It's necessary to classify Tregg Liebel's style as a tad unorthodox. West Perry's southpaw delivers the baseball like any other pitcher, but very few scholastic arms are throwing 12-to-6 o'clock curveballs these days.
Having command over that kind of pitch can be mighty effective without a blazing fastball in one's arsenal, and Camp Hill found out the hard way Thursday afternoon.
Liebel pitched his way out of two legitimate Camp Hill threats, and battery mate Brendan Hower secured four of West Perry's seven hits, as the Mustangs extended their winning streak to 11 with a 4-0 Capital Division victory over the Lions.
All seven hits were charged to Camp Hill ace Chad Bronson, but the right-hander only surrendered a single earned run.
The Mustangs (11-0, 7-0) capitalized on a second-inning throwing error to garner the lead, then leaned on Liebel down the stretch. The game-winning lefty struck out six against a single walk.
“It's the curve ball,” said Hower, spilling Liebel's secret to success after the game. Hower chipped in a pair of infield singles and scored a fifth-inning run.
“He mixes his pitches very well and when he gets that curve over the plate he gets a lot of guys on it. It's huge, coming in knowing that they are throwing their No. 1 and being on top at the end.”
West Perry popped ahead 2-0 in the third after Ryan McMillen and Hower reached on singles and moved up on Ben Dum's sacrifice. Another Camp Hill error, one of three on the day, on a Tanner Gerst roller to third allowed McMillen to sprint home.
Bronson, who did walk six, kept the Lions (7-4, 5-2) within striking distance with some nifty out pitches of his own. Liebel, however, persisted.
“I think he stole the show tonight. He threw a whale of a game,” said West Perry coach Jeff Sanno.
“I had him 16-for-25 first-pitch strikes and he threw 71 pitches. He puts the ball where we needed it to be. I believe with every start he's gaining more confidence. Not only that, but his teammates are pretty confident when he takes the hill.”
West Perry's only earned run came in the top of the fifth when Chase May plated Hower with a bases-loaded walk. Later, McMillen scored again on a throwing error by Camp Hill catcher Kyle Remig. Robbie Thompson's two hits paced the Lions.
Epler on Twitter: @threejacker