PENNSYLVANIA Pratt's bat leads Grove City victory

Hickory lost the Mercer County Athletic Conference showdown, 2-0.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- One swing of the bat was all Josh Pratt needed to decide the issue Tuesday as the Grove City High baseball team blanked Hickory 2-0 in a battle between the top two baseball teams in the Mercer County Athletic Conference.
After narrowly missing his pitch in the third inning, Pratt was hoping for a pitch up in the strike zone that he could drive.
He got it and the second time he didn't miss it as he drilled a two-run homer to left for the game-winner.
"I was looking for a nice fat pitch to hit, but I just got under it by a millimeter or two," said Pratt of his near-miss in the third. "The next time up, I was looking for a hanger; that is what he threw me and I caught it pretty nice."
The game featured a pitcher's duel between two of the top hurlers in District 10. When the issue was decided, Grove City's Jeremy Hedegore outdueled Hickory's Greg Mentrek to win the personal battle.
Shutout
The Grove City senior, only allowed a pair of ground ball singles while tossing the shutout. He walked three and struck out 10 to post his 23rd career win. He also had half of his team's four hits and was on base when Pratt delivered his long ball.
"He has 23 wins and when you look at who he beat, most of those came against the better teams in big games," Grove City (12-2, 11-1) coach Pat Forese said. "He has been out there for us ever since his freshman year and any way you look at it, he is just a quality pitcher. He has several different pitches and he is able to throw them at all different times in the count. I have nothing but praise for Jeremy."
With the exception of the one mistake to Pratt, Mentrek was also on top of his game as he surrendered four hits and the two runs, walking three and striking out seven.
"He pitched very well, but he made that one mistake and it cost him," Hickory (12-3, 12-3) coach Gary Hinkson said.
Expectations
Hinkson and Forese agreed the game was what you would expect from two good teams.
"It just seems like we end up splitting with these guys every year," Hinkson said. "It is almost like a win-at-home, lose-away type of situation.
"With two of the best pitchers in the league going after each other, I really expected a game like this. One hanging pitch there, and you have to give Pratt credit, he turned it around."
Forese said, "We knew it was going to be a game like that because Mentrek is a great pitcher and so is Jeremy. He [Mentrek] made that one big mistake."
Although held scoreless, the biggest threat for the Hornets came in the fifth when they loaded the bases with two outs before Hedegore closed the door with a strikeout.
"We had runners in scoring position, but we couldn't come up with the big hit when we need it," said Hinkson. "You have to give Hedegore a lot of credit because he made the pitches when he had to."