By Andy States
Digital Sports Content Manager
For over five innings on Saturday night, Bishop Ireton junior Dan Nicoll was unhittable.
But even after losing his no-hit bid with one out in the sixth against top-seeded DeMatha in Sunday night’s WCAC semifinals, and then his shutout two at-bats later as the Stags cut their deficit to just one run, it did little to make the Cardinals nervous.
“He competes,” Ireton coach Michael Gallagher said of Nicholl. “If he’s got the lead with three outs or six outs left his body language tells you that they’re going to have to earn it.”
On Sunday, DeMatha was not able to. Nicoll allowed just three hits, walked one and struck out 11 to lead the fifth-seeded Cardinals to a 4-1 win over the Stags at Prince George’s Stadium in Bowie. The win clinched a spot in Monday night’s conference championship game against Paul VI, which took care of No. 2 seed Saint John’s 7-2 in the first semifinal of the day.
Nicoll dominated the nightcap, facing just two over the minimum through five innings. The junior went out to the mound with the lead after Matt Welch’s two-out, two-run double in the top of the first.
“It meant the world,” Nicoll said of Welch’s two-bagger. “I went out there relaxed.”
Welch’s double also proved to be the only hit Ireton could Muster until late in the game as DeMatha sophomore Nikolay Uherek matched Nicoll through much of the game. Following Welch’s hit in the first innings, Uherek, who struck out seven, set down 16 of the next 17 batters he faced. Ireton did not get another base hit until Welch led off the seventh with a single.
Chris Kashangaki broke up Nicoll’s no-hit bid with a bunt single with one out in the bottom of the sixth. Kashangaki later stole second and scored on Chris Cook’s double to right. But with Cook on second, Nicoll struck out Kyle Riffe to get out of the jam. Ireton was then able to push two insurance runs across the plate in the top of the seventh, and Nicoll worked through a scoreless bottom half to secure the 4-1 win.
“Dan if fantastic,” Gallagher said. “We’ve had great pitching. We have 15 wins and between Dan and John [Robertson], they have 14 of them. We’re pretty tough to beat when those two guys are out on the mound.”
Earlier in the day, Paul VI was able to take advantage of early opportunites to build a commanding lead and roll to the win over Saint John’s.
After leaving the bases loaded in the first, Carlos Mateos’ one-out triple drove in Charles Beacom with the game’s first run in the top of the second. Mateos then scored on Matt Kianka’s sacrifice fly for the early 2-0 lead. The Panthers added one in the third, and then four more in the sixth to lead 7-0.
The Cadets got one back in the bottom of the sixth, and then loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh. But while Drew Farber’s sacrifice fly scored Nate Meiners with the Cadets’ second run, it wound up a rally-******* double play as Paul VI was able to nip Bobby Boyd trying to take third.
Torey Mancari worked 6 2/3 gritty innings to earn the win. The senior struggled at times in allowing five hits, six walks and a hit batter, but came through with big pitches in key situations. Of his six strikeouts, three ended innings with runners on the bases.
“We’re on a roll,” Mancari said of the team’s play of late. “It’s always better to finish better at the end of the season. We’re on a roll and I like our chances right now.”
The Panthers’ defense also came up big when it needed to, turning three double plays on the game including two that ended innings.
“We’re doing what we’ve been trying to do all year,” said Paul VI coach Billy Emerson, whose sophomore-heavy squad started the season slow but has come together of late. “Second half of the season has been great for us and we all think that we’re in a good position coming into the playoffs and it’s working out for us so far.
“It’s never easy against Saint John’s. You have to bring your ‘A’ game. That’s a team that’s always in it year-after-year-after-year. We got some breaks and took advantage of some opportunities and that’s baseball.”
Monday’s championship game at Prince George’s Stadium will be the third meeting between Ireton and Paul VI this year. The teams split the first two contests, which were both decided by one run.
“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Gallagher said of facing Paul VI for the conference crown. “We’ve played nothing but good games against them the last two seasons. Tomorrow’s going to be another good one. Nice to have two Virginia schools in the WCAC [final] too.”
Paul VI 7, Saint John’s 2
P 0 2 1 0 0 4 0 – 7 10 2
S 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 – 2 5 1
WP: Mancari, LP Bowie
3B – Mateos (PVI)
Bishop Ireton 4, DeMatha 1
B 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 – 4 3 1
D 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 – 1 3 1
WP: Nicoll, LP: Uherek
2B – Welch (BI), Cook (D)
astates@digitalsports.com
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