DOYLESTOWN, PA - The University of Valley Forge Baseball Team traveled to take on Delaware Valley Univeristy in double-header action on Tuesday, April 28th. The Patriots came up short in a close game one as Del Val pulled away to win, 9-2. In game two, an injury forced the Patriots to cut the game short in the 4th inning, losing by a final score of 12-2.
WIth freshman
Chase Hornberger pitching a solid game, the Patriots only trailed 4-1 heading into the 6th inning of game one. They didn't have enough offense to hang with the Aggies on this day. The host school came up with 5 runs in the bottom of the 6th to pull away for the victory.
Senior
Joshua Strohm was the only Patriot with multiple hits, going 2 for 3 with one RBI. Hornberger pitched a complete game, giving up only 6 earned runs.
Game two saw the Patriots get off to a great start, scoring 2 runs in the opening frame. However, some fielding erros prevented them from holding the lead for very long. The Aggies responded with 4 runs in the 1st, and another 5 in the 2nd.
Matthew Buckery was on the mound for the Patriots, but he ony gave up 3 earned runs in the contest. The final score was 12-2.
The Patriots finished with a regular season record of 3-24. Several players had stand-out seasons!
Freshman
Matthew Buckery led the team in hitting with a .414 batting average. He also led the team in runs scored (28), stolen bases (14), doubles (9), and triples (3).
Senior
Jared Boothman was not far behind, finishing with a .403 batting average. He also led the team in RBI's with 20.
Senior lead-off man
Bryce Koch had the best season of his career. Playing first base, he only had one error all season. He also had a career-high .329 batting average.
Senior
Joshua Strohm also had a career-high batting average, hitting .286 from the plate. He was also a rock in center-field, only committing 2 errors all season.
Newcomer
Jeffrey Thrappas finished the season with team's lowest ERA from the mound. He also finished the season with a .254 batting average and drew the most walks (11) and was second on the team in RBI's (13).
Overall, it was a year of steady progress for the Patriots. They improved in many key areas from the previous season and look to continue the momentum into the off-season.
Go Patriots!