Devereux takes his bows, Narberth evens finals series
from the Daily Times posted 8/16/2020
By Matt Smith This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. @DTMattSmith on Twitter
EASTTOWNTWP.» Brady Devereux spun a gem in his final outing of the Delco League season.
The hard-throwing right hander is returning to University of Pitt this weekend. Saturday, he gave No. 2 Narberth six strong innings against No. 1 Wayne in a 7-1 victory in Game 2 of the championship series at Devon Prep.
After dropping the series opener Friday, Narberth needed the win to avoid being pushed to the brink in the best-of-5 series.
“I feel that every game is a must-win,” said Devereux, a product of Malvern Prep and Glen Mills native. “I wanted to go out there and give my club a chance, help us out a little bit. Hitters are going to get themselves out, so I tried to throw as many strikes as possible and stay out there as long as I could.”
Devereux allowed three hits and no walks while striking out six. He was economical with his pitch count, requiring only 72 pitches to get through six breezy innings.
“The big thing today was we wanted to come in with a lot of mix of everything,” Narberth catcher Jimmy Quinn said. “Brady was throwing everything with a lot of confidence and that was key. Everything was working for him, and anywhere that I set up, he was hitting the mitt.
“He was great all game. I could tell from the bullpen that it was going to be a good game, the way he was throwing with authority.”
Devereux knew it was important to provide length. With both teams missing several players who had returned to their colleges for safety protocol reasons, quality pitching in this five-game set is a valuable commodity. Devereux did his part and dominated from the start.
“I was really excited to get the ball,” Devereux said. “We’ve been a great team all summer and a great team we were up against, so I knew I definitely had a challenge in front of me. ... I had all three pitches today (fastball, curveball, changeup). Jimmy Quinn did a great job all day calling pitches. I was able to mix speeds, mix timing, and I was able to throw the ball wherever I wanted to almost all day, so that was really good.”
On the other hand, Wayne needed four relievers to get through after starter Zach Rice (West Chester) struggled with his command and lasted only 2.1 innings.
TheMudcats used the long ball to put the game out of reach. Up 2-0 in the fourth inning, ninehole hitter Mike White belted a solo homer. After a Vinny Vaccone double, Tyler Kehoe blasted a two run jack for his second dinger in as many games.
Narberth coaxed three walks and scored an unearned run in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead. In the fourth, Kevin Mc-Gowan stroked an RBI single to put Narberth ahead 2-0.
Devereux retired 13 of the first 14 batters he faced. The only blemish on his record came in the fifth when Dan Williams led off with a single, moved to second on an error, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI grounder off the bat of Matt Briner.
Narberth added insurance in the seventh with two runs on three hits. After McGowan and Ryan Guckin singled, Vaccone laced a two-run single to make it 7-1. James Santore mopped up with a scoreless bottom of the seventh in relief of Devereux.
McGowan finished 3-for-4. Vaccone, Kehoe and Guckin each had two knocks. Jim White reached base three times.
Nates Sides doubled for Wayne.
Game 3 of the championship series is Sunday at noon at Narberth Playground. “We’re back at Narberth tomorrow and it’s the same thing, we’ve got to be able to execute,” Quinn said. “Wayne is a good team, they don’t give you any extra outs, so it’s all about execution.”
