Major and Del Grippo propel Sox

By DENNIS C. WAY
Times Herald Staff

COLLEGEVILLE — Derek Major isn’t pitching quite like he’d like.

And Lenny DelGrippo isn’t hitting the way he’s accustomed to.

But Collegeville got just enough from both – along with a triple play – to subdue Norristown, 3-2, Tuesday night in a Perkiomen Valley Twilight League game.

Major displayed some unpleasant flashbacks to when he first entered the league by walking seven and escaping jams in virtually every inning. But the left-hander had just enough guile to get through the Norristown landmines.

“I’ve always been better the more I throw and the more I’m able to hit spots,” Major said. “Tonight the strike zone wasn’t a pitcher’s zone, I had some trouble with my location and it made for a tough night.”

But Major got some help, and it came right away.

The Agents loaded the bases with one out in the first, via Matt Altieri’s double, a hit batter and a walk.

Mark Roth chased home the game’s first run with a sacrifice fly and Chad Griswold made a strong bid to add more when he lined a pitch to right field. The ball fell safely, apparently scoring Tony DeLude with the inning’s second run.

But the throw from right fielder Dan Overcash was to third base, and nailed Matt Sperling there. And even though it appeared DeLude clearly scored before the out was recorded at third, it was ruled he hadn’t, and the inning ended with the Agents up, 1-0.

More help came in the second inning after Major walked pitcher Derek Barnes and D.J. Santoro with nobody out.

After failing to bunt the runners over, Frank Panzullo drilled a 2-2 pitch right at first baseman Scott Young, who stepped on first to double off Santoro and fired to second to triple off Barnes.

“I’ve been around this league since 1990 and I can’t recall having seen a triple play,” said Collegeville manager Bob Letter.

“That was a first for me,” added Major. “It was enjoyable to be a part of, and it was well welcomed considering the circumstances.”

Down a run, the Black Sox got on the board in the third when Ryan Pauley blooped a double to center, moved up on a pair of walks and scored on DelGrippo’s sacrifice fly to right.

The run-scoring fly ball was not necessarily what DelGrippo wanted in the at-bat, but he was content to plate the run.

“Right now my pitch selection at the plate isn’t too good,” said DelGrippo, who’s coming off a monster senior year at Temple. “I’ve just been fortunate to get some hits out of it.

“I’ve been chasing balls up and swinging at pitches in the dirt, and I’ve been getting good hitting counts, too.

“I feel I have to be more aggressive early in the count. I’m not being aggressive with the first pitch like I was at school.”

Collegeville took the lead in the fourth, an inning that began with Bob Wineburg’s bad-hop double and Overcash’s single to left.

Jason Connor’s ground ball to short produced the first out when Wineburg was gunned down at the plate by shortstop Sean Meister. The play produced a violent collision at the plate between Wineburg and Griswold, but no runs.

The play left runners at the corners, and the Sox stole a run when Connor broke for second, and Overcash scored on the back end of a double steal.

DelGrippo’s RBI single stretched the lead to 3-1 in the fifth, and it was left up to Major to pitch out of some trouble of his own making.

Norristown loaded the bases with two out in the sixth, but Major got a fielder’s choice ground ball from Panzullo.

The Agents got their first runners aboard in the seventh and drew within one on Sperling’s RBI single. But Major induced a double-play ground ball from Roth, and the Sox survived.

PERK NOTZ: Norristown’s Matt Altieri put the temporary skids to his puzzling slump with a three-hit night, although two of those hits just dropped in front of outfielders. “That’s the great game of baseball,” Letter said, “Panzullo hits one on the screws and it’s a triple play. Matty hits three bloopers and is 3-for-3.” … Major needed 125 pitches for his complete game. Barnes, coming off a solid season as Kennedy-Kenrick’s No. 2, acquitted himself well, allowing six hits, walking six and fanning five.

Date: July 7, 2009     Time: 6:00pm      Venue: Collegeville