Young lifts Malvern Prep to victory over CHA

Listen to Ty Young hit and crack of the bat takes on a whole new meaning.

And, yes, we do mean listen.

Twice yesterday in the early innings of an Inter-Ac League baseball game, Young steered base hits around the field at Chestnut Hill Academy.

The sound was weird, though. Almost as if he'd made contact with a wooden bat.

After Malvern Prep completed a 7-2 victory, during which Young, a 5-10, 175-pound senior shortstop bound for Louisville on scholarship, went 2-for-4 with a double, one RBI and a number of impressive fielding plays (alas, he also made two errors), the explanation eased out.

Come to find out . . . A of couple weeks back, something sour happened to the sweet spot on Young's bat, which belongs to teammate Sean O'Keefe.

"There's a crack of about two inches," Young said, smiling. "Right on the barrel. It happened in a game. I hit it and the bat sounded like it was filled with tennis balls.

"Sean knows it's messed up. I like it, though, and he said I can keep using it. It doesn't seem to be affecting anything. I don't even own a metal bat."

What Young owns is a reputation as a franchise player.

Schools such as Maryland, Elon and Penn State expressed white-hot interest, even as he finished his junior season, but once he trekked to Louisville last July, he committed the very next day.

He liked how nice and sincere, even polite, everyone came off, coaches and players included, and he said with a smile he can live with Southern accents as long as he doesn't pick one up.

Through his first 3 years at Malvern, Young dabbled in indoor track with the hope of increasing his speed. That happened, and then this past fall and winter mostly hittin' the weights.

So, now he's a he-man, eh?

"Not really," he said. "It did help me, though, because I gained about 15 pounds. I have nine home runs this year [in just short of 30 games]."

Drew Hayes opened the game with a deep shot to left-center that somehow wasn't run down by Maryland-bound centerfielder Jon McAllister, who usually gets to everything within three ZIP codes.  Young followed with an RBI single to right-center.

Sean Walsh's punished two-run homer (to the treetops in dead left) and Chase Gunther's RBI single added three more runs in the second, and Young, who bats lefty, started the third with a shot to right that one-hopped over the low fence for a ground-rule double.

Obvious question: With an uncracked bat, is it maybe a homer?

"Nah," I don't think so," Young said. "It had too much topspin on it."

His final two at-bats yielded a grounder to first and fly to left.

Young's leather was much busier than his metal. Seven groundballs went his way. He also made three putouts, thanks to two forceouts and the snagging of a popup. In the very first inning, he also gunned down a guy at third who'd thought he could take advantage of a stolen-base/bad-throw combo.

A charitable scorer might have spared Young the two E's. One grounder took a small, bad hop shortly before its arrival, and his throwing miscue occurred on a slow-hopper charge play.

"I got caught in between on that one," Young said. "I was thinking maybe to go to second with the hope of getting a doubleplay. Then I just decided to throw to first, and it pulled [Andrew Ferguson] off the bag. Things seem to happen to me at this field."

Overall, Young showed the highly desirable combo of feet, arm and instincts.

"I wouldn't say I like fielding more than hitting, but I do have fun out there," he said. "I know how important it is to make the plays and support your pitcher. Sometimes, all it takes is one little mistake at the worst time to mess things up for your team."

Malvern's battery featured a brotherly duo. Soph righthander Joe Ravert pitched six shutout innings, striking out six. Ed, a senior, went 3-for-4 with two RBI; his singles knocked home Young in the third and Joe Lubanski in the fifth. Run No. 7 scored in the seventh as Nick Bateman clanged a solo homer off the scoreboard in dead left.

Tom Devlin (single) and Dan Hull (double) stroked back-to-back, run-scoring hits for CHA in the seventh against soph righthander CJ Costalas. Devlin's came when one more strike would have ended it.

Young, who lives in Coatesville, is unsure what major he intends to pursue at Louisville. Early favorites are business or engineering.

There was no doubt, meanwhile, about how he'd approach this season, even though his scholarship had long ago been locked up.

"You have a commitment to your team," he said. "You have to give it up for your teammates."

And when the season ends, Ty Young might have to offer Sean O'Keefe some cash for a new bat. *