CLARK, NJ- The New Providence High School Pioneers used timely hitting to drive in all their runs to clip the Arthur L. Johnson High School Crusaders 3-2 Thursday afternoon in Clark, but the story of the game was zeroed in on the two players on the mound that afternoon.
New Providence junior Dylan Bedder and Johnson freshman Kyle Adorno put on a pitching clinic, the two starting pitchers each throwing three shutout innings each.
Both starters shook off walks to the leadoff hitter, to get through the first inning to get out of trouble. Bedder had a no-hit bid going and shut down the Crusaders with 1-2-3 innings in the second and third innings.
“I knew after that last game [on April 10] if I just filled it up, I would be fine and that’s what I did. I was just hitting my spots today,” Bedder said.
“It’s hats off to him and how hard he works,” New Providence head coach Chris Brodeur said of Bedder. “He’s a real competitor and the fact that he’s emotionally invested in every pitch and believes in every pitch he throws is a fantastic thing to coach.”
Adorno had to work out of trouble in the second inning to keep the game scoreless. After allowing a hit to New Providence senior Ryan Sherman and Bedder reaching base after a strikeout, the runners advanced a base following an error.
He responded by getting the next two outs, a popout and a flyout, to end the jam. Adorno recorded six strikeouts, four of them through the first four innings of play, continuing to add to his already impressive start to his varsity career as a freshman.
“It’s good to see a young guy like him drive down the strike zone, get some key outs and hype everybody up in the beginning,” Johnson senior Kevin Metz said of Adorno’s performance on the mound.
He also got help from his teammates in the field. Senior Joe Turek threw two runners out trying to steal, getting Adorno through the third and fourth innings with the game still scoreless at the time. Overall, Turek threw three runners out attempting to steal.
“There’s a lot of good things defensively that we did and there were a couple of things that we have to get better with,” Johnson head coach Dave Kennedy said.
Full Coverage of New Providence-Johnson Varsity Baseball Here
