On three day's rest, Rohr pitches Devon Prep to district title
Eric DiPietro nicely summed up Devon Prep teammate Pat Rohr's demeanor on the mound. "He's all business," the senior third baseman said. "His expression never changes. You wouldn't know if he just struck out the side or gave up a three-run homer."
Eric DiPietro nicely summed up Devon Prep teammate Pat Rohr's demeanor on the mound.
"He's all business," the senior third baseman said. "His expression never changes. You wouldn't know if he just struck out the side or gave up a three-run homer."
The unflappable Rohr went the distance on three days' rest as the Tide claimed the PIAA District 1 Class AA title with a 4-3 win over Springfield (Montco) Tuesday afternoon at Glen Mills.
Because Rohr threw 70 pitches in four innings Friday against Bristol, Devon skipper Mark Aquilante was prepared to pull the 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior righthander after three or four innings.
But even when the Spartans touched Rohr for three hits and three runs in the fifth, cutting the gap to one, Aquilante stayed with the Scranton recruit.
"Originally, I wasn't going back out," Rohr said. "But [Aquilante] came up to me and asked, 'Can you keep going?' I said, 'Yeah, I'm fine. I can do it.' "
Rohr, of Audubon, retired the next five batters. After giving up a two-out single, he clinched things on a fielder's choice grounder to scrambling second baseman Tony Gallo.
"I started feeling a lot better," Rohr said of the last two frames. "I started to command the fastball on the outside corner."
In the first round of states Monday, the Tide (18-4) will take on the survivor of the District 12 final Wednesday between MaST Charter and Neumann-Goretti.
Devon, ahead of Springfield (10-10) by 2-0, doubled its lead in the home fourth. Sean Phelan, a Penn recruit, and Gallo (2 for 3, two runs) produced back-to-back doubles to left field and Jimmy Loftus scored Gallo, who moved to third on a passed ball.
Rohr, Gallor, Phelan and standout backstop Dominic Hardaway, who is ticketed for Boston College, earned first-team all-Bicentennial Athletic League honors. Hardaway was the Independence Division's most valuable player.
"All the kids play with a lot of spirit and energy, and they want to learn the game," Aquilante said. "I know it's not that way everywhere."
Springfield (M) 000 030 0 - 3 8 2
Devon Prep 011 200 x - 4 5 1
WP: Pat Rohr. LP: Julian Salzer. 2B: S-Chris Benet; DP-Sean Phelan, Tony Gallo.
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