William Tennent was 3-11 (2-9 SOL) at press time, after Tuesday’s SOL Freedom lost against Springfield in Warminster.
Yet despite a sub-.500 record, Jackson Archibald and Mike Woehr are going to enable the Panthers to compete against just about anyone.
“These guys make my job so easy,” commended catcher Conor Servis. “They can locate their pitches wherever they want. I just have to frame the ball and make it look good or block the ball if they want to throw a curve.
“Their offspeed is what takes them to the next level,” Servis continued. “They can throw it any count. Against Wissahickon, that is what (Archibald) did best. He threw multiple curveballs in 3-2 and fastball counts and they weren’t expecting it.”
Archibald allowed no earned runs in a seven strikeout, 2-1 complete game win over Wissahickon on April 11, giving Tennent its first crossover win since the pandemic.
Junior Archibald teams with sophomore Woehr to give head coach Lucas Denczi a nasty 1-2 pitching punch. Archibald has a 0.20 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 34.2 innings. Woehr has a 1.99 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 24.2 innings.
“During the offseason, I worked with my pitching coach a lot. We focused on mechanics and pitching shapes: changing slots,” Archibald explained. “Early last year, I couldn’t really locate my change-up and my curveball was on and off. Now, I feel like I can throw every single one of my pitches in any count or any situation.”
“The big thing for me this year is limiting walks,” shared Woehr, who has surrendered just five. “Last year I gave up a lot of walks and it was a bit of a struggle. So limiting the free passes and being able to throw strikes has helped.”
In eight of Tennent’s games, the Panthers held their opponents to three runs or less – and two of those included extra frames.
Denczi is most pleased “how we’ve come together defensively,” he explained. “Over the last three years, we’ve been stressing to the guys that every single play is important defensively, especially the routine ones.
“You see it paying off with our pitching staff. At the high school level, the pitch count is a big factor,” Denczi continued. “When you can pick up the routine ground ball or fly ball, it makes a huge difference not only in the momentum of the game but keeping those guys where they can pitch six or seven innings.”
“Every game, we know our pitchers are going to throw strikes and get guys out,” Servis added. “Right now, it’s just come down to the hitting. We’re leaving these guys out to dry almost. We have to get the hitting up and we’ll be good.”
Tennent’s offensive progress lags the pitching staff’s progress, although sophomore Aidan Wilkowski is hitting .400 and Chase Solkoff is batting .386. But competing in so many tight games has grown both pitchers.
“I feel like whatever the situation is, I can get myself out of it,” Woehr said. “Bases loaded and no outs: OK. Let’s get a strikeout and roll a double-play ball. Whatever situation I found myself in, there is always a level of confidence, even in tight spots.”
“It doesn’t matter how many outs. When it is bases loaded or second and third, I’m confident going into the game and making my way out of it,” Archibald echoed. “It’s limiting the runs and giving the team the best chance of winning.”
“It’s a tight group,” Denczi said, “and the guys get to know each other very closely. Conor also takes the lead in managing the game and knowing what works and what is not working on a night to night basis.
“This group are their own harshest critics. It’s the job of the coaching staff to step back and look at the holistic picture: we’re really proud of how they’ve been playing,” Denczi pointed out. “In the last couple of years, we’ve struggled to compete with upper tier teams. This year, we’ve been toe to toe with them. The message we’re giving them is to trust yourself. You have the talent and the ability. If you keep that mindset and hard work going, we will have success.”
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