This afternoon, with 1st place in the East Division on the line, the baseball team dominated Portledge, 11-0, in a battle of the last two unbeaten teams in the PSAA.

T. J. Wachter did it all today, striking out 9 and shutting out a Panther offense that had been averaging 13.1 runs per game, while notching 3 RBIs, including a herculean two-run home run that punctuated a somber Senior Day in Locust Valley.

The Bears got on the board in the top of the 1st thanks to a pair of Panther errors, two of the seven they would record on the day. Scanlon walked to lead off the inning and scored when the centerfielder misplayed a Wachter fly ball. Wachter then scored when the second baseman let an Aidan Mega pop up fall.

They struck again in the 3rd when Mega singled to left field before being chased home by an Emman Ajewole double. 3-0. Portledge, on the other hand, had its hands full with Wachter who needed just 11 pitches to get through the 3rd, bookending a strikeout with a pair of groundouts.

In the 4th, the Bears again staged a two-out rally when Wachter singled home Scanlon, who had singled and stole second. Wachter eventually came in on a wild pitch for a 5-0 lead. Another two-out RBI followed in the 5th when a one-out double by Ajewole and consecutive two-out singles by Forest Kaplan-Walbrecht and Scanlon chased home a sixth run. Wachter continued his dominance on the mound with a 10-pitch 5th.

In the 6th, a Mega sacrifice fly scored Wachter, who reached on an error. Then Ajewole pushed the Bear lead to 8-0 when he singled home Tim Wozny, who walked. In the 7th, Scanlon led off with a walk then stole second before moving to third on a Joe Wozny single. Scanlon then accomplished one of the most exciting feats in baseball by stealing home. Seven pitches later, Wachter unleashed a rocket over the left field wall, ending the game by activating the mercy rule for the fifth time in the Bears’ six league games.

Wachter scattered 3 hits over 6.0 innings to shut down a Portledge offense that had not scored fewer than 11 runs in any league game before today. Wachter also went 3-for-5 at the plate to power the offense. Ajewole also notched 3 hits on the day, recording 2 RBIs.

Through six league games, the Bears have been nothing short of dominant. Bear pitchers have allowed just six runs in league play while the offense has rung up a gaudy 68. Their average margin of victory is 10.3 runs.

The Blue & White are back in action tomorrow afternoon in a home match-up with Portledge that will go a long way toward deciding the PSAA regular season champion.

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