PSAL BASEBALL
Port Richmond 9
Curtis 5
Mike Urti still vividly remembers Port Richmond’s loss to Grand Street in the first round of last year’s PSAL baseball playoffs.
“We had that game,” the senior catcher said. “We just had one bad inning and gave it away. We made the kinds of mistakes I don’t think we’re going to make again.”
Urti has reason to be confident. The Raiders (9-2) are full of seniors who have learned from that loss and are playing better because of it.
That was true again yesterday, as Port Richmond held off Curtis, 9-5, on Curtis’ frigid home field.
The Raiders now have beaten the Warriors – who reached the PSAL semifinals a year ago and are now 6-3 – twice this season. Add to that another win over defending PSAL champion Tottenville, and Port Richmond looks like a team that is ready to make a playoff run.
“We’re a much better team than we were last year,” said Urti. “We expect to win it all.”
But his head coach was quick to point out the reality of the situation.
“There are 50 teams out there who can say that,” Frank Guglielmo said. “That doesn’t really mean anything.”
Except that the Raiders are building a resume that can back up those words. And perhaps the biggest reason they have improved so much is Urti.
Urti, who is drawing some interest from Division I colleges, smacked a pair of doubles in yesterday’s win. The first came with two out in the first inning and started a four-run rally that gave the Raiders a lead that was barely threatened until Curtis plated three in the bottom of the seventh. His other double also led to a run.
But just as important as the extra-base hits was Urti’s work behind the plate, where he helped guide Port Richmond starter Nick Davis through five innings. Davis was wild – he issued seven walks – but Urti did an excellent job of keeping balls in the dirt in front of him.