West Deptford routs Audubon in Group 2 baseball
Drew Wilden is a powerful lefthander with darting fastball and a sharp curve. Derek Wakeley is a clever righthander with a tailing fastball and a slick slider.
Drew Wilden is a powerful lefthander with darting fastball and a sharp curve.
Derek Wakeley is a clever righthander with a tailing fastball and a slick slider.
Together, they are a formidable combination on the mound for the West Deptford High School baseball team.
For the second postseason game in a row, Wilden and Wakeley split the workload and led the Eagles to victory in the South Jersey Group 2 tournament.
Wilden and Wakeley combined on a three-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts Tuesday as West Deptford beat visiting Audubon, 8-0, in the sectional semifinals on a hot, sunny afternoon at Union Field.
"Those guys were outstanding," said West Deptford senior third baseman Matt Britt, who led the Eagles' attack with a pair of RBI singles.
Senior first baseman Eric Ainsley cracked a solo home run and senior rightfielder and No. 9 hitter Cam Frantzen singled twice and scored a pair of runs for top-seeded West Deptford (22-5), which advanced to host sixth-seeded Cinnaminson in Friday's sectional final.
Cinnaminson advanced with a 7-3 win over Manchester Township.
Junior third baseman Coe Nolan had two hits, including a double, for fourth-seeded Audubon (17-6).
"Offensively, you've got to put the ball in play and we didn't do that," Audubon coach Rich Horan said. "Defensively, you have to make the plays, and we didn't do that.
"I was thinking over the weekend we needed to play mistake-free baseball and we didn't do that."
With just one senior on the field, Audubon committed three errors and a couple of other miscues that undercut the work of junior righthander Dan Wilson.
"I thought he pitched well enough to win," Horan said.
West Deptford has won six in a row. In three playoff games, the Eagles have allowed just one run on eight hits.
Wilden, a junior who has committed to Maryland, and Wakeley, a senior who has signed with Stony Brook, have thrown 19 of 21 playoff innings.
Wilden went five against Audubon, allowing two hits with five walks and 11 strikeouts. Twice, he ended an inning with the bases loaded with a strikeout.
"I was able to reach back," Wilden said.
In the postseason, Wilden has thrown nine innings. He has allowed zero runs on four hits with 20 strikeouts.
"I'll take 11 strikeouts in five innings anytime," West Deptford coach John Oehler said.
Wakeley closed with two scoreless innings against Audubon. In the postseason, Wakeley has thrown 10 innings and allowed one run on four hits with 14 strikeouts.
"I have complete confidence in Derek," Wilden said. "I know he's going to come in and do the job."
Wakeley and Wilden have been together since they were "8 or 9," according to Wakeley. They grew up playing youth baseball in West Deptford.
Wakeley, who could get the start Friday with Wilden available in relief, said the left-right combination can be tricky for opposing teams.
"Curveballs break the opposite way, everything is different," Wakeley said. "It just mixes up the hitters with a lefty, then a righthander. We work great together."
Audubon 000 000 0 - 0 3 3
West Deptford 021 113 x - 8 8 1
WP: Drew Wilden. LP: Dan Wilson.
2B: A-Coe Nolan. 3B: WD-Tim McCloskey. HR: WD-Eric Ainsley.
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