North Penn’s young players stepped up late in the season, gaining valuable experience for the future. Jarrad Saffren’s article below is sponsored by Head First Baseball and Softball Academy and American Legion Baseball.
North Penn developed young nucleus in 2016
By Jarrad Saffren
North Penn started 4-5 in Suburban One League Continental Conference play in 2016.
The Knights scored 35 runs in those games, or 3.88 per contest.
They had an inexperienced lineup in a pitching-rich league. They were also the defending PIAA Class AAAA champions. Rival coaches save their aces for state champions.
Central Bucks South coach Brian Klumpp admitted as much. Klumpp’s ace—Dan Klepchick—beat North Penn twice.
North Penn’s other three losses also came against aces. CB West beat the Knights twice. Luke Irons started both games. Souderton’s Aaron Gulibon beat them once.
At 4-5, North Penn was two losses away from missing the District One Class AAAA playoffs. Something had to change. Two things, actually: North Penn’s lineup and approach.
The Lineup
Coach Kevin Manero started the season with a senior-heavy lineup. Many had never started on varsity before, and they struggled.
“It’s tough when you have seniors who aren’t giving you the production you hoped they would,” the Knights’ coach said. “You don’t want to bench guys who gave a lot of time and effort and deserve the chance. We went as long as we could.”
Junior first baseman Corey Stouffer hit safely in every junior varsity game before Manero called him up. Stouffer took over the varsity first base job.
Sophomore Tyler Siddal started at third after Kadar Namey got hurt. Sophomore Ryan Bealer won the right field spot after platooning for half the season.
Stouffer, Siddal, and Bealer joined junior second baseman Nate O’Donnell, junior catcher Matt Marino, and freshman shortstop Zack Miles to form a younger, more aggressive North Penn lineup.
The Approach
Manero emphasized a hitting approach that North Penn abandoned in the first nine league games.
“We were taking too many good pitches early in the year,” he said. 
The Knights were running deep counts and whiffing on off-speed pitches. Klepchick struck out nine Knights March 31. Irons fanned eight April 13. Gulibon struck out 13 April 19.
“You might see one or two good pitches per at-bat you can hit hard. A first-pitch fastball in the zone, you want to attack that,” Stouffer said. “Coach Manero really preached that and everyone started to get on with it.”
“He talked about it a lot more than he did in the first half,” Bealer said. “He didn’t want us to get into deep counts and face off-speed pitches.”
The Results
The new lineup and approach transformed North Penn’s offense.
The Knights crushed Quakertown 11-2 May 9. Stouffer, Bealer, and Miles drove in runs.
They rocked Pennridge 11-0 one day later. Stouffer had two hits, two runs, and three RBIs.
Two days after that, North Penn beat Souderton 6-5. Miles had two hits and two runs. O’Donnell had two hits and a run. Bealer stroked two hits and an RBI. Stouffer added a hit and a run.
Then, on May 16, the Knights beat Quakertown 7-0. O’Donnell had two hits, two RBIs, and a run. Bealer ripped two hits and an RBI.
Four straight wins, one week, a combined margin of 35-7. In the district power rankings, North Penn jumped from the low 30s to 25. Even after losing their last regular season game, the Knights entered the playoffs as the 24th seed.
But they lost to Marple Newtown by one run in the first round.
2017
If Manero had stuck with his seniors, the Knights would go into 2017 in the same position as 2016: Needing to replace most of their starters, needing half a season for young guys to get used to varsity ball.
Instead, they will bring back six of eight position starters and No. 2 pitcher Matt Stevenson. The youthful Knights learned their roles in the second half of 2016.
Miles and Bealer are the on-base guys at the top of the order. O’Donnell and Stouffer are the RBI guys in the middle. Marino could be another middle of the order bat. He just needs to bulk up and drive more balls.
“Matt hit a lot better this year than last year. A lot better contact this year. He’s a bat we really want to get going for next year,” Manero said. “If he can drive the ball more, that’d be a huge bonus.”
Stevenson had a 2.25 ERA and made the All-SOL Continental Third Team. His summer project will be adding a slider to his fastball-changeup repertoire.
“I need to get a better break on it and get guys swinging and missing,” Stevenson said.
Like his teammates, Stevenson learned valuable varsity lessons in 2016.
“I have to keep ball low or I’ll get hit,” Stevenson said. “A couple times I’d leave it up, get hit, and I knew I had to get it back down.”
The experience, and the late winning streak, gave the Knights confidence for next year. The pitching was there throughout 2016, and the hitting caught up at the end. Now everyone believes 2017 could be one of those North Penn years.
It is an odd numbered year, after all. North Penn won state titles in 2009, 2013, and 2015.
“It should be a great year,” Stevenson said.
“As this season went on, we realized that next year we’ll have a very good team,” Bealer said.
“We should definitely improve upon where we finished this year,” Stouffer said. “And then our playoff hopes will go to a whole other level.”
“Our bats will pick up a lot next year. Guys like Stouffer and Miles will be even better,” Marino said. “Our goal is to be in the last game of the season.”
“I’m very excited about next season,” Manero said. “Guys got valuable experience. Six of nine starters in the playoff game were first-year starters. We’ll have a better chance now that those guys will get in the box and say, ‘I’m comfortable, I’ve seen this before, and I’m ready.’”
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