Nicholas impressive on mound as Bears advance

by Don Seeley, Pottstown Mercury Sports Editor

Posted on July 14, 2006

BOYERTOWN -- There’s nothing that gets Boyertown and its faithful following in a better postseason frame of mind than a well--pitched ballgame.

Well, Chuck Nicholas had everyone beaming Thursday night.

The 6-foot-2, right-hander came up with about as close to a gem as possible in the opening round of the Berks County American Legion playoffs at Bear Stadium, needing just 99 pitches to dispose visiting Hamburg, 5-1, and advance the Bears into tonight’s second round.

Nicholas, now 5-1 on the season, scattered six hits, didn’t walk anyone and fanned five in his nine innings of work. Except for a pair of singles sandwiched around a stolen base in the fourth inning that spoiled the shutout bid, Nicholas was virtually unchallenged.

And when the Bears (30-4) answered with three runs in the bottom half of the fourth inning, the spread was more than enough ..or considerably more than Hamburg could make up against Nicholas.

"I can throw better, though," Nicholas said. "I was hanging a few of my (curveballs), and I could’ve hit better spots. But I’m happy with the way I threw. I’ve had some decent outings, but this was pretty good, too."

Except for the brief binge in the fourth, Hamburg (14-12) had just one other baserunner through six innings.

That, of course, won’t win many ballgames, even fewer against Boyertown -- which is taking a swing at its fourth straight Berks title and 33 overall.

"I had a good fastball, and I felt comfortable throwing my pitches," Nicholas said. "But I was confident we’d win, but it’s always good not to be overconfident because a team like (Hamburg) can play a good game and beat you."

The Reds never had a chance against Nicholas.

"Chuck threw a heck of a game," said catcher Steve Bealer, who led the offense with a 3-for-4 showing that included igniting that fourth-inning rally by beating out an infield grounder. "We were trying to work in all three of his pitches, and he did a good job of mixing it up. He spotted the ball well when he had to, too."

Boyertown, which hosts Fleetwood tonight (7:00) at Bear Stadium, scored once in the first and second before capping its offensive in the fourth. The Bears could’ve punched up considerably more runs on the board with a key hit here and there -- they left the bases loaded in the second inning and stranded two more in scoring position in the sixth.

"We hadn’t played since Sunday, so I like to think it was us being a little rusty," Bealer said. "We played well, but we didn’t hit well. We blew a few opportunities out there."

NOTES

Boyertown, which won the regular-season meeting with Hamburg, 18-0, is making its 41st consecutive Berks playoff appearance. ..The Bears played errorless ball Thursday night, while Hamburg committed six errors behind starter Scott Huff and relievers Shane Specht and Ken Rentschler.

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