Ravert effective on mound as Malvern tops Chestnut Hill Academy

Just because one stands tall atop the mound and the other crouches low behind the plate, don't assume the Ravert brothers' roles are completely defined.

Joe also does some catching . . . of flak.

"My brother [Ed] is my biggest critic," Joe said, smiling. "Well, him and my dad [also Ed]. He can be pretty demanding. Lets me know right where I stand."

Joe, a 6-2, 230-pound junior righthander at Malvern Prep, then told a story of a 2010 game against Penn Charter.

"I missed with three straight pitches and he threw the ball back at me real hard," he said. "I know what that means. I kind of gave him a stare-down.

"I love having him as my catcher, though. It's like we're more than brothers. Like we're best friends. He knows what I'm doing wrong and tells me how to correct it. He always pushes me harder than he does the other pitchers. That's something the coaches like, too."

Tuesday, Ed the Brother would have been doing his critiquing in street clothes. Maybe even from a spot right near Malvern's bench.

You see, he's now a freshman catcher at the University of Scranton and his original intention, thwarted by his parents, who did not want him to make the 2-hour drive alone, was to hustle home to watch Joe and the Friars host Chestnut Hill Academy in an Inter-Ac League showdown.

Even if he'd barked a few times, Ed would have been happy overall.

In a game that started 32 minutes late, at 4:17, because the plate ump was involved in a minor car accident while driving across campus to the baseball field, then had to endure the paperwork party with local police, Joe Ravert pitched six effective innings in a 6-3 victory.

Though Ravert allowed eight hits and walked five, the Blue Devils reached him for only one run, while stranding seven guys in scoring position.

Ravert's best moments occurred in the fourth. After walking the No. 9 hitter, Matt Kozemchak, and surrendering singles to Nick Boyle and Brian Dones, Ravert fanned Matt Primavera (looking), then milked harmless fly balls from dangerous Dans - losing pitcher Rosenbaum and shortstop Hull.

"My brother texted me that he wouldn't be coming down," Joe said. "It would have been cool having him here, but . . .

"For Mother's Day we all went up to Scranton to watch him in the conference tournament, so I was looking forward to him being here today. It's OK."

Catchers lead pitchers, 2-1, in the Ravert clan. Lynn did her catching at Merion Mercy and Saint Joseph's. Except for a brief stint in middle school, Joe has always been a pitcher. (Mom is Regina.)

As a regular player, because of rain, or on days when he wasn't scheduled to throw, Joe had experienced occasional delays. But this was his first, he said, as a starting pitcher.

"I did my regular warmup about an hour beforehand, then we had to wait around and wait around," he said. "I didn't do a full warmup again. Just kinda played catch.

"You don't know how that's going to work out, but getting to [Rosenbaum] the way we did so early made things easier."

Rosenbaum, a junior righthander, is already committed to Louisville, and he's known for being tough to reach. But the home first opened this way: walk to Drew Hayes; one-hop double off the centerfield fence by Joe Poduslenko; three-run, inside-outed homer to dead right by Nick Bateman. That dinger came on a high, second-pitch fastball, right after Bateman had looked bad vs. a curve.

Ravert threw 117 pitches. Billy "Moose" Ford, the catcher, moved to the mound for the seventh, when Matt Rowland's RBI double highlighted a two-run uprising.

"I was OK with coming out," Ravert said. "I've been going over 100 pitches every time. 'Big lead. Take him out.' Billy Ford is more than capable of getting the last three outs.

"I was struggling a little in getting my pitches over. Once I made a mechanical adjustment - keeping my front side in; not opening up too soon - things went better. A key part of this was getting my breaking pitches over."

Rosenbaum yielded seven hits in 5 innings. Paul Regan (single) and C.J. Costalas (double, following Matt Greskoff's triple) posted the other RBI, and one run scored on a plunking (of Stephen Robinson).

For CHA, Boyle stroked three hits while Dones, Nick Barile and Rowland thirded six. Boyle and Rowland had RBI.

The Raverts live in Havertown, and Joe seemed to indicate that Ed's, um, encouragement might have been heard there Tuesday.

With a chuckle, he said, "I'm sure my brother would have been yelling at me to get my 'stuff' together . . . for lack of a better word."