Published: July 26, 2009 12:28 am      

Delweld seizes a 2-0 lead over Renegades in AAABA playoffs

JOHNSTOWN — Defending AAABA League playoff champion Delweld is in a familiar spot.

Manager Chris DelSignore’s team already is in full postseason form, playing error-free baseball, getting good pitching and stringing together hits in bunches at Point Stadium.

The result on Saturday was a 10-2 victory over the Berkely Hills Renegades that gave Delweld a 2-0 advantage in the best-of-5 semifinal series. Game 3 will be at 4 today at the Point.

“Another complete effort,” DelSignore said. “That’s what we want to do in the playoffs. I can’t say enough good things about the pitching we got. We scored runs when we needed to. The results showed up on the scoreboard.”

Delweld had 12 hits and looked sharp for a second straight night. Delweld has outscored the Renegades 16-4 in those games.

“We played strong defense. I just threw strikes,” said Delweld left-hander Brett Vescovi, who threw eight innings. “They made the plays. We got runs when we needed to. We put guys in scoring position and we scored.”

Left fielder J.R. Tenney was a perfect example. Tenney had three hits, two walks and four runs in six plate appearances.

“I think that we were really aggressive. When you get ahead in the count, you get good pitches to hit,” Tenney said.

In the top of the first, Tenney walked, George Roberts singled, and Drew Westover had a run-scoring single to left.

The Renegades tied the score in the second. Sean McDonald singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch.

The regular-season champs strung together three hits in the fifth to lead 4-1.

Tenney drove in a run with a double, and Roberts and Matt Staub each had run-producing singles.

“That makes you feel so much better when you know you can just throw strikes,” Vescovi said of the early

lead. “You don’t have to nit-pick at the plate.”

The Renegades cut it to 4-2 in the seventh on Mike Cima’s run-scoring single.

Delweld made a cushion with a five-run eighth. Staub executed a successful squeeze bunt, Roberts had a sacrifice fly, and Tyler Uphouse drove in a run with a triple during the rally.

Roberts, Staub and Uphouse each had two hits for Delweld.

The Renegades’ McDonald had three hits.

Vescovi struck out six, walked one and hit a batter.

Bobby Carbaugh pitched a scoreless ninth in relief.

“He’s a 20-year-old kid with two tournaments under his belt,” DelSignore said of Vescovi. “He’s no stranger to being on this stage. That’s what you want out of a guy like that. He came up and gave a big performance.”