Cooper Redding broke open a tight battle with a laser-shot grand slam over the fence in left center to power Henderson to a 9-3 victory over top dog Rustin in a key Ches-Mont and intra-city battle Monday afternoon at Rustin.
The triumph gave the Warriors a critical addition to the win column in the mad dash for District I Tournament post-season berths as the season moves toward its final stages. Henderson has now won seven of its last eight and stands at 10-5 on the season with another big game set Wednesday at 4 p.m. against Ches-Mont National Division leader Downingtown East. Rustin, the runaway boss of the Ches-Mont American Division, dropped to 12-3 with Oxford on tap Wednesday at 3:45 p.m. in another home game.
“I was just trying to put the ball in play,” said Redding about the grand slam, which came with the score at 1-1 in the top of the sixth inning. “Trying to help my team any way I can. We played well as a team today. We picked each other up.”
Find out what's happening in West Chesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Rustin battled back in the bottom of the sixth with two runs, including a home run by Kevin Jewitt. Henderson found some insurance in the top of the seventh when P.J. Costello singled and came around on a base hit by Zack Jones. Redding then added to his stellar afternoon with a two-RBI double to record his fifth and sixth RBIs and push Henderson’s lead to 9-3.
“We knew we were up against one of the best teams in the Ches-Mont playing on their home field,” said Henderson coach Luke McNichol, directing the Warriors’ baseball team for the 25th year. “We wanted to be aggressive and the way it turned out, we played one of our best games of the year. (Starting pitcher) Greg McLaughlin attacked the strike zone. Cooper had six RBIs.”
Find out what's happening in West Chesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“We got outplayed in every aspect of the game,” offered Rustin coach, Brad Harkins, a 1992 graduate of Henderson who played for McNichol back in the day. “Henderson looks very solid. Great pitching. Great hitting. Give them credit.”
The Warriors got on the board in the top of the first after pinch runner Jason McCormick advanced to third following a Kevin Miller single and a steal of third. McCormick then scored on a error. The lead was short-lived, though, as the Knights tied it up in the bottom of the frame on Joe Palladino’s lead off home run deep over the left field fence.
McLaughlin, pitching and hitting star of Henderson’s victory last week over West Chester East, got the win with six complete and two well-executed pick-offs of runners on second base at key points in the game. Other highlights included a diving catch by Kevin Miller of a Jewitt liner to left. Rustin’s Dan Myers recorded an unassisted double play by snaring a line drive off the bat of Costello and then touching the bag to erase Chas McCormick.
“We talked about everybody figuring out how they can contribute,” added McNichol, who took over the Henderson program in 1988. “That way, someone is going to step up and come through and it’s not always the same players. The guys are more relaxed, more confident. We’re starting to feel a really positive vibe.”
Mike Griffith of the Henderson Warrior school newspaper staff contributed to this story.
