Mike Vukovcan RACOON TOWNSHIP– This evening at Racoon Township Municipal Park, Hopewell (Team Hoffman) took on Beaver in a Western Pa Pony League Game.
Beaver entered the game in first place with a record of 3-0, while Hopewell has only played one game as they defeated Central Valley in their season opener.
It’s early but it would not surprise me if these two teams met up again later in the season as both teams are talented as was on display tonight. Beaver came away with a 3-2 victory but Hopewell has a ton of positives to take away from tonight.
The most encouraging thing for Coach Hoffman has to be the pitching he received from his team tonight. The Vikings showed depth as 5 players combined to really quiet a dangerous Beaver lineup. Luke Vukovcan, Ryder Kostrick, Ryan Gaguzis, Vin Smetana and Noah Honess were all outstanding tonight.
Hopewell’s Ryder Kostrick
Vukovcan got the start and pitched the first two innings. The right-hander didn’t allow a run, 1 hit, 2 walks and struck out 5 batters. Kostrick pitched 2.2 innings, allowed 3 runs, Gaguzis got an important out in the 5th inning and Smetana and Honess pitched the 6th and 7th inning respectively and looked great.
Beaver threatened In the top of the 1st inning as they got runners to 2nd and 3rd with just 1 out. However, Vukovcan struck out the next batter and after issuing a walk to load the bases, he recorded another strike out to end the inning.
Hopewell had a great chance in the bottom of the first inning as Smetana and Gaguzis led off with singles. With 2 on and 0 out, Tyler Hoffman came to the plate and smoked a ball down the first base line. Unfortunately, the first baseman had Ty positioned perfectly, catching the ball and doubling the runner off first.
Vukovcan had an easy top of the second inning as he struck out the side and needed just 10 pitches.
Hopewell got on the board in the bottom of the second. Reed Budavich, who had three really strong plate appearances, reached on an error. Next up, Kostrick lined a ball into the right field corner for a triple, scoring Budavich. As the second baseman tried to get Kostrick at third base, the throw got past the third baseman, which allowed Ryder to score. Hopewell led 2-0.
After Beaver tied the game in the 3rd inning, Hopewell threatened to take back the lead in the 4th inning. Hoffman led off the inning with a great piece of hitting as he took a pitch the other way and dumped it into right field for a single. Vukovcan then grounded into a fielders choice and promptly stole second base. Next up, Budavich laced a ball to center field, but once again, it was right at the Beaver center fielder. The score remained tied at 2.
Beaver took the lead with a 2-out RBI single to center field so Hopewell had three more at-bats to try and tie the game.
In the Beaver top of the sixth inning, Smetana faced a small jam with a runner at 2nd with 1 out. However, Vin got out of it by getting a pop up to David Johnson at second base and then Johnson did a nice job fielding a ball at second to end the Beaver threat.
Hopewell got a runner to third base in the bottom of the sixth but couldn’t bring him home.
Honess went out to pitch the top of the 7th and was fantastic. Striking out the first batter and then after allowing a 2-out double, Honess ended the inning by recording a strikeout with a nasty curveball to freeze the batter.
In their last chance, Vukovcan led off the 7th inning with a walk and stole second. Next up, Budavich once again made solid contact but the Beaver center fielder tracked down the ball to prevent a run. Despite not recording a hit, Budavich had the best plate appearances tonight for Hopewell. Then with 2 outs, Johnson hit a ball that the second baseman fumbled and Johnson busted his butt down the first base line but the Beaver 2B recovered, got a hold of the ball and beat Johnson by half a step to end the game.
FINAL SCORE: BEAVER 3Â HOPEWELL 2
Next up for Hopewell, a game on Friday night at home against Ambridge.
