PHILADELPHIA — It may have taken eight innings, but Malvern Prep is the king of the Inter-Ac once again.
The Friars took down Penn Charter 8-6 Tuesday afternoon to lock up the title, and they did so in dominating fashion, as no other team is even within three games of them.
Malvern jumped out to a hot start in the top of the second when three walks loaded the bases with two outs, and Chase Ecker would make Penn Charter starter Cole Stocks pay with a base hit to left field to score Brady Abate and Andrew Pellicciotta to make it 2-0.
They would again make Penn Charter pay for their mistakes in the top of the third.
Jackson Melconian reached on an error to start the inning, and Pellicciotta was hit by a pitch in the next at bat. After a successful double steal, Tommy Sergio had a productive groundout to score Melconian.
Luke Moore than added on another with an RBI single, and Malvern now held a 4-0 lead. The Quakers weren’t ready to just let them runaway with the title on their field, though.
The Quakers got to Malvern starter Collin Romanczuk in the bottom of the third with a Noah Hall RBI single, but the real drama came in the bottom of the fourth.
After two walks and a hit by pitch loaded the bases for Penn Charter, Ryan Musial hit a sac fly to center to cut the lead down to 4-2. Following another walk to Garrett Mathias, Noah Hall welcomed new reliever Taig McErlane into the game with a two-run single and we were all tied at 4-4.
The Quakers scored their fifth unanswered run in the bottom of the fifth on an errant throw on a stolen base attempt, and suddenly, Malvern was in trouble.
Until Jake Bauer came up in the sixth.
Luke Moore had walked earlier in the inning and Chase Ecker singled, but with two outs, they needed someone to step up. That would be the man that Bill Belichick recruited to UNC Football in Jake Bauer, as he sent a two-run double to right field to bring in Moore and pinch-runner Jalen Bowman to put Malvern back ahead 6-5.
The see saw continued to swing when Penn Charter would again tie it up in the bottom of the sixth. This time on a Rowan Griffith sac fly that would bring in Ryan Musial, and this game was locked up at 6-6.
At this point, both starters were out of the game. Chase Ecker was now in for Malvern and Noah Hall for Penn Charter.
Both teams were held scoreless in the seventh, sending this one to extras.
The top of the eighth didn’t exactly look promising for Malvern, as they had two quick outs to begin the frame. However, Owen Hammond singled and Jake Bauer walked, setting the stage for Ryan Capobianco.
He came up huge, hitting an RBI single to center field on a 1-0 pitch to break that 6-6 tie and put the Friars ahead. Brady Abate hopped on the very next pitch and sent it into right field to double that lead and make it an 8-6 Malvern advantage.
That put Chase Ecker out on the mound with a chance to wrap this thing up, and he didn’t let Penn Charter get any type of momentum as he retired the side in order to close out another Friar Inter-Ac title.
The dominance that this program has had over the last decade or two is incredible. This is five Inter-Ac titles in a row and 12 of the last 14 years. While technically not a Delco school, they have had plenty of great Delco talent walk through the doors like Billy Corcoran, Chris Newell, and plenty more.
Malvern is now 8-1 in the Inter-Ac and will take on SCHA on Friday to wrap up the Inter-Ac season as they get ready to try and win their third straight PAISAA State Championship.