BY JEFF FALK
HERSHEY – Talk is cheap, and actions always speak louder than words. And if you’re going to talk the talk, you better walk the walk.
But right now, the Palmyra baseball team is saying all the right things, and doing all the right things.
On a partly cloudy Thursday evening at Hershey High School’s Memorial Field, the Cougars put together one of their most complete performances of what is quickly turning into a fabulous season, dominating the rival Trojans 12-0, in a Mid-Penn Keystone Division affair shortened to five innings by the mercy rule. Palmyra executed every facet of the game well, base running, hitting, fielding and of course pitching – thanks to a marvelous outing by ace Brian Coburn.
The outcome lifted Palmyra to 6-1 overall and 6-0 in the Keystone Division. Hershey slipped to 2-5 overall and 2-4 in the circuit.
“Throwing strikes is big for us,” said Palmyra head coach Neil Weber. “That and taking care of the baseball. I thought we did a nice job of putting the ball in play. We put a couple pieces of the game together.
“It’s a baseball game,” continued Weber. “We try not to get too worked up over it. We’re just trying to play the game soundly. We’re not taking ourselves out of the game. I just preach having good at-bats and putting the ball in play.”
It was pinch-hitter Braden Dresher’s two-out, three-run home run in the top of the fifth inning that capped the Cougars’ six-run rally and brought the mercy rule into effect. Earlier in the frame, teammates Christian Kreiser drilled a two-run single and Jacob Roe rolled a run-producing grounder.
“Each game our approach is getting better,” said Weber of his club’s offensive mindset. “Guys are starting to figure out how pitchers are trying to get them out. We’re not a home run-hitting team. We try to hit the ball hard and move runners.
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