Hopewell HS Baseball Opens Season With Scrimmage vs. Peters Twp.

HOPEWELL– It was a beautiful day to be outside and fittingly the Hopewell High School baseball team were on the field in action for the first time in 2024.

It wasn’t a regular season game, instead the Vikings took on Peters Township in a scrimmage. Both teams played their varsity players for half the game and starting in the 6th inning, other varsity and junior varsity players received playing time.

With it being their first live game action, not surprisingly, the pitchers were ahead of the hitter today but as time goes on, that likely will change.

In terms of their pitching, that likely will be a strength this season with players such as Kingston Krotec, David Medich and lefty Ben McDonald.

In today’s scrimmage against Peters Township, Coach Singletary used Medich and McDonald, along with right-hander Lucas Walton.

It’s no surprise that a big key for Coach Singletary’s team is finding a way to replace the productivity they received last season from their seniors. That’s particularly true when you’re talking about the Vikings offense as they’ll be looking to replace a majority of the top of the lineup.

Unfortunately, a lot of the players that Hopewell will be relying on offensively are young, but the good news is that they’re talented and will need time to adjust to varsity pitching. Patience will be needed but it’s safe to say that offense will look a lot better as the players get some games under their belts.

The final score today ended up being Peters Township 5 Hopewell 2.

Hopewell Sports Nation was there and here’s a quick game recap:

Top 1st inning: Medich walked the leadoff hitter, but he was erased as he tried to steal second base and was gunned down by catcher Charlie Smetana, who threw a laser down to second. After that, Medich struck out the next two hitters.

Bottom 1st inning: With 1 out, John Vescio got Hopewell’s first hit but was stranded.

Top 2nd inning: With a runner at second and 1 out, Medich got out of that jam by getting the next hitter to fly to LF, followed by a grounder to second. 0-0.

Top 3rd inning: Peters scored a run to take a 1-0 lead and looked to get more as they moved a runner to 3rd base with 2 outs. However, Medich limited the damage by recording his fourth strikeout of the game to end the inning. Peters Township 1-0.

Medich ended up going 3 innings, allowing only 1 run and threw 57 pitches.

Top 4th inning: McDonald pitched an efficient 1-2-3 inning, needing only 10 pitches as he got a grounder to short, struck out a batter and a flyout to RF. Peters Township 1-0.

Bottom 4th inning: Hopewell made good contact this inning but unfortunately, it didn’t result in any runs. Walton led off the inning by hitting a line drive right to the left fielder, who had him played perfectly. Next up, Vescio lined a single up the middle. Next up was McDonald, who made good contact with a fly ball to RF. Hopewell would strand two runners that inning.

Top 5th: Peters Township got a runner to 3rd base with 2 outs, but McDonald got the next hitter to fly out to left field.  Peters Township 1-0.

Bottom 5th: Nice defense in this inning by the Peters Township CF, who made a great diving catch with 2 outs to rob Hopewell SS Zach Gigliotti of extra bases. Peters Township 1-0.

Top 6th: Peters Township would tack on 3 more runs in the top of the 6th inning. Peters Township 4-0.

Top 7th: Hopewell with some nice defense this inning as they record a nice 5-4-3 DP (James Gill to Drew Donovan to Tyler Triscila).

Bottom 7th: Vikings score their first run of the game in the 7th. With 2 outs, Emmet McCowin was hit by a pitch. Next up, Krotec beat out an infield single. McCowin would score on a wild pitch and then Krotec scored on a hard single to left field by Smetana.  Peters Township 4-2.

FINAL SCORE: PETERS TOWNSHIP 5 HOPWELL 2.

Hopewell will have their 2024 season opener on Monday at home against Shenango. First pitch will take place at 4 PM.