Unbeaten Rustin rocks Great Valley

West Chester Rustin needed just six innings to drop visiting Ches-Mont League rival Great Valley on Wednesday, pounding its way to a 16-6 victory in a baseball game called an inning early because of the mercy rule.

The victory not only kept the Golden Knights (7-0) unbeaten, but also marked their third straight game of scoring 12 runs or more.

Rustin scored in every frame but the third en route to its season-high run total. It was highlighted by a seven-run, six-hit second inning in which five Knights drove in runs.

Matt Gosik's three-run homer, hit on a rope over the left-centerfield wall, pushed the lead to 8-1 and knocked Jordan Vallinino, in his first start of the year for the Patriots, out of the game after just 12/3 innings.

"It felt great. He threw me a belt-high, 2-1 fastball," said Gosik, who went 3 for 5, including a double. "Just turned on it, hit the sweet part of the bat. Just felt awesome."

Rustin starter Jack Fritz earned the win, striking out four, walking three, and allowing six runs through five innings. Vallinino yielded eight runs and walked two in throwing 44 pitches.

Rustin had at least two hits each inning, but the Patriots defense wasn't sharp, either. In addition to three wild pitches, Great Valley made three fielding errors.

"They're solid one through nine. They're going to make you play baseball, and they hit the ball," Great Valley coach Matt Shultz said of Rustin. "You have to defend it. We dropped a few today. When you drop them, with a good hitting lineup, they're going to take advantage of it."

The Patriots cut into Rustin's lead with a four-run fourth inning, spurred by a bases-clearing double by Nick Evangelista with two outs. That made it 9-5.

Rustin, however, didn't let up, scoring seven runs the rest of the way, including three apiece in the fifth and sixth innings.

Mike Friedrich's RBI single that plated Danny Myers in the sixth gave Rustin the 10-run lead it needed to enact the mercy rule.

"I think they are in a groove," Rustin coach Brad Harkins said of his lineup. ". . . They're making good choices in their at-bats. They're not coming out of the zone. They're not chasing pitches. They're staying disciplined. And when they get the opportunity, they're hitting the ball hard."

Rustin, ranked sixth in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Inquirer, has averaged 14 runs over its last three games and has scored at least nine in five games overall.

Myers went 3 for 5 with a double and three RBIs. Friedrich went 4 for 4 with a double and three RBIs.

Great Valley, which has lost three of four since beginning the season with three wins, was led by David Iacobucci (3 for 5, solo homer) and Evangelista (3 for 4).

"We hit the ball well today. I definitely feel good about that," Harkins said. "This team is capable of hitting the baseball and I think they really had the ability to feed off one another and gain momentum and keep hold of that."

Great Valley   010401 - 676

West Chester Rustin   270133 - 16193

WP: Jack Fritz. LP: Jordan Vallinino. 2B: GV-Nick Evangelista; WCR-Joe Palladino, Matt Gosik, Danny Myers. HR: GV-David Iacobucci; WCR-Gosik.