Pennridge was the lone SOL baseball team survived the opening round of the District One AAAA Tournament. To view photos of the Pennsbury/Coatesville and NP/Unionville games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Pennridge 3, West Chester East 0
The Rams were among the hotter teams in the league by the end of the regular season and found themselves rewarded by facing a team that was a game over .500, at 10-9, in the Ches-Mont American Conference.
However, they were also tasked with facing pitcher Culver Hughes, a flame-thrower bound for Virginia Tech.
“We knew what to expect,” said Pennridge coach Tom Nuneviller. “We were hoping for good at-bats.”
As it was, the Rams got a good at-bat in the first inning when Tyler Shoultes delivered a two-out, two-strike single to score Brad Misialek. After an error led to an unearned run, they had 2-0 cushion and tacked on an insurance run in the sixth.
Not to be out-done, Nuneviller sent Joe Molettiere to the mound with no predetermined expectations about how long he could go on a recently rehabbed elbow.
As it was, Molettiere gave up two hits in the first inning and none the rest of the way. He lasted 5 2/3 innings before Dan Long got the final four outs for the save.
Moletierre walked three and fanned six.
“He had an elbow (injury) early in the season, but he has done a great job of rehabbing it,” said Nuneviller. “I didn’t expect to 5 2/3 innings out of him, though. We needed him today and he pitched great.”
The other half of the battery, catcher Jeff Roedell, did his part by going 3-for-3 while catching some opposing base runners sleeping.
“He made some nice defensive plays,” said Nuneviller. “They made some base-running mistakes, and he made them pay.”
Pennridge (12-6) now goes on the road to face Strath Haven Wednesday.
“We got that win under our belt, which is important,” said Nuneviller. “We have been a good team on the road this year. We made a deep run in the playoffs last year and also won games on the road.”
WC East 000 000 0 – 0
Pennridge 200 001 X - 3
Great Valley 4, Council Rock North 2
For Council Rock coach Matt Schram, Monday’s first-round exit in the Class AAA playoffs marked a weird end to a weird season that was slow to start because of horrific winter and turned into a sprint instead of marathon.
Great Valley plated a pair of clean runs in the home second, the Indians fought back to forge a 2-2, only to fall behind in the fifth when three batters hit by pitches and an error led to two runs.
“It ended as weird as it started,” said Schram. “I just wish the season were 10 games longer. I feel like we never got to do what we do best, which is play clean baseball.
“And now we have to cheer for Council Rock South, which is kind of weird for us, too.”
Schram also found weird the fact that his team was struck out 13 times by Great Valley pitcher Dylan Nicholas, with 10 of those coming on called third strikes.
“Their pitcher threw well,” he said. “And they deserved to win as much as we deserved to lose, but the umpire changed the outcome of the game and it’s a crying shame.
The Indians (14-6 overall) finished the regular season tied for second place in the National Conference with a 9-5 mark.
“We’re young,” said Schram. “We have a lot of guys returning. The future is going to be great.”
Great Valley will take on American Conference champ Cheltenham Wednesday.
CR North 001 100 0 – 2
Great Valley 020 020 X - 4
Unionville 8, North Penn 1
On paper, it seemed like the defending state champion Knights, who topped the Continental Conference with a 10-4 record, held a distinct advantage over Unionville squad that was 10-9 in the Ches-Mont League’s American Conference.
But if games were played on paper, teams like last year’s Cinderella North Penn team would never climb mountains.
This year, the slipper was on the other foot, as the Knights fell into a 4-1 hole and failed to cash in on some scoring chances in the middle innings before getting buried in the final frame when the upstarts tacked four more runs on the board.
“We know as well as anyone what the district playoffs can bring,” said North Penn coach Kevin Manero. “It can be a crapshoot, even in the first round. It’s the nature of the beast. Unionville played well, across the board, in all phases of the game. We didn’t, and there is no room for error when it’s one and done.”
Although not dominant, Unionville pitcher Alex Pechin was able to work out of some jams.
“We had base runners in several innings,” said Manero. “We were one big hit away. (Pechin) did a nice job, but we were a couple hits away from changing things in the middle innings.”
As it was, North Penn’s only run came when Matt Stella singled home Bobby Scott in the home sixth, and was not even close to enough to extending the season.
Unionville moves on to face Conestoga Wednesday, the Knights will have to settle for the league title.
“The guys graduating represent a lot of character and grit,” said Manero. “They set an example -- just by the way they went after it.
“We had a tremendous group of guys. It’s tough to win everything all the time. One thing this team will have is that league championship, which is a difficult thing to do. We had a lot of kids who put a lot of time into getting better, and our seniors were six very tough and competitive kids.”
Unionville 101 200 4 – 8
North Penn 000 001 0 – 1
Downingtown West 5, Hatboro-Horsham 3
Despite falling into a 4-0 hole on the road after two innings, the Hatters did not fade away, pulling to within two runs and loading the bases in their final at-bat of the season filled with dramatic finishes.
“We battled back,” said H-H coach Pete Moore, who received a 3-for-3 game from Alex Kleidon. “I’m proud of the way the guys battled and competed today.”
A big part of the comeback bid was a two-run homer in the fourth inning by Eric Lane. The Hatters’ other run came with Chris Crookham singled home Humski, who had doubled.
