Burrell baseball keeps pace in section with victory over Derry
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Monday, April 22, 2024 | 9:47 PM
Burrell left fielder Trey Coury slides into third base with a triple as Derry’s Collin Bush applies late tag Monday.
Burrell shortstop Dylan McKallip dives back into first base ahead of the tag by Derry first baseman Cayden McCune on Monday.
Derry’s Chad Jones follows through with a pitch against Burrell on Monday.
Burrell pitcher Stevie Hasson loses his hat after uncorking a pitch against Derry on Monday.
Burrell catcher David Kleckner (24) congratulates pitcher Brayden Mell after the Bucs defeated Derry, 8-2, on Monday.
Only three games separate first-place Shady Side Academy and last-place Freeport in Section 3-3A.
All seven baseball teams are still in the running for a WPIAL playoff berth and the section title.
Burrell first-year coach Jay Miller pushed the right buttons Monday in the Bucs’ 8-2 victory against Derry.
Junior left-hander Stevie Hasson pitched six strong innings, limited a solid-hitting Derry squad to four hits, and got sound fielding by his defense.
The victory improved Burrell to 6-5 overall and 5-4 in the section. Game 2 of the two-game series is Tueday at Derry. The Trojans, who committed four errors, fell to 3-5 and 3-4. Shady Side Academy, which edged Freeport, 3-2, sits atop of the section at 5-2.
“We control our own destiny,” Miller said. “I don’t think we’ve clinched a playoff spot yet, but we still want to win the section.”
Burrell put pressure on Derry’s defense by being aggressive on the base paths. Three of their eight runs were scored on Derry miscues.
“That’s been a problem all season,” Derry coach Thomas Kelly said. “We’ll play well and then have that one bad inning.”
Burrell took a 2-0 lead in the second inning when freshman Trey Coury tripled off the center-field fence and scored on Ryan Wass’ groundout. With two outs, senior Dylan McKallip singled, swiped second and mover to third on a throwing error. He scored on senior A.J. McLafferty’s single.
The lead went to 4-0 in the fourth inning when McLafferty doubled, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored when Derry was called on a questionable obstruction call. Issac Lacinski, who walked, scored on a throwing error.
“My defense played well, and I pounded the strike zone,” Hasson said. “The key was throwing strikes.”
Burrell pushed across three more runs in the fifth inning, two scoring on Ryan Bates’ single.
Derry scored both of its runs in the sixth inning when Brady Angus doubled and scored on Roman Fridley’s double. Fridley then scored on a sacrifice fly by Collin Bush.
“Stevie did a good job controlling their bats,” Miller said. “Derry has a solid-hitting lineup. We also got timely hits.”
Burrell tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning on Adam Wass’ flyout.
The Bucs pounded out 10 hits, including two each from McLafferty and Coury.
Fridley had two hits for the Trojans. Anthony Sacco, Angus and Max Doherty hit doubles.
Derry used four pitchers, and Kelly said the team should be in good shape pitching-wise down the stretch.
Now he has to get the defense to come around if the Trojans want to return to the playoffs.
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
Tags: Burrell, Derry Area
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