No. 6 Mount Saint Joseph came through with clutch work in the latter stages of Monday’s home game against top-ranked Spalding.
The last of the key moments came from reliever Colin Harrison.
Protecting a one-run lead with the bases loaded, two outs and a 3-2 count, the junior left-hander struck out Theo Loughlin swinging as the No. 6 Gaels claimed a thrilling 2-1 win over the Cavaliers in Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference play.
Making his first start of the season, left-hander Collin Park went 6 1/3 innings to get the win. He allowed four hits and one run. Harrison provided a tying home run in the fifth inning with Carson Byers banging a two-out double in the sixth to plate the winning run.
Mount Saint Joseph (13-6) improves to 9-4 in conference play, handing three-time defending champion Spalding (18-5) its third straight conference loss to fall out of first place with an 11-5 mark.
Taking over for Park with two on and one out in the seventh, Harrison allowed a sharp single by Drew Emrich to load the bases. After Judah Shirlen’s lineout to right fielder Evan Whipp registered the second out — hit too hard to try to plate the tying run from third — Harrison had a fitting battle with Loughlin that he won with a fastball.
“The adrenaline was pumping, so that helped me out a little bit. But the goal was to pound the zone and make them earn their runs,” Harrison said. “It’s just a really good feeling — 3-2 [count], two outs, bases loaded. It’s something you dream of when you’re a kid, striking out that last batter. It was a great moment and I’m still pumped with adrenaline.”
Quality pitching — Spalding starter Peyton Mamula also went 6 1/3 innings and allowed two runs — came with fine defense, and the Gaels turned in the most pivotal gem.
After Michael Thompson gave the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead with a two-out homer in the third inning, the visitors were looking for more in the top of the fifth with a runner on second, two outs and Loughlin at the plate.
He lined a sharp single to left that Byers charged and relayed to shortstop Yaniel Escalera, who threw a strike to catcher Matt Pistner to get Shirlen at the plate to retire the side. It gave the Gaels a boost that carried through the rest of the game.
In the bottom of the fifth, Harrison, who drew walks in his first two at-bats against Mamula, jumped on a 2-1 fastball, lining it over the right-center field fence to tie the game.
In the bottom of the sixth, Braden Ashburn led off with a double and Mamula got one last out before the Cavaliers went to reliever Hunter Camden. He recorded the second out of the inning, but Byers hit a long fly to right center that dropped near the wall to score Ashburn.
“We have won a lot of close games this year because we have a good team that’s tough. And to have a tough win this late in the season can be really reassuring for us the rest of the way,” Mount Saint Joseph coach Phil Kraska said.
Coming off an offseason injury, Park had worked in relief this season before earning Monday’s start.
He said he was nervous, but didn’t show it with a good mix of pitches that he consistently threw for first-pitch strikes to get ahead in the count. He retired the first eight Cavalier batters before Thompson caught up to his fastball.
“I just had to be confident in my pitches,” Park said. “My changeup was getting over, curveball was getting over. I allowed the one run with the fastball — the ball carried today — but you just got to shake it off. This is a big win and lifts the energy for the whole team, so now we want to carry it on to future games.”
After having a tight hold on first place with an 11-2 mark, the Cavaliers are in a challenging spell while dealing with some injuries.
“Two good pitching [performances] and a one-run game, so it was a good high school game and great for the fans to watch,” Spalding coach Joe Palumbo said. “They made a great play defensively [in the fifth] that gave them momentum and they kept it for the rest of the game.
“We’re dealing with some injuries, so we have a little different lineup out there right now. So we need to get healthy and start playing better offensive baseball. One run is not going to win you many games in this league.”
The teams will visit Spalding on Wednesday to play the middle game of the three-game set with first pitch set for 4 p.m.
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Spalding — 0-0-1-0-0-0-0 — 1-5-0
Mount St. Joseph — 0-0-0-0-1-1-x — 2-7-1
WP: Park
LP: Mamula
S: Harrison
2B: MSJ — Ashburn, Byers. HR: S — Thompson; MSJ — Harrison