BADEN – One of the most intriguing baseball stories so far this spring has been the Quigley Spartans.
One year after making the playoffs for the first time since 1985, they appear to be on their way to the WPIAL tournament once again.
But what’s amazing about this year’s team is that the 16-man roster includes seven freshmen. And four of those ninth-graders started Monday, when Quigley blanked Western Beaver, 4-0.
Even more unusual is that two of the freshmen who helped Quigley improve to 6-1 overall and 5-0 in Section 3-1A on Monday were pitcher L.J. Evans and catcher Nick Price. It is rare in the WPIAL for teams to start freshmen battery mates.
“Well, I was intrigued in the beginning (of preseason workouts) when I was told we had seven freshmen,” said coach Kip Richeal. “But as I watched them practice, I was never worried about them. They have talent. They learn fast. They play well together.”
On Monday, L.J. Evans pitched was effective, scattering six singles over six innings.
In the first inning, Western Beaver leadoff hitter Sean Tanner had a strong at-bat, fouling off pitch after pitch before singling to right field.
Evans admitted that he was “annoyed” by the way Tanner battled him. But the freshman right-hander didn’t get rattled and struck out the next three batters.
Then in the sixth inning, with Quigley leading 4-0, it looked like maybe Evans was starting to tire. The first two Western Beaver batters got on board by stroking line-drive singles.
But just when it looked like the Golden Beavers (4-6, 4-2) might rally, Evans took control. He got out of the jam by striking out the next batter and then inducing two infield ground outs.
“I was annoyed when (Tanner) kept fouling off those pitches in the first inning,” Evans said. “I was already starting to worry about the pitch count.’
“Kind of the same thing happened in the sixth inning when I gave up those two hits. But I didn’t let it get to me. You have to block it out and work on one batter at a time.”
While Evans was pitching shutout baseball, Western Beaver’s Jeddy Young was a tough-luck losing pitcher.
Quigley scored all four of its runs in the bottom of the first with the baseball only leaving the infield twice.
Center fielder Nick Duer led off with a single. L.J. Evans got aboard on an infield single. Shortstop Jonathan Jansma got aboard in an error.
With the bases loaded, third baseman J.T. Vukovcan singled in a run. Second baseman Luke Evans, L.J.’s older brother, had an RBI infield single. Another run scored when freshman first baseman Alex Tomsic was hit with a pitch. The fourth run scored on a balk.
“So I went out to the mound and tried to tell our guys to just calm down,” said Western Beaver coach Chad Miller. “I said ‘Just try to get out of the inning. The worst is over.’ “
The worst was over for the Golden Beavers, but the damage was already done.
Young would go on to pitch the next five innings without allowing a hit. But offensively, Western Beaver couldn’t score.
With L.J. Evans throwing 94 pitches — six shy of the 100-pitch limit — Richeal gave the ball to Jansma for the seventh inning. Jansma responded by striking out all three batters he faced.
“We’re trying to do our best every time we step on the field,” Price said.
So far in section play, the Spartans’ best has been good enough for a perfect 5-0 record.