Parkland High School Baseball

The Parkland Trojans ended their regular season schedule with an 11-3 win over visiting Whitehall, finishing with an LVC conference record of 11-3 and overall record of 16-4.  Junior pitcher Matt Hurd worked five strong innings, scattering 6 hits and striking out three.  Junior Adam Fye pitched the final two innings in dominant fashion, striking out four.  Parkland batters were led by Senior Dan Shaw (2-3, two 2B, 4 RBI) who doubled twice, including a bases loaded clearing double and Senior Ryan Sutovich (2-4, 2B, RBI).   Senior Derek Freibolin added two hits and an RBI and Senior Ben Breiner doubled and had an RBI.  Damin Muth, Nick Rabasco, DC Castillo, and Joe Hudock each added singles.  Tyler Graeff had two RBI.  Castillo made an amazing running catch on a flyball hit to the center field warning track.

Senior pitcher Matt Nelson threw a complete game with eight strikeouts to lead the Trojans to an 11-4 victory over Central Catholic at Limeport Stadium.  This was Game 1 of a doubleheader for the Trojans today as they play Northampton later this evening.  Parkland was in control most of the game with Parkland batters getting 14 hits and they broke open the game in the 7th inning scoring 7 runs.  Leading the Trojans at the plate were Tyler Graeff (3-4, 2B, RBI), Damin Muth (2-4, two 2B, 3 RBI), Ryan Sutovich (2-5, 2B, RBI), Dan Shaw (2-3, RBI),  Jake Rosenblatt, (2-4, 2 RBI), and Jarred Cury (2-2, RBI). 

In the second of two games today, the Parkland Trojans found themselves in a pitchers duel between Dan Shaw and Northampton's Kyle Farnholtz.  Parkland batters only managed three hits from Tyler Graeff (2 singles) and Damin Muth (double), otherwise it was a frustrating night at the plate with numerous ground outs.  Parkland scored its lone run in the first inning due to Northampton errors.  Dan Shaw pitched well the entire game and took a 1-1 tie into the 6th inning where Northampton managed to score the go-ahead run on a Parkland error and an infield single.  The Trojans play their final regular season game on Thursday against Whitehall with an LVC playoff berth on the line.

For the second consecutive game, the Parkland Trojans rallied in the final inning of the game to come from behind and win, this time beating Easton 8-6.  The Trojans were down 4-2 early in the game, but got an RBI single from Ryan Sutovich to cut the lead to 4-3, then Nick Rabasco drove in the tying run with an RBI single.  The Trojans were then down again, 6-4, going into the top of the 7th.  With two outs and Sutovich on first base with a walk, the Trojans scored 4 runs to take the 8-6 lead.  Ben Breiner was hit by a pitch, then DC Castillo singled to load the bases.  Damon Muth tied the game with a 2-RBI single.  A pass ball then allowed the go-ahead run to score and Dan Shaw added an insurance run with an RBI double.  Tyler Cooperman worked 6 innings on the mound for the Trojans and Adam Fye came on in the 7th to close it out for the 8-6 victory.

The Parkland Trojans handed the visiting unbeaten Nazareth Blue Eagles their first loss of the season with a 4-run 8th inning rally for a 10-9 victory. The game saw several lead changes with the Trojans battling back from 2-0, 6-5, and 9-6 deficits. The Trojans fought back their first deficit on an RBI single by Nick Rabasco and a 2-RBI single by Ben Breiner. After letting their 5-2 lead slip away and allowing Nazareth to take a 6-5 lead in the 7th, the Trojans rallied in the bottom of the 7th led by a lead-off triple to deep center field by Ryan Sutovich. Rabasco then drove in Sutovich for the tying run. Nazareth scored 3 runs in the top of the 8th to take a 9-6 lead, but the Trojans rallied again in the bottom of the 8th and completed the comeback with Damin Muth's walk-off RBI single that sent the Trojan players and fans into a frenzy. The 8th inning rally started with a walk by Cody Callahan followed by a Derek Freibolin double. Sutovich then came up big again with a clutch 2-RBI double to deep left field that closed the gap to 9-8. DC Castillo then singled in the tying run, followed by Muth's game winnning hit. Starting pitcher Matt Hurd pitched 6 strong innings only allowing 5 hits while striking out 6 against a potent Nazareth lineup. Relievers Tyler Cooperman and Matt Nelson worked the 7th and and 8th innings respectively.

JV team stays red hot, extending win streak to double digits:  The JV traveled to Nazareth Boro Park, looking to turn the table from an earlier defeat to the Blue Eagles. After squandering a leadoff double by Nate Case, the Blue Eagles jumped on starting pitcher Tyler Duff for 5 hits and 5 runs in the bottom of the 1st to take a commanding lead. But, much like other games during the win streak, the Trojans chipped away and fought back, getting on the board with Case's RBI single, in the 2nd inning.  In the 3rd inning, Jake Gottwald and Nick Helfrich both singled in runs. In the 4th inning Aidan Flynn singled to start the inning. Walks and another hit by Gottwald (3 singles), and a bomb over the center fielders head by Jordan Jones, knocked in additional runs helping Parkland extend it's lead.  Meanwhile, Duff settled in and pitched an awesome 6 shutout innings to earn the complete game win. Helping Duff out was an infield of Adam Schneck, Aidan Flynn, Mike Cara and Case who all played well and made nice several plays....In the end, the Trojans sent Nazareth to only their 3rd loss of the season, while the Trojans win streak hit 10 games with a 9-5 win.