Baseball: Marple takes down Wissahickon as Super Luke strikes again

NEWTOWN SQUARE >> There’s no question that Luke Zimmerman is one of those baseball players who will be talked about 10, 15 or 20 years from now. He’s too good to forget with time.

His legend seems to grow with each passing day. Those in attendance at a Marple Newtown baseball game can’t help but wonder what the senior left-hander has up his sleeve. Because, at some point, he’s going to swoop in and save the day like a superhero.
He did it again Friday. Zimmerman came through on the mound at the plate to lead No. 3 Marple Newtown past seventh-seeded Wissahickon, 3-1, in a District 1 Class 5A semifinal contest.

That sounds much too familiar.

Two days prior, Zimmerman launched a walk-off solo home run to give the Tigers a come-from-behind victory over Kennett in eight innings. Back on Monday, he pitched a three-hit shutout with eight strikeouts in a rout of Unionville.

But for the first three innings Friday, Zimmerman stayed behind the scenes. Hitting third and starting at first base, he batted twice and smashed two pitches to the outfield for loud outs.

Everyone gasped, hoping to see a glimpse of that Zimmerman stardust. Patience, though, would be key.
In the fourth inning, the Saint Joseph’s University commit stepped to the mound in relief of righty Sean Standen, who battled for three innings.

Undefeated and boasting an ERA around 0.70 for the season, Zimmerman went to work on the bump, carving up Wissahickon’s lineup like Edward Scissorhands. A snip here, a slice there, Zimmerman threw every pitch with pinpoint accuracy, racking up nine strikeouts in four innings of relief. He allowed only one hit, an infield squibber that rolled to no man’s land on the first-base side.

“I knew I would be pitching. Before the game we were deciding whether I would start or come in and close,” Zimmerman said after the Tigers booked a district final date with No. 8 West Chester Henderson Tuesday (4 p.m.) at Plymouth Township Field. “We figured that we could get through it with Standen pitching a few innings. Standen is just as good and we all have confidence in him. I knew if he could start, I could come in and close it out. I felt good, no matter if I was going to start or close.”

His masterful pitching was briefly overshadowed by the one swing that turned the tide for Marple Newtown. Zimmerman strolled to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded in the ffith inning against Wissahickon starter Brian Hynes. Zimmerman was a little lucky to be in that big spot.

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