PHILADELPHIA, PA – Episcopal Academy (5-4) battled through some light rain to secure a 10-7 victory over Penn Charter (3-6) at Ralph F. Palia Field, the home of the Quakers, on Wednesday afternoon. Both teams were likely trying to preserve all their players for the upcoming PAISAA Tournament. 

The soggy conditions added drama as both teams fought for momentum heading into the playoffs. The slick turf field and wet baseball accounted for several errors in this game.

The Churchman struck first in the top of the first inning. Dillon Walls and JD Amoroso reached on errors by Penn Charter’s third baseman and pitcher, setting up the stage for Reggie King’s two-run double to left for a 2-0 lead. 

Penn Charter took the lead in the third, a Kyle McKernan walk followed by a Ryan Musial single, and three more walks tied the game at 2-2. Then, a Gavin Ruta sacrifice fly took the lead for the Quakers, making it 3-2.

Episcopal Academy grabbed the lead back in the fourth. Dillon Walls doubled to score Logan Correll, and another Penn Charter error allowed Walls to score, giving EA a 4-3 lead. They broke it open in the fifth with an Ian Ferrell RBI single and a Baxter Schuh two-run double, driving in King and Correll to make it 7-3. Ferrell added a two-run single in the sixth, scoring Jake Virbitsky and King to push the lead to 9-4. Walls scored again in the seventh on another Penn Charter error, making it 10-4.

The rain-slicked field contributed to Penn Charter’s late rally in the seventh. A bases-loaded ground out followed by an error allowed Ruta and Muni German to score, that brought the game to 10-7. This was not enough, as Penn Charter fell to Episcopal by a score of 10-7. 

Now 6-4, Episcopal Academy, the three seed in the PAISAA State Tournament, will have to wait for the winner of the Springside Chestnut Hill vs Westtown game to see who they will play on Tuesday. Penn Charter, now 3-7 and a nine seed, will head to the Hill School on Friday in hopes of keeping their season alive.

In that same bracket, The Haverford School will head to Friends Central on Friday for the first round. Malvern Prep has a bye and on Tuesday will play the winner of that Penn Charter/Hill School game.