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Pat Doudican certainly appreciated the severity of Saturday’s first-round baseball tilt between Ss. Neumann-Goretti High School, 1736 S. 10th St., and Archbishop Carroll High School at McNichol Field, 25th and Moore streets. As his Saints had vanquished the Patriots twice earlier in the week, the junior pitcher knew the guests would want to trumpet the belief that the third time is the charm, but he returned them to Radnor dejected, limiting them to two singles in a 4-0 win.
“I expected them to be aggressive, so I went out there with the same approach as always, which is to attack the hitters,” the resident of the 1000 block of Ritner Street said Sunday, which, because of Saturday’s downpour, included the contest’s completion. “Nobody wants to lose to a team again, but we definitely wanted to keep being a pain for them.”
The East Passyunk Crossing-based hosts had downed their fellow Blue Division adversaries 5-4 at their Grays Ferry-situated field May 7 and had outslugged them 14-13 on the road May 5. Bearing the division’s top seeding, the Saints sent their ace to the mound, but no matter his status, Doudican finds contentment in doing any job that will produce a victory.
“That’s the vibe every guy here has,” the Lower Moyamensing lefty said of the roster members’ allegiance to first-year coach Kevin Schneider’s all-in mantra. “We want to win every inning and not leave the field having any regrets.”
Along with having scared the Saints in the regular season, the Patriots had already tasted triumph Saturday in claiming a 7-2 preliminary round decision versus Father Judge. A First-Team All-Catholic and the division’s Pitcher of the Year, Doudican fiercely fired his first fastballs, notching two strikeouts and a pickoff to give his squad an opportunity to turn its tenacious hitters loose. Junior right fielder Bay To bunted the first pitch for a hit, with senior left fielder Charlie Jerla smoking a traditional single. With one gone, the First- and Second-Team league honorees pulled off a double steal and rejoiced when sophomore third baseman Nicky D’Amore supported the “two-out hits will get you into heaven” adage by ripping a single.
“I definitely wanted to get those runs in to give us a boost,” the inhabitant of the 2400 block of South Hicks Street said. “Against a good team, we wanted to put pressure on immediately.”
In addition to wanting to vote down the Patriots’ chances, the Marconi teenager entered the game with a heavy heart, as he parted with grandmother Delores D’Amore May 1. Dedicating his performance to her, he noted his RBI-smack as proof that anybody wearing a Saints uniform can come through in the clutch. Junior shortstop Justin Curtin, another First-Team praise recipient, made the score 3-0 right after D’Amore’s stroke by plating junior catcher Tommy Nardini with a single. Having given their fireballer a nice cushion, the Saints knew the day could become dicey, as senior first baseman and division MVP Josh Ockimey, an Indiana University signee, spoke of the May 5 nailbiter where the Patriots overcame a 6-1 deficit in their seventh-inning swats and nearly battled back after giving up eight in the ninth to craft the wacky, National Football League-like 14-13 final.
“They’re going to come back,” the slugger said. “Keep hitting, and keep playing defense.”
The Saints have established such a pedigree that they are likely to respond to any big inning by a foe with an even bigger one of their own. The three-time defending Class AA City title holders have also claimed three Catholic League championships since 2009 and tallied impressive offensive statistics to compile a 12-2 league mark. Pitching has also proven powerful during their run, and Doudican showed it will continue to do so in whiffing two more in the second inning.
To picked up his second knock right after and raced home thanks to Ockimey’s absolutely crushed double that looked as if it would go for a two-run homer. The next few innings produced defensive gems on the Saints’ front, but their wishes to end the game before the rain came did not win Mother Nature’s favor. As he prepared for the sixth inning, Doudican took in the ominous surroundings and offered an interesting reaction.
“I thought the atmosphere was awesome,” the 16-year-old said. “It felt like pitching in the twilight zone.”
His hurls continued to weird out the visitors, who must have felt relieved when the clouds finally let their contents go from showers to a full-on deluge. Having walked the leadoff batter in the seventh, he yielded to Jerla, a Marist College-ticketed southpaw, who took 11 pitches to retire the side.
“I think we’re more serious as a team this year,” D’Amore said of helping the Saints to improve to 15-3. “For me, I don’t care if I get a hit just as long as I can do something to contribute to a victory.”
“We always have high expectations,” Doudican added, noting he feels honored to have attained lofty status in receiving the Pitcher of the Year tab. “We’re all about playing for one another and know that can take us far.”
In Tuesday’s home winners bracket game with Cardinal O’Hara, the Saints fell 5-2. They will host Archbishop Wood today at 3:45 in an elimination game.
Contact Managing Editor Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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