It was the kind of game that reminded you how thin the line can be between winning and wondering. Bucks County Ghost only mustered three hits Thursday night. They left eight runners on base. They scored one of their runs on a wild pitch. But they walked off the field with a 2-1 win, because sometimes, baseball doesn’t need an exclamation point to write a victory.
In a tightrope pitcher’s duel, the Ghosts eked out just enough offense to outlast ASBA Futures Collegiate, despite being outhit 4-3.
The story began in the second, when a wild pitch plated the game’s first run for Bucks County. ASBA responded in the third — Christian Cerone, who was a bright spot all day at the plate, roped a single down the left field line to even the score.
But it didn’t stay even for long.
In the bottom half of the third, Nick Shiffler stepped in and delivered the swing of the night, a go-ahead RBI single that pushed the Ghosts ahead for good.
Pitching stole the show from there.
Gianni Serenelli was solid, giving up just two hits and one unearned run across four frames, striking out six.
Cerone finished 2-for-2 with the lone RBI for ASBA.
The Ghosts didn’t exactly slug their way to the win, but they sure ran their way there. Thirteen stolen bases — yes, thirteen — told the tale of their approach. Jimmy Davis, Michael Cummings, Will Scibona, and Jimmy Casey all nabbed multiple bags, creating just enough chaos to tilt the game.
Rake cashes in on big third inning to knock off the Fightin Quakers
It wasn’t clean. It wasn’t crisp. But it was Rake Baseball.
Behind a flurry of third-inning activity and a bullpen that clamped down late, Rake took down the Philly Fightin Quakers, 7-4, on Thursday in a rain-shortened contest in Ambler.
It all turned in the third.
Trailing 2-1, Rake rattled off four straight scoring plays — a Zach Neeld RBI single, a sac fly from Ryan Madden, a bases-loaded walk to Anthony Jakeman, and a slicing single by Robert Del Buono down the left field line. Four runs, four different ways. And just like that, Rake flipped the script.
Del Buono went 2-for-2, while Madden drove in a pair of runs out of the middle of the order. Rake also showed patience, drawing seven walks, with Bobby Hansen and Mike Judge each taking two.
Starter Lucas Kimbrough battled through three innings, allowing five hits and four runs. But Keegan Kanagie was lights out in relief, a shutout inning with one strikeout and just one hit allowed to quiet things down late.
Philly opened the scoring with a wild pitch and a Joel Bonner RBI groundout in the first. They chipped away again in the third but couldn’t muster a final rally.
Still, there were highlights. Six different Quakers collected hits, with Mikey Amrhein and Ryan Webber each collecting RBIs. Mike Kramer swiped a pair of bags. Defensively, the Quakers turned three double plays — a stat line that’ll win you a lot of games… just not this one.
