5-6) drew first blood with an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning. Alex Sadusky was hit by a pitch and advanced to second base on a balk. Connor Norton then laid down a perfect bunt along the first-base sideline, which Delaney scooped up and applied the tag on Sadusky, but the ball squirted out of Delaney’s glove, allowing Sadusky to come around and score.

The Saints evened it up in the third as Chris Carney singled, stole second and came in on an RBI single off the bat of Silviano.

Eagles starter Connor Norton threw 106 pitches over four and two-third innings, recoding six strikeouts without allowing any walks, falling to 2-2 on the year.

Summit Christian did record nine hits off of Norton, but he was able to work out of jams and keep the Eagles in the game until the very end.

“They are a scrappy team and we don’t take them lightly,” said Delaney, who improved to 4-0 on the season. “They can play with any team in the district.”

The loss drops Pope to 0-3 in District 3A-13, meaning they will finish as the third seed when the district tournament comes around. But after two close losses to the Saints, the Eagles will enter district play knowing they can compete with these teams.

Summit’s Shane Swanson (number 4) was 1-for-3 in the Saints 4-2 win over Pope.

“We’re closing the gap,” Eagles coach Pete Graffeo said. “We’ve shown we can compete, and we are not a cake-walk win anymore. We’re going at it in these district games.”

Norton backed up his coach’s words with a defining moment in the top of the first inning. After Sanchez and Silviano reached with back-to-back singles, the senior righty struck out the side to escape the threat unscathed.

From that moment, it was clear that this contest was going to be the dogfight that it turned out to be.

It was Norton who broke up Delaney’s no-hit bid with a shot to center field in the bottom of the sixth. The hit also put Sadusky on third after he had also reached on an infield error. Robert Gerdung pushed Sadusky across on a deep flyout, and Michael Luzzi followed with another deep flyout that would have pulled Pope within a run at 4-3. But Saints catcher John Silviano checked with a throw to the third baseman Sanchez, and it was determined that the courtesy runner had left the base before the catch was made, as he was ruled out.

After the Eagles threatened one final time with a runner on first and two outs, Coach Graffeo opted to pinch-hit with freshman Josh Parker. Parker put the ball in play, but for a routine groundout to end it.

“That was a tough spot for him, but I believe in him,” Graffeo admitted of the move to the freshman Parker with the game on the line. “The only way to get better is to get experience and put them into the fire.”

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