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Menchaca helps Wayne draw first blood in Delco League title series

Winning pitcher Brandon Menchaca escapes a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning, as Wayne went on to defeat Narberth, 6-4, Thursday to open the Delco League best-of-5 championship series. PETE BANNAN - DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA
Winning pitcher Brandon Menchaca escapes a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning, as Wayne went on to defeat Narberth, 6-4, Thursday to open the Delco League best-of-5 championship series. PETE BANNAN – DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA
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LOWER MERION >> Wayne reliever Brandon Menchaca threw 41 pitches in three innings in the Delco Baseball League playoff championship series opener against Narberth at Narberth Playground Thursday night.

“A few more than I wanted to throw, especially in that seventh inning,” said Menchaca, who gave up a hit and two walks but did not surrender a run with the score tied in the seventh.

In the top of the eighth, Menchaca, who had been retired on fly balls in his first three trips to the plate, lined a single up the middle to drive in a pair of runs. In the bottom of the eighth, he stayed in the dugout and watched Reilly Degan retire the side in order on 10 pitches as defending champion Wayne got the jump in the best-of-5 series by earning a 6-4 decision.

The teams meet again at 3 p.m. Saturday at Narberth, with Degan and Josh Rickards the pitching candidates for Wayne manager Brian Fili, while Narberth player-manager Steve DeBarberie will counter with Toby MacCart.

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“The end result is what matters,” Menchaca said. “We all worked together and I happened to get that hit. But everybody contributed.

“Brad Schneider made a great play at third base and Jim Vankoski made that running catch in right field. It’s great to get the first game in this series.”

Schneider’s play robbed Sean Spratt of a hit and closed out the fourth inning after Narberth had scored twice off Wayne starter John Bernhardt. Vankoski robbed Tommy Toal of what could have been a leadoff triple in the fifth on the first pitch Menchaca threw after replacing Bernhardt.

“Getting plays like that are so big in a game like this,” Fili said. “Then Reilly comes in and just shuts them down after we went ahead.”

DeBarberie was dejected with the way the game turned out, but was looking forward to having the chance to get even Saturday.

“We made a couple of (defensive misplays) that cost us,” he said. “And we had the bases loaded twice and they got out of one inning (the sixth) after we tied the score and we didn’t score in the next inning.

“I’ve been in this league 11 years, and it always seems like Wayne or Aston Valley winds up winning it. We still think we have a chance to do something about that.”

Narberth outhit Wayne, 10-4, but left 10 runners on base. Wayne has only five hits in its last two playoff wins.

Dan Williams walked with two out in the top of the first inning, and Chris Cowell followed with a long home run to left-center field to give Wayne the early advantage.

“I got behind, 0-2, then I put a good swing on the ball and hit it out,” said Cowell, who went to spring training with the Lake Erie team in the Frontier League and didn’t join Wayne until later in the season.

Narberth got a run back in the second on hits by Ryan Tecco, Seamus Finnegan and Brian Meagher before Rich Tecco’s bad throw helped Wayne to a third-inning run.

Hits by DeBarberie, Ryan Tecco, Finnegan and Meagher allowed Narberth to get even in the fourth inning. Wayne scored in the fifth as Brian Giacobetti walked, stole second and took third when the throw went into center field on the play. He came home on a long fly ball by Williams.

In the sixth, Ryan Tecco (3 for 3 with a walk) got his third hit, then after Menchaca issued a pair of one-out walks, Rich Tecco singled to tie the score.

In the bottom of the seventh, Mike White singled and Menchaca gave up another pair of one-out walks before grabbing Finnegan’s grounder to the mound to force White at the plate and then struck out Meagher.

“I tried to get on top of the hitters,” Menchaca said. “I was having better luck with a two-seam fastball in that last inning.”

Fili knows his hitters have to find a way to contribute more this weekend.

“This was a pretty good way to start this series,” he said.