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Cape baseball falls to St. Mark's in DIAA quarterfinals

Ends season at 13-6
The bench came alive with the scoring of two runs in the top of the fourth inning, making the score 8-4 and keeping the Vikings' hopes going. BY DAN COOK
Dan Cook
May 30, 2016
Cape base runner Austin Elliott keeps on the mind of St. Mark's pitcher William Sullivan. BY DAN COOK
Cape shortstop Zack Gelof puts the tag on St. Mark's player Andrew Reich at second. BY DAN COOK
Starting pitcher Austin Elliott delivers to the plate. He also delivered with a two-run double in the game. BY DAN COOK
Cape third baseman David Erickson slides into foul territory after a tough catch on a pop-up. BY DAN COOK
Cape's third pitcher of the game, Zack Gelof, delivers to the plate. He also went 2-for-4 from the plate with three RBIs. BY DAN COOK
Tommy Heffernan slams one to the outfield. BY DAN COOK
Cape's second pitcher in the game, lefty Drew Mulcahy, delivers to the plate. BY DAN COOK
Cape head coach Ben Evick gives signals as Dave Vitella, left, Drew Johnson and utility fielder Parker Savage look on. BY DAN COOK
Connor Thompson slams a shot down the line in the second inning but it's caught by St. Mark's first baseman Matt Theodorakis. BY DAN COOK
Cape catcher Richard Carey avoids some William Sullivan chin music. BY DAN COOK

The Cape Henlopen baseball squad left 12 runners on base and committed four errors allowing the No. 1-seeded St. Mark's team to garner a 12-6 win in the DIAA quarterfinals at Frawley Stadium Thursday, May 26, ending the Vikings' hopeful season.

The No. 8-seeded Vikings improved on their 11-7 record of last year to 13-6, but they would love to have made it as far into the tournament as they did last season playing in the final game against Appoquinimink.

The DIAA Tournament started off great for the Vikings as they defeated powerhouse Sallies 2-1 at home.

But the 90+ degree heat, the big stage and the No. 1 seed may have been too much for the young Vikings.

The game started out ugly with the Spartans scoring two runs in the first without a hit, but the Vikings toughed out in the top of the second and tied it at two.

"Gelof [Zack] came through with a big hit in the second to tie the game," said head coach Ben Evick. "We felt like 'here we go, we got rid of the bad first inning, so what, we responded' and we were pretty excited at that point."

But the Spartans added six runs in the third to make it 8-2 in the third.

The Vikings added two in the fourth to make it 8-4.

"Even then we felt like we had a chance," said Evick. "We knew we could score runs.  This was the pitcher [William Sullivan], that shut us out before and we were getting to him."

Most of the Spartans' runs came unearned in the second and the fourth helped by a hit batter, a wild pitch, three passed balls, three walks and an error.

Cape put two more up in the top of the seventh, but the four runs scored in the bottom of the fourth took the wind from the sails of the Vikings' ship and ended their state tournament run.

"Our guys never really quit," said Evick. "They kept playing. We gave some guys the opportunity to play in that situation and they responded, scoring two runs in the seventh. We had three hits in a row.

"It was a tough draw for us. They are a really good team. You can't make that many mistakes against a good team like that."

The Vikings outhit the Spartans 9-6.

Sophomore Austin Elliott picked up the loss for the Vikings, but slammed a double at the plate. Zack Gelof went 2-for-4 with three RBIs while Drew Mulcahy went 1-for-1 with a pair of walks.

Cape used three pitchers, Austin Elliott, Drew Mulcahy and Zack Gelof, on the mound.

St. Mark's will face Caravel Tuesday, May 31, at Frawley Stadium for the DIAA State Championship.

 

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