Brady Hannahoe-Exeter

As more and more Major League Baseball players become obsessed with launch angle, the value of making contact has been diminished. The strikeout rate continues to soar in MLB, but managers don’t seem concerned. Exeter showed the importance of being able to put the ball in play during Monday’s District 3-5A opening round matchup against #12 seed Twin Valley. The fifth-seeded Eagles used a pair of sacrifice flies in the bottom of the seventh to beat the Raiders 3-2. Speedy outfielder Evan Franek started the inning with a single to center field. Twin Valley ace Kannon Zdimal fielded a sacrifice bunt and opted to go to second base, but his younger brother Kooper wasn’t able to come up with the throw at shortstop. That error set the stage for the Eagles’ comeback. Pinch-hitter Owen Wisner delivered a sacrifice fly to right field to even the score. Brady Hannahoe, Exeter’s leadoff hitter, followed with a fly ball to deep right that scored Jon Martin with the game-winning run. Hannahoe told me that longtime head coach Justin Freese has always emphasized doing the little things well. Freese is in his 27th year as the Eagles’ skipper. Zdimal and Deven Sheerin, both all-division selections, hooked up in a pitcher’s duel that was very similar to their regular season encounter on April 8th. Exeter got two runs in the sixth inning to win that contest 3-1. Sheerin and Zdimal were both throwing in the high 80s in the first inning on Monday. Paul Colombo was back in the Raiders’ lineup after missing the Berks League playoffs with an injury. The sophomore ripped a 2-run single to center in the opening frame. After allowing two hits and two walks in the first inning, Sheerin got into a groove. The 6’5, 230-pound junior struck out the side in the fifth. He picked up two more strikeouts in the sixth before reaching the limit of 105 pitches. Sheerin finished with twelve strikeouts and four walks over 5.2 innings. He held Twin Valley to three hits. Zdimal was equally as impressive. The junior struck out eight and walked three in 6.2 innings. He limited the (16-6) Eagles to three runs, one earned, on three hits. Exeter was hitless until Nick Sydor’s line drive single to center in the fourth. Alex Kelsey followed with a long single to right. The Eagles got on the board thanks to a wild pitch. Zdimal then struck out Chase Cupitt with the tying run on third. He got Sheerin on strikes with the tying run on second to end the sixth. Hannahoe explained why Zdimal is such a good pitcher. The all-division second baseman had high praise for Sheerin as well. We joked about what would happen if he had to step into the batter’s box against Sheerin. Hannahoe gave credit to Mike Greenawalt for his 1.1 innings of scoreless relief. Freshman Ben Vaughan had two of the Raiders’ four hits. They were all singles. Hannahoe knew that this wasn’t going to be an easy game. I asked him about the level of competition in Berks County. He said, “We have some of the best players in the state in this county.” Hannahoe added that playing at home definitely helped the Eagles. Twin Valley wraps up its season with a record of (12-9). The Raiders dropped five of their last seven games, however, the future is bright in Elverson. Their starting lineup included four sophomores, two freshmen, and no seniors. Meanwhile, Exeter has eleven seniors on its roster. The Eagles will travel to fourth-seeded Ephrata on Thursday. Exeter has won six of its last seven. Putting the ball in play put the Eagles into the District 3-5A quarterfinals.