By Jacob Gill
Philadelphia Region Director of Scouting

upper moreland @ springfield township (april 17)

Any early pitcher's duel saw the offensives come alive late, as Upper Moreland took control of the SOL American division (the Golden Bears are now up two games in the loss column) with a 7-4 win in 10 innings.

Seton Hall-bound Anthony Scafidi toed the rubber for the first eight innings for Springfield Township. Scafidi (right) pitches from a high-3/4 slot with good rhythm and tempo. He struck out 12 on the day, including eight of the first 13 hitters he faced.  He sat 85-87 and touched 88 in the first inning, although his fastball lacked significant movement. His only trouble on the day stemmed from elevating his fastball in the zone, which led to better swings from UM, or missing up out of the zone, which contributed to seven walks. Scafidi has a terrific feel for his 12/6 CB, which he commanded in the zone for strikes and out of the zone for chase pitches. He mixed in a solid CH that he threw with FB armspeed, and, late in the game, flashed a SL with short, tight break.

The only hitter who saw any real success off Scafidi was 2014 3B Mike Cavanaugh. The medium-framed right-handed hitter punched a two-out single in the 4-hole for an RBI in the 4th inning, then picked up a two-RBI double in the 6th from a well-hit fly ball on which the left fielder got turned around and couldn't recover. Cavanaugh also notched two more RBI in the decisive 10th inning on a ground ball inside the third base bag.

While he didn't have much to show for his plate appearances, 2014 RHP/1B Charlie Hooker (1-for-4, BB) took good swings throughout the game. The right-handed hitter starts from a slightly more than shoulder-width, square stance and exhibits good balance. He barreled a deep fly ball against Scafidi on which the center fielder made an over-the-shoulder catch, and, later in the game, took a nice, easy stroke against a right-handed side-armer, lining a single to right-field. Hooker also threw the first seven innings, getting within one out of picking up the win in regulation. His FB was 74-75, but he did a nice job keeping it out of the middle of the plate while showing good command (4 K, 0 BB). His 61-62 slurvy breaking ball lacked depth and had more horizontal action than vertical action. Hooker even picked up a strikeout on a knuckleball that danced downward as it reached the plate.

The hitting star of the game for the Spartans was 2014 catcher Marten Pauwels (2-for-4, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI). The 6-foot-3, 215-pound right-handed hitter starts from a square stance and has some strength in his swing. Both of his hits came off breaking balls, with the triple driven deep to center-field and the double lined into the right-center gap. Pauwels has some work to do to avoid being moved to first base at the next level (arm was a bit erratic and he could quicken his exchange and release; 2.28 in-game pop time), but his bat will find a home somewhere.

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