Picone delivers on his promise for Garnet Valley

CONCORD — Dom Picone plays baseball with attitude and confidence, which are great characteristics to have, especially if you’re a pitcher.

Picone is the ace, the man, of the Garnet Valley club that defeated 15th-seeded Ridley, 5-0, in a District 1 Class 6A tournament second-round game Tuesday. The No. 2 Jaguars host seventh-seeded Neshaminy in the quarterfinals Friday afternoon.

Back when he was a freshman, Picone told coaches and players that he would be on the mound, leading Garnet Valley to victory in the district tourney. A freshman with that kind of swagger? Who does he think he is?

Well, Picone got the ball and dominated Wednesday. He made good on his word.

“I told them as a freshman that I was going to win this playoff game and I had to do it,” Picone said. “I promised them.”

Picone pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only two hits and one walk while striking out six. At one point he retired 11 of 12 batters. After allowing a single to Ryan Schreiber in the first inning, he kept Ridley out of the hit column until the seventh inning.

“I just wanted to get ahead, stay ahead, reduce walks and get outs quickly while keeping my pitch count down,” said Picone, who will play baseball at the University of Rhode Island next spring. “I trust my fielders. We always stay after practice to field ground balls and it pays off in times like this.”

Picone admitted that he was antsy this week as Garnet Valley had to wait around an extra day to play its first postseason game. He also said the 4 o’clock first pitch messed up his routine a bit, although the later-than-usual start time hardly affected his performance.

“I was anxious, I was ready to go,” he said. “I just wanted to get it going, to come out here and pitch.”

Click HERE to read the full article.

Garnet Valley’s Dom Picone delivered on a promise with a two-hit shutout to lead the Jaguars to a 5-0 victory over Ridley in the second round of the District 1 Class 6A baseball playoffs Wednesday. (PETE BANNAN/MEDIANEWS GROUP)