With two outs in the top of the fifth, Kody Phillips gnawed at what South River gave him until he could sink his teeth into something.
In its last few games, Severna Park baseball hadn’t produced the quality or quantity hits the Falcons knew they were capable of. And while the Seahawks held down the Falcons’ sharpest sluggers, all Severna Park needed was one at the right time.
Phillips bit the fourth pitch Nolan Hooker dealt him and planted it in left field, giving Vince Nguyen plenty of time to cross home and open the path to a 2-0 victory at Joe Cannon Stadium on Monday.
“We really just take it like every team is Broadneck. We just got to be locked in to every pitch to win,” Phillips said. “It’s easy as that.”
Penn State commit Sean Williams stepped onto his mound in the bottom of the seventh already 86 pitches deep. He struck out six batters and not allowed a single run, but also hit three batters and gave up five hits.
But he would not turn the ball in.
“He wanted it,” Severna Park coach Eric Milton said. “He’s a bulldog. I would have to wrestle him to take him out.”
The most temperamental season in recent county baseball history still has Severna Park (11-4, 10-2) unsure whether it’ll be playing in the county championship next Tuesday. The Falcons are one of a handful of county teams with two losses.
“It just goes to show you in this county on any given night, any team’s tough. We’re just lucky we got out with a win. We’re just trying to get our hitting in line for the playoffs and see where it goes,” Milton said.
The Falcons maintained control on that one run for two innings, but come the top of the seventh, they veered toward more. Jacob Williams’ single moved Phillips to third, but the game came to an abrupt stop when Williams collided with first baseman Finn Mulvihill. Williams rose quickly but Mulvihill, clutching his wrist, did not. After a half hour delay, Mulvihill walked off the field with his arm in a sling to a chorus of supporting applause.
Seahawks coach Bryan Harris couldn’t understand how Mulvihill could be so unlucky. Just one week ago, the junior sustained another collision, that time damaging his teeth.
“He’s a first class young man and what I’m assuming is going to be the end of his season on a freak play like that just sucks,” Harris said.
A valuable arm in the rotation and in the field, Mulvihill’s sudden absence in the game would’ve effected his teammates either way. But in that particular moment, no one was thinking about assets.
“So you just try to say, ‘Hey, the best thing you can do is play all out like Finn plays all out,” Harris said. “Attack each play, attack each pitch like he does.”
Severna Park players went to mingle with the Seahawks after Mulvihill’s departure, but had to put the camaraderie on pause to finish play.
“It’s hard to get over something like [what happened to Mulvihill]. But as a team, we just got to believe in each other and believe that he’s gonna be okay,” Phillips said.
The catcher scored the Falcons’ second run on a passed ball.
“One run is the momentum factor and changes everything,” the catcher said. “Once we got the second run, I knew it was over.”
While they had no trouble cleaning up their gear from the guest dugout, the Seahawks left plenty of waste on the bases. The Seahawks stranded runners on base in every inning but the fourth when Williams retired the side.
“When you’re up against a pitcher with the caliber of Sean Williams, you need a blooper, something to bounce your way. He’s not gonna give in,” Harris said. “He did what he needed to do. If we paired together some of those hits we scattered through the game, maybe it’s a different outcome.”
Severna Park — 000 010 1 — 2 4 0
South River — 000 000 0 — 0 5 0
WP: Williams LP: Hooker