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Eastern York's Kyle Billet picks apart York Suburban's attack


Eastern York pitcher Kyle Billet had a plan and stuck to it.

The senior and three-year varsity player kept the York Suburban bats in check into the sixth inning, as the Golden Knights emerged with a 6-2 YAIAA Division III baseball win at York Suburban High School on Monday afternoon.

"I was just trying to throw to the outside corner for most of the game," said Billet, who was making his second start of the season. "I was just trying to get them to hit grounders or pop flies. I wanted to get some easy outs for the fielders. I generally like to pitch away and let the batters get out in front of the ball."

Billet allowed just five hits total, and opened Monday by shutting out the York Suburban offense during the game's first four innings of play.

"Kyle is one of our workhorses," said Eastern York coach Blaine Garner. "He goes out there, throws a lot of strikes and likes to get ahead of hitters. That's what we were asking for from him. He pitched a great game. You couldn't ask for more."

Ryan Day opened the fifth for York Suburban (4-3, 3-2 Division III) with a double to left field and scored the Trojans' first run on a Thomas Merkle sacrifice fly, making the score 5-1 Eastern York. Suburban's No. 3 hitter Jackson Marshall, who was 2-for-3 with a walk in the game, opened the sixth inning with a home run to left-center field.


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"Marshall has a strained hammy, so we are trying to take it easy on him right now and used him at designated hitter," said York Suburban coach Chris Rotolo. "He was sitting back and driving the ball in his at-bats. Hopefully, that lesson stays with him. I wasn't sure how sitting and just swinging would go, but it went well. We were pleased with that aspect."

Billet yielded to reliever Brandyn Fry three batters later, departing with two strikeouts and one walk on his pitching line.

"I was trying to get ahead in the count with every hitter," Billet said. "Especially when you are on a mound you aren't too familiar with. If you get up and then fall behind, you can work your way back."

The right-hander Fry came in from shortstop to pitch 1 2/3 innings of one-hit ball to close out the win for Eastern York. York Suburban stranded five base runners over its final two at-bats.

"We were extremely impatient," Rotolo said. "We are better than that. We have a lot of underclassmen and its one of the things we talked about after the game. We got hits in pockets, just not a pocketful."

Eastern York (4-3, 4-0 Division III) went ahead in the top of the first. Back-to-back leadoff walks to Mitchel Winter and Bobby Hedrick led to a two-run single by No. 3 hitter Colby Shimmel. Winter stole second and third base during the rally, while Hedrick had a stolen base of his own set up the Golden Knights' first-inning runs.

"That was big," Garner said. "We have been getting ahead early in games but then giving it up. We don't have a lot of seniors. We graduated seven seniors who started last year. We have a lot of juniors and sophomores. It's a matter of learning to play together and making fewer mistakes."

The Golden Knights pounded out 11 singles and no extra-base hits in the game. Eastern York manufactured a run with two outs in the fourth inning, as No. 8 hitter Drake Renn singled, moved to second on a single by Fry and scored on a base hit by Winter.

Fry drove home Billet with a two-out single in the fifth, while sophomore Brandon Knarr singled home Hedrick with two outs in the bottom of the sixth.

"We know that going into the game," Garner said. "That's how we are going to play. We know we aren't going to have a lot of big hits but we are going to have to get some hits and move around the bases. Take advantage of the situations when we get them."

Eastern York 6, York Suburban 2

Eastern York2001210—6114York Suburban0000110—261

EY, Kyle Billet, Brandyn Fry (6) and Matt Taylor; YS, Brendon Delridge, Thomas Merkle (5) and Collin Slenker.

SO-BB — Billet 2-1, Fry 3-2, Delridge 3-4, Merkle 3-0; W — Billet; L — Delridge; 2B — YS, Jackson Marshall, Ryan Day; HR —YS, Marshall.