Marian’s Ryan Cappel made quick work of Shenandoah in the top of the first inning. Three batters, no baserunners, one strike out, and 13 pitches.

Cappel had established a rhythm that he was anxious to build on.

But that rhythm was severely altered in the bottom half of the first inning – and Cappel was thrilled about it.

Pitchers aren’t normally happy about long delays. But this was one delay Cappel wouldn’t have traded for anything.

Thanks in large part to a 12-run first-inning explosion, Marian rolled to a 16-1 mercy-rule victory over the Devils in the quarterfinal round of the District 11 Class 2A playoffs on Monday.

The Marian first inning featured 16 batters, eight hits, four walks, a hit batsman, three different Shenandoah pitchers, and a total of 59 pitches thrown.

It was almost easier to estimate the time in hours than minutes.

But Cappel loved every second of it.

“You can’t ask for anything more than that as a pitcher,” said Cappel. “When you go out with that type of lead, you can just relax.

“In an elimination game like this, the longer the game stays close, the more the pressure builds. So getting that type of breathing room early makes my job so much easier.”

Cappel wasn’t the only one thrilled to see the early firepower.

“We talked about being aggressive at the plate and looking to drive the ball early in the count,” Marian coach Tony Radocha said. “We really did a nice job of that in the first inning.

“That was probably our best inning of the season and it couldn’t have come at a better time.”

Shenandoah starting pitcher Josh Jacavage faced just five batters and left the game without recording an out. Those five batters produced four hits, including extra-base shots off the bats of Matt Doherty and Alex Kubishin that both plated runs.

Will Conroy relieved at that point for the Devils, but he didn’t fare much better. Conroy allowed three hits, three walks and hit a batter before also being pulled. Aaron Mason, Max Nolter and Brandon Cann all had hits that drove in two runs off Conroy.

Cappel’s single off Mike McGinn, the third Shenandoah pitcher, finally capped the outburst.

“One thing I wanted to see was us being more assertive,” Radocha said. “I didn’t think we always played that way during the regular season, so that was one of the things we talked about entering the postseason.

“We wanted to play with no fear. Just go out, be aggressive, and not worry about making mistakes. I thought we gained a lot of confidence going toe-to-toe with Blue Mountain in the league playoffs, and that carried over to today.”

Marian added a pair of runs in the third on a two-run single by Quest Wilson and ended the game in the fourth on RBI singles by Kubishin and Cappel.

UP NEXT … The Colts face Williams Valley today at 4:30 p.m. at Pine Grove in the 2A semifinals.

BIG BATS … Mason (three runs, two RBIs) and Cann (two runs, three RBIs) both had three hits for Marian. Kubishin (four runs, two RBIs), Nolter (two RBIs) and Cappel (two RBIs) all added two hits. Matt Doherty had a triple and scored twice.

CAPPEL IN CONTROL … Cappel finished with a one-hitter. He struck out one and walked one.

TO PULL OR NOT TO PULL … With a 12-run lead after one inning, there was some thought about whether Cappel would continue to pitch or get pulled in order to save him for today’s semifinal game against Williams Valley. “One thing we learned this season is that no lead is safe,” said Radocha, referring to games against Panther Valley and Minersville, where the Colts surrendered seventh-inning leads of six and five runs, respectively. “The thought of pulling Ryan did dance around my head a little bit, but it never came to fruition. One thing that (former Marian coach) Jeff Nietz taught me is that you can’t play tomorrow if you don’t win today.”

Shenandoah 000 1 - 1 1 1

Marian (12)02 2 - 16 14 0

Jacavage, Conroy (1), McGinn (1) and Dombroski; Cappel and Nolter. W - Cappel. L - Jacavage.