Three SOL baseball teams will be in action in the District One AAAA Tournament on Wednesday.
By Scott Huff
The Upper Moreland 2014 baseball season came to an abrupt halt as the Golden Bears were jettisoned from the PIAA Class AAA District One playoffs by Pope John Paul II by an 8-3 score.
“We played a very uncharacteristic game for an Upper Moreland team,” said Upper Moreland head coach Ernie Rehr. “We gave up five runs in the fifth inning with walks and errors. In a one-game elimination you have to play your best baseball, and we didn’t do that.”
Last season Upper Moreland won the Suburban One League American Conference – was runner-up in District One tournament play – and was PIAA Class AAA state runner-up with an impressive 21-5 overall record. And those Golden Bears returned a core of seven seniors to compete this season.
“There was not a single senior on this team that didn’t expect to make a run deep in the districts and the states again this year,” said Rehr in reference to seniors Charlie Hooker, Eddie Decker, Tommy Robinson, Dennis Long, Mike Cavanaugh, Kyle Irwin, and Pat Driscoll. “We didn’t win our league – but 11-3 was still a successful season. We just played our worst game of the year in the playoff game.
“By playing all those seniors, we have some very good players who didn’t get a chance to play much on the varsity level this year,” added Rehr. “I hope teams overlook us – we have a core of outstanding players coming back. There will be no down year in this program.”
Amen.
Upper Moreland Golden Bears 000 200 1 * 3 5 2
Pope John Paul II 010 151 x * 8 12 3
Last Ram Standing
Pennridge was the lone Suburban One League teamthat survived the first round of the PIAA Quad-A District One playoffs as PHS shut out West Chester East by a 3-0 score.
The Rams will join Cheltenham and Council Rock South – both of which received byes in the opening round as conference champions – as the sole representation for the SOL in the second round of the playoffs.
Council Rock North, North Penn, Hatboro-Horsham, Pennsbury, Plymouth Whitemarsh, and Central Bucks East were all shown the exit door in the opening round. The Indians were jettisoned by Great Valley 4-2; the defending state champion Knights were ousted by Unionville 8-1; the Hatters were topped by Downingtown West 5-3; the Falcons were gunned down by Coatesville 4-1; the Colonials were defeated by Avon Grove 8-0; and the Patriots were beaten by Radnor 4-0.
Stay tuned.
PIAA Quad-A District One Playoff Preview
Wednesday – May 21, 2014
All games @ 4 pm
[S-8] Great Valley Patriots @ [N-1] Cheltenham Panthers
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will meet the winner of the [S-12] Unionville @ [S-4] Conestoga game on Friday (5/23/14)
Season Resume: Great Valley (14-6) finished the regular season as the champion of the Ches-Mont American Conference; Cheltenham (13-1) finished the season as the champion of the Suburban One League American Conference.
Cheltenham head coach Frank Decembrino says: “We want to go into the game with a lot of energy and go in with the idea that we are going to execute fundamental baseball. Getting the bye in the first round is like our badge of honor – but seeding surely doesn’t matter once the game begins. We can’t lose focus, and we have to continue to go out and do what we do best. We have three excellent starting pitchers in Calvin Salazar, Jack McGlade, and Mark Heimann. We are excited to being playing at this level.”
[S-6] Downingtown West Whippets @ [N-3] Council Rock South Golden Hawks
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will meet the winner of the [N-7] Methacton @ [S-2] Garnet Valley game on Friday (5/23/14).
Season Resume: Downingtown West (13-7) finished the season as the second place finisher in the Ches-Mont National Conference; Council Rock South (11-3) finished the season as the champion of the Suburban One League National Conference.
Council Rock South head coach Ted Kirner says: “Having the bye is a nice accomplishment, but it is short-lived. There is really no pressure on us – and I told the players to soak it all in – enjoy the moment. Downingtown West comes into the game with some momentum with the win over Hatboro, and they have all of the playoff jitters out of the way. I still feel we’re in a good spot – everyone is really looking forward to the game.”
[N-6] Pennridge Rams @ [S-2] Strath Haven Panthers
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will meet the winner of the [S-7] Radnor Green Raiders @ [N-2] Boyertown Bears game on Friday (5/23/14).
Season Resume: Pennridge (10-5) finished the regular season as the second place finisher in the Suburban One League National Conference; Strath Haven (14-5) finished the regular season tied for second place in the Central League.
Pennridge head coach Tom Nuneviller says: “For us to be the only team from the Suburban One to win in the first round is surely isn’t something I expected. We played a great game defensively against West Chester East and Joey Molittiere threw a great game coming off an injury. When you don’t give teams extra outs and extra bases – it takes a lot of pressure off of your pitcher. Strath Haven is a solid team and we are going to have to make that hour and a quarter bus ride with the idea of putting in our uniforms and winning the game. Our players like to play baseball – and if we want to keep playing we have to keep winning.”
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