Several SOL baseball teams were able to get on the diamond for opening day games on Friday. Check out the results below.
By Scott Huff
St. John the Baptist (New York) 4 – Souderton Indians 1
The final score might not be what Souderton head coach Michael Childs wanted – but the experience his Indians gained was well worth the trip to Aberdeen Maryland and the Cal Ripken Complex.
“Sure we want to win the game, but our goal is to be able to go through some team building,” said Childs. “We took 19 players on the trip – and we got every one of them into the game.
“This was the first time that we have been on the field all season,” added Childs. “We were able to hit on the field before the game, but we had to get off the field and practice on a half field to work on defense. Considering our lack of time on the field, I wasn’t too upset with the way that we played.
“We left school around 8:30 in the morning, got there around 11:00 and had our game at 1:00,” continued Childs. “We will stay here overnight, have some team building activities in the morning and leave tomorrow morning around 11:00. We have done this for the last few years, and it is always a good experience.”
Souderton collected six hits in the game and tied the game at 1-1 on a single by Dan Heilemann. Drew Morrisette led the Indian attack with a pair of hits, while Heilemann threw well but suffered the loss.
“We are supposed to play Upper Dublin on Tuesday, but I heard we’re getting more snow and I want to move the game up to Monday,” said Childs. “(Upper Dublin head coach) Ed Wall and I are good friends, and I would rather play in 40-degree weather on Monday than in snow on Tuesday. This spring has been awful.”
Upper Moreland Golden Bears 4 – Harry S Truman Tigers 3
It was only the third time that Upper Moreland was on the field all season, but the Golden Bears executed a Spalding Guide defensive play to end the game.
“It was the last out of the game, and I was actually shocked at how well we executed the play,” said Upper Moreland head coach Ernie Rehr. “Each of the three players involved in the play did exactly what they had to do to get the out.
“There was a drive in the gap in right center field and (rightfielder) Tommy Robinson got to the ball very quickly,” added Rehr. “He threw a strike to the cutoff man (second baseman) Nick Palmer – who then threw a strike to our third baseman, Mike Cavanaugh, who tagged out the runner. It was a great play – and a great way to end the game.”
The Golden Bears scored a pair of runs in the fifth, breaking a 2-2 tie and going on top 4-2. Kyle Irwin scored the run that turned out to be the game winner with some great base running, racing home on a moderate passed ball.
Eddie Decker was the winning pitcher for the Golden Bears throwing five solid innings. Dennis Long threw two innings of relief.
Upper Moreland – like the rest of the Suburban One League – can’t wait for the weather to improve.
“I have been around a long time, and I have never seen anything like this,” said Rehr. “First there is the snow – and then there is the cold – and then there is the frozen field – and then there is the mush. It is going to take almost every team a while before they can shake off this rust.”
Harry S Truman 200 001 0 3-6-1
Upper Moreland 110 020 x 4-5-3
RBI – Truman – Dimeglio, UM – Cavanaugh, Bennis.
Penn Charter 5 – Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals 0
Upper Dublin could only manage a single hit – a sixth inning single by James Weiss – in its loss to host Penn Charter.
“The only really good thing about today was that we got to play a baseball game,” said Upper Dublin head coach Ed Wall. “Penn Charter did a great job of getting the field ready for the game, and it was in pretty good shape.
“It was only our second time on a field all season,” added Wall. “The kids were excited to be outside playing baseball – even if we didn’t play all that well.
“We hope we can move the game with Souderton from Tuesday to Monday,” added Wall. “It might be cold – but we want to get the game in.”
Pope John Paul II Panthers 4 – Norristown Eagles 0
Norristown head coach Rich Campbell made his coaching debut as the Eagles were whitewashed by PJP II in a non-conference game.
“We have been hitting inside all season and have hit pretty well,” said Campbell. “But that is inside, and we just didn’t hit the ball at all outside. We have to do a better job of hitting the baseball.
“It was a 1-0 game, really, but we made three mistakes and they turned it into three runs,” added Campbell. “We know what mistakes we made – and we will correct them. We have only been on the field twice – counting today – and we have some work to do.”
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