By Frank Cooney
Eastern PA Area Scout

In a pitching duel that included both starting pitchers going the distance, two runs being scored, and just eight combined hits, the state's top pitching prospect A.J. Bogucki and his Boyertown teammates earned the 2-0 win over PAC-10 leading Spring-Ford.   

2015 SS Zach Moser lined a single to left field to lead off the bottom of the first inning, promptly swiped second base, moved to third on a wild pitch and eventually scored on a groundout to second base to give Boyertown a 1-0 lead. That was all the run support Bogucki would need.  

Moser had a hand in Boyertown's second run as well. Junior 2B Eric Crowe started the third inning with a single to right field and later advanced to third base on an errant pickoff throw from senior Tyler Eckman. With Crowe on third base and nobody out, Moser drove a high fastball to deep centerfield, easily scoring the runner from third.  

Both Eckman (an East Stroudsburg recruit) and Bogucki (a North Carolina recruit) would take over from there, with no more runs being scored after the third inning. Eckman's final line was seven innings, four hits (all singles), one walk and two earned runs. Bogucki finished the night with seven innings, four hits and 10 strikeouts with no earned runs.

+ Bogucki featured a fastball that sat 86-89 mph for most of the night and topped out at 91 a handful of times. He threw a hard, sharp slider at 78-81 mph and used it as his out pitch, racking up eight of his ten strikeouts with it. Bogucki also displayed a slow, slurvy, 11/5 breaking ball that sat 68-71 that he will need to develop further if it is going to be an effective pitch for the right-hander moving forward. Holding runners on proved difficult for Bogucki, as he surrendered four stolen bases primarily due to allowing the Spring-Ford baserunners to get tremendous jumps.  

+ Eckman used a heavy fastball with arm-side run that sat 79-82 and an 11/5 breaking ball between 67-70 mph. He also showcased an effective, fading changeup that sat 73-75 mph. The six-foot righty worked quickly and from a high 3/4 arm slot, bringing his hands high above his head during his windup as a way to generate his drive for power. Eckman pounded the strike zone throughout the contest, throwing a first pitch strike to 18 of 24 batters and walking just one batter on the night.  

+ 2015 Boyertown SS Zach Moser showed a mature approach at the plate, a fluid swing and solid mechanics in the field. The 5' 11" left-handed-hitting sophomore starts with a slightly open stance and a loose lower half to generate a short and compact swing through the zone. Moser displayed impressive zone and pitch recognition, seeing off-speed stuff all the way into the catcher's mitt. Defensively, Moser demonstrated smooth feet and solid range at the shortstop position, accompanied by an above average arm with an overhand, short circle action and on-line carry.

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