UPPER CHICHESTER, PA –  On Friday, May 9, Chichester went up the road to take on Penncrest for a non-conference game under the lights at MSI Sports Complex.

Despite a three-run seventh inning from the Lions (5-13, 4-11 Central), the Eagles (12-4, 10-0 Del Val) pulled out the narrow 8-7 win in eight innings. Chichester pitcher Gavin Derrickson started on the mound and threw 97 pitches over five innings.

Chichester is 5-4 against Penncrest since 2013.

The two lights that covered the home plate portion of the field were out, the teams were forced to make a mid-game field change, pushing the game to last three hours and 28 minutes.

Derrickson gave up four runs and five hits while striking out eight batters. Derrickson entered the game with one of Chichester’s best ERAs of 1.00, giving up only two runs over 14 innings. 

In the top of the first, Penncrest pitcher Jack Jones quickly retired Chichester’s first two batters. However, the Eagles scored two runs on a dropped third strike and an error to get on the board. With the help of four walks and two hits, Chichester left the first inning with a 4-0 lead.

It was a strong start for the Eagles after suffering a 15-1 defeat against Holy Ghost Prep on Thursday, May 8.

“The kids started out right away,” Chichester head coach Dan Singley said. “We had a rough one yesterday, and we told them, ‘Hey, you’re gonna get better because you saw a kid that throws the real deal over 90[mph] yesterday.’ Everything else moving forward is gonna be a little bit easier. Just watching them perform is just phenomenal in terms of the grit our kids have. Once we got down, we battled back, it was do or die.”

Penncrest was able to narrow its deficit multiple times through the game, including a two-run first inning. However, Chichester was able to score five runs off of Jones, and he exited the game having pitched just over one inning.

The Eagles picked up eight hits and seven walks as a collective. Penncrest had nine hits and seven walks.

After Jones’s exit from the mound, Penncrest went through four other pitchers the remainder of the game. The four gave up three runs over seven innings. 

Chichester brought in Julian Sparks to close out the game in the bottom of the sixth. It all came down to the bottom of the seventh inning. Penncrest trailed Chichester, 7-4, with three outs left in the game.

Sparks allowed Penncrest to drive in three runs to tie the game at 7-7. With the walk-off run on third, Sparks struck out Henry Murphy to push the game into extra innings.

Chichester first baseman Trevor Goschler drove an RBI single into the gap between Penncrest’s first and second basemen. His lone and eventual game-winning hit gave Chichester an 8-7 lead over Penncrest.

“We started working on the two-strike approach,” Singley said. “A lot of guys are swinging and missing with two strikes and trying to hit the ball too hard, too far. Once we ran over that two-strike approach, we actually have been doing really well.”

Goschler has 13 hits and is batting .317 on the season.

As it slowly crept up to 10:30 p.m., Penncrest again began to pick apart Sparks. The Lions eventually got two runners on second and third with no outs. With the winning run on second, Sparks retired three-straight Penncrest batters to seal the win for Chichester.

“Huge maturity,” Singley said. “We trust in Julian, and he’s a very bright kid. I mean, he’s calm and he’s under control in the moment. And that’s what we like about Julian. He’s, he’s a battler, he’s a fighter, and he’s never going to give in. That’s key.”

Sparks finished the game, pitching 2.2 innings, allowing four hits and three earned runs. He has pitched 17 innings this season and has a 5.69 ERA.

Chichester now prepares for another non-conference game against Bonner on Monday, May 12. The Eagles fell to the Friars, 10-2, last season. The game will be hosted by Chichester (4 p.m.).

For Penncrest, it will take on Radnor (9-2, 7-1 Central) on Monday, May 12, in Central League play. The Lions were defeated, 7-1, earlier in the season by the Raptors. 

Penncrest has a chance to play spoiler as Radnor will earn at least a share of the Central League title with a win.

Haverford and Radnor both sit at 14-1 with one game to play.