Logan Werley’s double key to Chi’s long-awaited district win

UPPER CHICHESTER — After the final out, Logan Werley went to work dragging the plate and smoothing out the infield dirt like he always does. It’s part of the job for the junior catcher — steady, focused, no frills.

“He’s a great kid,” Chichester coach Dan Singley said. “That’s what we have here, just a bunch of really nice, hard-working guys.”

Werley’s game-day duties extended well beyond field maintenance Wednesday. He came through with the biggest swing of the afternoon – and maybe the biggest in recent Chichester memory – lacing a go-ahead, two-run double down the third-base line in the bottom of the fifth inning. That clutch knock flipped a one-run deficit into a lead the top-seeded Eagles wouldn’t give back.

Chichester tacked on three more runs in the inning to pull away for a 6-2 win over No. 9 Strath Haven, notching the program’s first District 1 Class 5A playoff victory since 2019. The Eagles (15-5) will welcome No. 4 Upper Dublin for a district semifinal showdown Friday afternoon.

Werley stepped to the plate ready with Chichester trailing 2-1 and the pressure mounting on Strath Haven starter Jasper Hals. Cole Sanford sparked the rally with a one-out walk and Zach Murray followed by dropping a perfect bunt single. Alex Kester bounced one back to Hals for the second out, putting runners on second and third.

Werley locked in. He laid off two sharp sliders, waiting for his pitch. When he finally got a fastball he liked, he didn’t miss, ripping it down the third-base line and cruising into second with a two-bagger.

“I was looking fastball, fastball, fastball. The first two pitches were slider away, but I knew the next pitch he was coming inside on the hands,” Werley said. “I hit it and got the next guy up. That’s what we were saying at the team dinner last night – get the next guy up. That’s all I wanted to do.”

Werley, the tallest guy on the squad, slid back behind the dish in recent weeks after his older brother, Luke, the team’s starting catcher, went down with an injury. But it wasn’t a big adjustment for Logan, who had plenty of experience behind the plate and stepped in like he’d never left.

Werley had his hands full behind the plate, helping guide Chi starter Gavin Derrickson and reliever Sanford through a grind-it-out kind of day. Derrickson threw 101 pitches over five taxing innings, battling a Strath Haven lineup that true to form made him work for every out. The Panthers loaded the bases in the first, forcing Derrickson to throw 31 pitches to escape without damage. Through it all, Werley kept reminding Derrickson – and subsequently Sanford – to breathe and stay composed. That first-inning escape was proof that the Eagles could hang with one of District 1’s perennial contenders.

Strath Haven, just two years removed from a district title and a run to the PIAA final, has the pedigree. And while top-seeded Chi came in undefeated in the Del Val League, the Eagles have long worn the underdog label in district play, due to their lack of solid competition in conference play. But year after year, Singley and his staff develop good ballplayers, kids who move on to the college level. The knock? They’ve too often run into a wall early in the postseason. This time, though, things feel different. The Eagles never flinched against the Panthers.

“It’s so special,” Werley said. “My freshman year, West Chester Rustin ran through us. Last year, Marple Newtown ran through us and they won districts. This year is so big for us. We barely lost anyone, we have basically our whole team back (from last season). We have our whole starting lineup, and we just continue to get better.”

Sanford, a junior and three-year starter, opened the game at second base before taking over on the mound in relief of Derrickson. He found himself in a tight spot in the sixth when Atticus Bean and Caden Shuster started the inning with back-to-back singles. Unfazed, Sanford struck out Pat O’Connor, then got Matt Caputo to fly out to right for the second out. That brought up the top of the order and Strath Haven’s best all-around player, senior shortstop Ben Milligan, who worked a walk to load the bases. Sanford kept his composure and induced a soft grounder to second from Eli Price, ending the threat.

In the bottom half of the frame, Sanford delivered with the bat. He smacked a clutch two-run double to stretch Chichester’s lead to 6-2, giving the Eagles some breathing room heading into the final frame.

“Every out-of-league game, we always come in with the same mentality, which is to do whatever it takes to win. To play like dawgs,” Sanford said. “When I’m pitching, I trust my coaches to call the right pitches and I trust my stuff. I throw with intent and give it 100 percent.

“It just feels amazing to win in the playoffs. We haven’t done this in a couple of years. I’ve been on varsity for three years now, working hard every day. We’ve been so close every year, too. To finally do it is a great feeling.”

Sanford slammed the door in the seventh, working around a leadoff error and a single by Alex Selverian. He fanned Quinn Kell for the first out, then got Max Kotzen to send a fly ball to right fielder Matt Johanson. Caden Shuster followed by lining one to Johanson again, who squeezed it for the final out to seal the win.

Strath Haven (11-9) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a Milligan RBI groundout, but the Panthers couldn’t cash in when it mattered most. Despite plenty of traffic on the bases, they came up empty in big spots, stranding 12 runners and collecting just six hits.

Chichester pulled even in the fourth when Derrickson singled home courtesy runner Diaz-Badillo. Werley had ignited the rally with a single.

Evan Valentine went 2-for-3 with a double. Murray added a pair of hits, while Sanford reached base three times.

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