The Palisades Pirates (5-7) are over halfway through their season … and on their way to a quirky record.
No sport has a greater home field advantage than baseball. Yet the Pirates are better than .500 on the road (4-3) … and finally just got their first win in Kintnersville on Tuesday. Sophomore Jack Trickel sparkled, allowing just three hits and striking out seven Pen Argyl Green Knights in a 1-0 win.
“I really don’t have an answer for it,” admitted head coach Gary Koenig. “Maybe they are a little more relaxed on the road and the little bit of time on the bus lets them focus.”
On March 26 against 4A Wilson Area, it didn’t matter where Tyler Bonelli was pitching. He wasn’t going to be touched. Bonelli threw a shutout one hitter, striking out 11 Warriors, and the Class 2A Pirates won 1-0. Bonelli and Wilson foe Andrew Sagrestano combined to allow just five hits, but Palisades’ Chase Winsor got three of them, including the game’s lone run.
Palisades also topped Nativity BVM 7-6, Northern Lehigh 10-3 and Notre Dame Green Pond 8-7 … all on the road. NDGP and Northern Lehigh came on successive days. Greg Borgeson hit a pair of doubles and drove in three to help beat Northern Lehigh.
The next day, Palisades put up a four-spot in the seventh and Jaden Kerr threw a perfect bottom of the seventh to preserve the win. Nine different Pirates got a hit or scored a run.
The Pirates very nearly got their first home win in dramatic fashion. Salisbury entered the weekend 10-1 and ranked in the top of District 11’s 3A yet the Falcons needed extra innings to eek out a 3-2 win in the eighth. Mitchell Hamilton pitched beautifully, holding Salisbury to only three runs – their season low output – in 7.1 gutsy innings.
Hamilton “pitched a tremendous game against Salisbury,” Koenig stated. “I watched him last year in junior high and I liked what I saw. Through the winter, I thought he could be one of the guys that we may be able to rely on and he has turned out to be that type of guy.”
“We have four starting seniors but I believe we are a young team,” Koenig continued. “There is a lot of good from the young guys starting and getting varsity experience.”
The Pirates offense lost their top two RBI leaders – Wyatt Harrar, who now plays for Moravian, and Chase Kimbel – to graduation. Their departure gave younger players a chance to fill the void.
Koenig is very happy with the team’s work ethic. “They practice very, very hard. That is one thing that Palisades kids do is work very hard. With that hard work, it seems like we always get better as the season goes and I don’t expect any difference this year.”
Senior Kyle Kirsch (.270) is the team’s hits leader with 10. Bonelli and Kirsch also own the team’s two homers while Borgeson leads Palisades with six steals. Although just a sophomore, Mason Schultz was hitting .348 at press time.
Palisades returns to action on Thursday – on the road – against Bangor.
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