Methacton pushes past Pope John Paul II 5-3 in PAC baseball semifinal, sets up final rematch with Phoenixville

BOYERTOWN >> Methacton set up a rematch for the Pioneer Athletic Conference baseball championship with a 5-3 win over Pope John Paul II in the second semifinal Monday night at Bear Stadium.

Evan Jones struck out 13 and Tommy Kratz went 4-for-4 with a triple and scored three times for the Warriors, who will face Phoenixville – a 5-4, 8-inning winner over Owen J. Roberts – for the title on Wednesday at 7 p.m. back at Bear Stadium. Last year, Phoenixville defeated Methacton 5-2 in 13 innings in the final.

“Last year, we lost a tough one,” said Kratz. “We’re trying to do big things this year.”

“It’s pretty awesome to be back for a rematch and we want to win,” said Jones.

Methacton (16-4 overall), which was the No. 3 seed after going 13-3 in the PAC and finishing second in the Liberty Division, led all the way after scoring a run in the top of the first inning. The Warriors added two in the fifth for a 3-0 advantage, but the Frontier Division champion and No. 2 seed Golden Panthers (12-4 PAC, 15-5 overall) closed the gap with two of their own in the bottom of the inning.

That made Kratz’s three-base hit to start the seventh all the more important as it started a two-run inning and gave the momentum back to his team.

“I was up 3-1, looking for a fastball to do some damage,” said the junior leadoff man and right fielder. “We were up one and it was big to get on and let the team do its thing behind me.”

“All the momentum was with them,” said Methacton head coach Paul Spiewak. “It was big for us to put that cushion together and it all started with Tommy.”

Kasey Humes followed with a single to bring Kratz home for a 4-2 lead and the Warriors added another run on an RBI single by Ben Clark. The Golden Panthers scored one in the bottom of the inning and had a runner on second base with two away, but reliever Will Christian ended the game with a strikeout.

Junior right-hander Jones gave up a pair of two-out singles in the first, but then retired 10 batters in a row, including six straight on strikes. Methacton seemed to take command when it scored its two in the fifth on a leadoff double by Kratz, a sacrifice bunt by Humes, a wild pitch, a double by Clark and a run-scoring single by Chase McNally.

Then PJP came right back with its two on a leadoff single by starting pitcher Aidan Sgarra and four walks. But Spiewak stuck with Jones, who finally ended a 38-pitch inning with a strikeout with the bases loaded.

“I felt a little tired, but I figured it out,” said Jones. “He (Spiewak) knew I could get through it and help the team.”

“He’s just so talented,” said Spiewak. “He figured it out. He’s so cerebral. Not a lot of coaches or players would have that type of leash. With Evan, we trust he’s going to find a way to figure it out.”

Jones came back out in the sixth and fanned the first two, but had to leave after that as he reached the 100-pitch limit in the process.

“Every time he’s out there, we have our best chance to win,” said Kratz. “When he’s out there, we know they’re not going to score many runs and we have to put up a couple to win.”

Jones struck out at least two in each inning, including three straight in the third.

“Fastball in, slider out,” he said. “They were just guessing up there and it was working.”

Kratz picked up half of Methacton’s eight hits in a variety of ways. He singled off the pitcher’s glove to start the game and eventually scored when Casey Behan was hit by a pitch with two out and the bases loaded. Then he stroked a hit to right field on a full-count pitch in the second and popped a double to shallow left leading off the two-run fifth that fell in among three fielders.

“I try to keep the pressure off Tommy,” said Spiewak. “But when he goes, we go. He’s got his ups and downs. He’s been streaky. But he really carried us today.”

Pope John Paul II, which also fell to Methacton in the semifinals last year, will be back in action in the District 1-4A playoffs next week, where they are currently ranked No. 1.

Next, Methacton will try for its first PAC title since 2014 and second overall against a team that handed them a tough loss in last year’s title game.

“We’re back where we want to be,” said Spiewak. “It’s one of those things where every team is so different every year. The names on the jerseys are the same, but the teams are very different. It’s not like revenge for losing a 13-inning championship game. But it is ironic. It’s a cool little rivalry we have going. Both teams are excited.”