Kelly wins pitchers' duel; Boyertown clinches Red Division

by Don Stewart, Reading Eagle

Posted on July 7, 2006

It's kind of funny to write that Matt Kelly didn't have his best stuff Thursday night. The Boyertown ace threw a four-hit shutout.

Then again, Kelly has been close to untouchable in the Berks Legion League this season. He's allowing less than one earned run per game, and he had a combined 41 strikeouts in his previous three outings.

Kelly was a bit less dominant against Shillington, only striking out seven while walking three on 124 pitches. It didn't matter as Boyertown pulled out a 2-0 win at Bear Stadium to clinch the Red Division title.

“I don't feel like it was one of my better games,” said Kelly, who improved to 5-0 in the league.

If Kelly's best games are yet to come, the Bears (16-0, 27-2) could be playing well into the summer.

He couldn't have fared much better in the first three innings, when he used a wicked curveball to retire the first nine Red Sox in order. Five of those outs came on strikeouts.

But Kelly threw six straight balls to start the fourth. He lost his no-hit bid on a Mike Bucklin infield single, but escaped the inning when Joe Favinger hit into a double play.

“My first three innings, I was cruising along,” Kelly said. “My curveball was real good. After the third inning, I kind of lost it. I didn't have the strikeout totals I usually have.”

Shillington (10-6, 14-7) made it interesting in the ninth. With two outs, Bucklin doubled to keep the game alive. Favinger then singled up the middle, with Boyertown second baseman Dan Wolfgang making a diving stop to save a run.

“Wolfgang, he helped me out with the diving catch,” Kelly said. “I thanked him after the game.”

With runners on the corners, Rich Schlamowitz slammed a liner down the first-base line, but Kenny Thorpe was there to make the game-ending play.

“He battled out there,” Boyertown coach Rick Moatz said. “Even when he started to struggle, he worked his way back out of it. He did what he had to do to get people out.”

Kelly's counterpart, Shillington lefty Chris Stoudt, also gave a memorable performance. He gave up just two runs on six hits against a team that won 22-4 the last time it faced the Red Sox.

Boyertown got both of its runs in the fifth, when Mike Schwager led off with a walk. Wolfgang bunted for an infield hit, and a throwing error by Stoudt got Schwager to third.

Cody Kulp then hit a ground ball to third. Schlamowitz threw to second to get Wolfgang, but the throw home was too late to nail Schwager. Leadoff hitter Steve Bealer singled to drive in Kulp, who'd been sacrificed to second.

With the exception of that inning, Boyertown's small-ball efforts were kept in check.

“I think we're all real proud of the way Stoudt pitched tonight,” said Shillington coach Chris Hole, whose team must beat Exeter Saturday to get into the playoffs. “He certainly kept us in the ballgame there.

“We just really lacked that timely hit again to drive guys in. But you gotta give them credit. They're a real tough team. They had their ace on the mound. He threw well and he made big pitches when he had to.”

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