Austen gains a fan and helps Hoysgaard, Radnor win district title

THORNBURY >> Radnor continued living the dream as it earned its first District One Class AAA baseball championship with a 3-0 win over Upper Moreland Wednesday at Everett Swanson Field. This triumph had another storybook ending. Ace hurler Will Hoysgaard threw a one-hit shutout through six innings and Andrew Austen, who was born with a congenital limb difference, hurled the final frame for the save in front of his newest fan, 7-year-old Keoni Smith of Springfield.

Smith also plays baseball with a limb difference according to his mother, Jill Smith, who brought her boy to the game to cheer on Austen and the Raiders. You can’t make this up.

“She contacted me and wanted to meet him,” Raiders coach Mark Jordan said. “The guys had a (game of) catch here earlier. That’s what it’s all about. That is so great. We’re just tickled to represent Radnor as the District One champions and be in our first-ever state tournament. All this is just heavy stuff for us.”

Austen’s inning of relief featuring two defensive plays was inspirational not just for the Smiths but for many in attendance, including Ken Irwin, the coach of Upper Moreland. To reach that point, the Raiders scored for all of their runs in the first inning, Connor Wilson working the count and beating out an error by losing pitcher Joe Bates to kick-start the rally.

Austen followed with a walk, Matt Schaefer singled in Wilson, Martin Connor delivered an RBI-single and the Raiders got another run on a grounder.

“Will was fantastic today on the mound,” Jordan said. “He’s getting better and better each start. He’s won his last four decisions. He put them down. They didn’t have too many rallies. We’re proud of him. And we all filled our roles.”

The Raiders (13-10) started the season 0-5. Then they were 3-8. Now they’re on a roll Jordan calls “mind boggling.

“To come back and win a district title, we think for the first time ever, it’s kind of surreal,” Jordan said. “They had a really good ballclub there.”

Click HERE to read the full article.

Radnor celebrates its District One Class AAA championship win Wednesday. From left: Sean Mullarkey, Jack Deshan, Andrew Austen, Jack Collins, and Pat Lofton. (Robert Gurecki/Digital First Media)