The Hatters eked into the playoffs after finishing third in the Continental Conference with an 8-6 record. They were 11-10 overall.
However, success is not always measured by wins and losses.
“We had five seniors, and two regulars – along with our ace, Dave Brown,” said Moore. “But when you look at their leadership, I couldn’t be happier.”
“I’m disappointed to see the season come to an end, and that’s for selfish reasons. But only one team gets to end the season with a win. Unfortunately, that’s not going to be us.”
The Whippets (13-7) will move to face Council Rock South Wednesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 000 210 0 -3
Downingtown West 220 010 X - 5
Coatesville 4, Pennsbury 1
The Falcons, making their first playoff appearance in recent memory, got the added bonus of a home game in round one.
However, in drawing Coatesville, they were facing one of the region’s most dominant hurlers in Brian Brown.
The North Carolina State-bound southpaw lived up to his advance billing, throwing a no-hitter until Matt Kaiser broke it up in the fifth inning.
Without Brown, the Red Raiders (13-7, second place in the Ches-Mont National Conference), were a beatable team. With him on the mound, as the Falcons learned Tuesday, it can be another story. He is now 8-0 on the season.
Pennsbury coach Joe Pesci was pleased in the sixth inning when three straight hits – from Zach Szumigala, Justin Jacko and Jake Goldberg – produced a run.
“We were prepared for him, but he’s a Division I pitcher and a possible draft pick,” he said of Brown. “We put up three straight hits against him.”
The Falcons finished 9-5 in league play during the regular season, which left them tied for second place in the National Conference.
“We had our second straight 12-win season,” said Pennsbury coach Joe Pesci, who added this year’s team was the “best I coached” in his five years at the helm.
“We had a league title in our hands. This was a step in the right direction for our program.”
A year ago, the Falcons lost five players who went on to play college baseball. Five more key players – including pitchers Connor Ward (Gwynedd Mercy University) and Jake Goldberg (Philadelphia University) – will be moving on, but a strong nucleus (featuring shortstop Zach Szumigala, pitcher Brody McFadden and catcher Kyle Marshall) is in place.
“We return a good core of players with a lot of experience,” said Pesci.
Coatesville 030 010 0 – 4
Pennsbury 000 001 X - 1
Avon Grove 8, Plymouth Whitemarsh 0
Going into their first-round playoff matchup with Avon Grove, the Colonials had scouting report on the pitcher they would be facing.
But the quick-working and crafty southpaw they faced proved to be more than they could handle, especially after the Colonials shot themselves in the foot in the first frame by allowing three unearned runs.
Joe Thompson not only kept PW off the board, but he allowed just one hit – a bloop-single by Brett Highland – and one other base-runner, by virtue of a hit-by-pitch, to keep them befuddled.
“Their pitcher just shut us down, kept us off-balance and controlled the strike zone,” said PW coach Chris Manero. “We knew he was a lefty whose ball moved away, and that he liked to work fast. We didn’t make good contact. The guy just threw strikes.”
Following a 3-11 mark in league play in 2013, the Colonials were 9-5, good for third place in the American Conference.
“We were 5-15 overall last year,” said Manero. “That was the message to our kids -- look how far we came in one year. If we can make this big of a leap this year, think of what we can be capable of next year. They are the ones who took ownership of this turnaround, and take pride in what they did.”
Avon Grove (13-7) now faces Spring-Ford Wednesday in the second round.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 000 000 0 – 0
Avon Grove 300 302 X - 8
Radnor 4, Central Bucks East 0
Sean Corelli tossed a complete-game shutout, allowing five hits and striking out eight, to end the Patriots’ season in the first round of the District One Class AAA playoffs Monday.
“He did a nice job,” said CB East coach Kyle Dennis, whose team twice loaded the bases. “I wouldn’t say he was really a power pitcher. He threw a lot of elevated fast balls, and we were just swinging under it. Out of 21 recorded outs, six were strikeouts and 12 were fly balls.”
CB East ace Brandon Birkhead started and went five innings, fanning eight, but gave up three runs in the fifth inning, balking in a run and then allowing a two-run homer to Radnor’s three-hole hitter Ben Cohen.
The Patriots entered the playoffs off an 8-6 mark in Continental Conference, putting them in a third-place tie. Facing the prospect of not making the playoffs at all, after a 5-1 start, they recorded wins over three formidable opponents – North Penn, Souderton and Central Bucks South – to achieve that goal.
“I’m proud of how the guys handled that,” said Dennis. “They showed how resilient and tough they were.”
While the Patriots lose their top three pitchers – Birkhead (Bloomsburg), Dan Morrin (Moravian) and Dalton Smoot – a strong nucleus of position players, led by Pitt-bound shortstop David Yanni, will be back in the fold.
Dennis is confident that other pitchers will step into the void to support the strong lineup in 2014. He added that neither Birkhead nor Morrin had much varsity experience before this season.
“Those guys stepped up, and we’re expecting other guys to step up,” he said.
While Patriots pack it in for the season. Radnor, the fourth-place finisher from the always-competitive Central League, now takes on Boyertown Wednesday.
CB East 000 000 0 – 0
Radnor 010 030 X - 4
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