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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Jackson Doyle dazzled and Sharpsville did it again.
Doyle showed off all facets of his game in Monday’s District 10 Class 2A championship game against Wilmington, tossing a complete-game shutout in a 7-0 win over the Greyhounds to give the Blue Devils back-to-back D10 crowns (2019).
“It feels great,” Doyle said. “I felt great after the first inning. The curveball felt really good. That’s the best it’s felt all year.”
Doyle’s masterpiece included nine strikeouts and zero walks, allowing just six hits. Offensively he sparked the Blue Devils, who scored in every inning but the seventh, going 2-for-4 with a pair of runs. He reached via single twice, stole second and third both times, and scored on errant throws to third each time as well.
“We pitched by committee most of the year. We didn’t have a real dominant starter, just a lot of good pitchers” noted Sharpsville skipper Brian Smith. “He only threw 14 innings coming in today, but it’s not about that. He scored 45 points in a playoff basketball game. He’s just such a gutsy competitor and a take-charge guy. I can’t imagine wanting anybody else to start the game. He’s super.”
It was the third win for Sharpsville over Wilmington this season.
“Wilmington is a really good team, so it was nice to get a win against a really good club like that,” said Smith.
Brock Lenzi and Stephen Tarnoci provided the pop. Tarnoci had a pair of RBI singles and Lenzi had a 2-run double in the fourth and also tripled, with Andrew Frye adding a sacrifice fly in the third inning.
The high-powered Blue Devil offense chased Wilmington ace, Jaret Boyer, after four innings. He allowed five runs on six hits, walking six and striking out three.
The seven runs are a benchmark of sorts for the Blue Devils. They have scored at least that many runs in each game this season, except for their lone loss (to West Middlesex) in the regular season.
“We knew they were going to start us off with mainly all fastballs,” Doyle said. “We had to look for the fastball and adjust to the curve later in the count.”
The offensive support was more than enough for Doyle, who breezed, allowing only three runners to reach second base.
Offensively for Wilmington, No. 3 hitter Garrett Heller had two of the Greyhounds’ six knocks.
Tarnoci finished 3-for-3 for the Blue Devils, with Doyle and Lenzi collecting two hits apiece. James Thomas and Jared Leipheimer both scored a run as well.
The Blue Devils now will meet the runner-up from the WPIAL in the first round of the state playoffs on Monday, June 7.
“We think we can make a state run,” Doyle said.
