Nick Bradley was more dominant than ever when Abington Heights shook off a surprisingly tough start to the season to run off seven straight victories, four by shutout, and set up a showdown for first place in Lackawanna League Division 1 baseball.
Bradley, the reigning Pennsylvania Player of the Year and Auburn University commit, followed up back-to-back one-hitters with a pair of no-hitters as he produced three of the shutouts and allowed only a single run in four complete games during the winning streak.
“He’s playing phenomenal,” Comets coach Bill Zalewski said. “He’s just such a gifted athlete. He’s a dedicated worker and just such a great kid.
“We’re very fortunate to be able to coach someone like him.”
Before going on a tear, Bradley had given up runs in three straight appearances and absorbed a loss against Scranton Prep.
The most recent four starts produced a 0.29 earned run average over 24 innings, while striking out 38 and allowing just one run on two hits and four walks.
“I think the velocity has always been there,” Zalewski said. “As a former pitcher myself, you go through ups and downs. Sometimes, a little tweak here and a little tweak there can just give you confidence and let you focus on what you should be focused on.
“I think that’s all we really did with him. He’s attacking the zone like he used to. It wasn’t really changing what he did. It was getting him back to what he did.”
The Comets got through one battle at the top of the division with an 11-0 rout of Valley View on April 27. A third straight shutout, 9-0 over West Scranton, May 4, in Bradley’s second no-hitter, was the team’s seventh straight victory.
Abington Heights used the latest shutout, in its first game in a week, to remain within a half-game of first-place Wallenpaupack, which took over the race when the Comets were idle. First place is on the line May 7 at Abington Heights when the Comets host the Buckhorns, who are also on a seven-game winning streak.
The Comets battled early injury issues and were at .500 overall before the streak, which moved them to 8-2 in the division and 11-4 overall.
“I think everybody’s healthy now and we’ve built a little bit of momentum,” Zalewski said.
They are part of a loaded District 2 Class 5A field where they ranked just fourth of six teams in power ratings as of May 5 behind Pittston Area, Wallenpaupack and Dallas.
Bradley tossed a five-inning shutout in the first meeting with Wallenpaupack April 13, an 11-0 victory. He did not walk a batter in the one-hitter that featured seven strikeouts.
During a 3-1 win at North Pocono April 21, Bradley struck out eight and walked two in another one-hitter.
Greyson Locker pitched the first of the three consecutive shutouts when the team needed it in a 2-0 win over Scranton April 23. He struck out six in a five-hitter with three walks.
Bradley took it from there. He had a five-inning, no-hitter in the Valley View game while going 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, triple and four RBI. He struck out 11 and walked one.
The time between games allowed the Comets to start Bradley twice in a row. He hit a home run and threw 64 of 84 pitches for strikes in an efficient repeat of the no-hitter, this time going seven innings with 12 strikeouts and only one walk.
While Bradley leads the offense in on-base percentage, slugging percentage and several other categories, it is center fielder Evan Gonzalez who has the team’s top batting average while spending the bulk of the season hitting behind Bradley in the middle of the lineup.
After going 3-for-4 against West Scranton, Gonzalez is hitting .477. He is 10-for-17 in the last five games, beginning with going 3-for-3 with a home run in an 11-6 victory over Delaware Valley.
“Evan’s always been a very talented player and he’s put it all together this year,” Zalewski said. “He has protected Nick, which is really huge for us. He’s doing a great job of hitting with two strikes, of driving in runs for us and he’s playing a great center field.”
Bradley is hitting .440 with team-highs of 15 RBIs, 19 runs, five doubles and five home runs.
