Quince Orchard baseball coach Jason Gasaway says he has several pitchersvying for the No. 2 slot in the rotation. Yesterday afternoon at Paint Branch, senior Matt O’Keefe might have ended the competition.
Befuddling the host team with a dazzling mix of fastballs and curves, the senior right-hander pitched a one-hit masterpiece, propelling Quince Orchard to a 5-0 victory.
The Salisbury-bound O’Keefe (2-0) walked one and fanned six on his way to handing the Panthers their first shutout loss this season. After Paint Branch senior Chris Carey tripled to the 403-foot sign in deep center field with two outs in the first inning, O’Keefe faced the minimum, 19 batters on his way to a tidy, 96-pitch gem that was played in 1 hour, 35 minutes.
“My last outing I had a lot of walks,” said O’Keefe. “My focus today was to cut down the walks and throw strikes.”
O’Keefe (2-for-4) also did it with his bat and legs, as he scored all the runs he would need in the first inning. O’Keefe led off the game with a groundball single to left, advanced to second on a ground out, stole third base, and scampered home on a wild pitch.
After that, Quince Orchard (8-0) used its power as senior catcher Eric Weller and junior outfielder David Muldower blasted home runs over the inviting left-field barrier, less than 310 feet from home plate. Both drives came off the Panthers’ best pitcher, Carey, and cleared a 30-foot high net.
“We had a nice little talk before the game,” said Gasaway. “I told them if I saw anyone dipping and driving, and trying to hit anything out, they were coming out of the game. A field like this, their eyes do light up a little bit, but they do a pretty good job of staying focused.”
QO is A-OK
» QO has yet to feel the sting of the graduation of pitchers Brett Fox and Joe Mattes. Both won eight games last spring for the 4A state champions. Senior Andy Muldower (3-0), who will pitch today against Linganore, leads the staff.
» QO third baseman Matt Filderman ripped an RBI double to left.
» Paint Branch fell to 3-6.
