By Tristen Critchfield and James Yodice / Journal freelancer and staff writer
NO. 6 ACADEMY 4, NO. 3 BELEN 1: Once Matthew Delaney got some momentum, there wasn’t much the Eagles could do to slow him down.
The Chargers (18-10) star hurler shook off a slow start and got stronger as the game progressed, pitching six strong innings to lead his team to an upset of the Eagles. It didn’t hurt that Belen provided their opponent with a little extra fuel.
“First few innings I was finding the zone. Umpire was fair. He was tight, though. But after that I kind of sailed with it,” Delaney said. “They gave us fire. They were saying some things, and I think we retaliated really well. Just kept control up there.”
The Chargers and the Eagles each scored a run in the first inning, but that turned out to be all that Belen would muster. After surrendering three hits in the first two frames, Delaney allowed just one over his next four. Meanwhile, Academy got RBIs from Luke Laskey, Satish Raichur and Makoa Mukai to gradually increase its lead.
“We battled pretty tough. Got some big hits, made all the plays and were really good on the mound,” Chargers coach Chris Alexander said. “When that happens, you usually win.”
After losing to Belen 7-2 count in their lone regular season meeting, the Chargers embraced the role of underdogs on Thursday.
“We’re right where we wanted to be,” Alexander said. “We’ve had high seeds and low seeds. I’ll take the low seeds over the high seeds every time.”
Academy did endure a scary moment when Delaney was hit on his throwing elbow by a pitch during his final plate appearance in the top half of the seventh inning. As a result, Raichur got the final three outs. While the extent of the injury is unknown, Delaney was feeling optimistic in the immediate aftermath.
“I think with a little bit of ice it should be fine,” Delaney said. “Hopefully it isn’t injured, but I’ll try to place some first (base) on (Friday).”