All three SOL baseball teams in action on Tuesday were victorious. To view photos of the CR South/Great Valley game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
[N1] Cheltenham 2, [S8] Great Valley 0
Calvin Salazar once again worked his magic on the mound for the Panthers, tossing a three-hitter while fanning four and walking just one. Of his 91 pitches, 65 were strikes.
“He was phenomenal,” coach Frank Decembrino said. “He didn’t give up a hit until the fifth inning, and the two hits he gave up in the inning – one was a nice hit to the right side, and the other one took a hop over our first baseman’s head.
“He got them out one, two, three after those two kids got on. Their shortstop hit a double to lead off the next inning, and Calvin got the next three guys out in order. That was it. There was no other threat.
“Calvin is a no-nonsense pitcher. He throws three pitches for strikes, and that was what happened. He got ahead and he made them swing at pitcher’s pitches, and they popped up and grounded out over and over again.”
While Salazar stole the spotlight, Decembrino credited Max Perilstein for his role behind the plate.
“The plan was to make them hit the pitches we wanted them to hit,” the Panthers’ coach said. “Our catcher - Max Perilstein – just defensively and offensively has been phenomenal. He controlled the game as usual.
“He pretty much called the pitches on his own, and Calvin followed his lead. I can’t talk highly enough about how Max controlled the game from behind the plate. He has been doing that the whole season.”
The game’s only runs came in the first when the Panthers plated a pair. Azaan Harris got things started with a single, and Gabe Hofferman drew a walk, setting the stage for a two-run double by Kevin Graham.
“That was huge because we thought it was going to be tight and, as advertised, they were going to be tough and play us hard,” Decembrino said. “It was gigantic to score early.”
That 2-0 lead stood the rest of the way.
The Panthers collected six hits off a pair of Patriot hurlers. Harris (2-for-3) and Mark Heimann (2-for-3, double) were the only players with more than one hit.
For the first time in Decembrino’s 10 years at the helm, the Panthers will advance to Friday’s quarterfinal round where they will face [S4] Conestoga.
Great Valley 000 000 0 0-3-1
Cheltenham 200 000 x 2-6-0
[N3] Council Rock South 2, [S6] Dowingtown West 0
Greg Paprocki turned in a two-hit gem to lead the Golden Hawks to the shutout win.
“In my opinion, he was getting squeezed a little bit,” coach Ted Kirner said. “He was throwing well.
“As far as the team goes, it was a fantastic team win. Greg threw great, we executed, but by far, it was not the best game that we’re capable of. If you can escape in the postseason without playing your best baseball – and we did a lot of things right, I think it’s the mark of a good team.”
The Golden Hawks scored all the runs Paprocki would need in the bottom of the first. Tyler Anderson drew a five-pitch walk and – one out later – stole second and third on consecutive pitches. He scored when Nick Ponente singled.
In the second inning, the Golden Hawks appeared to be in business yet again when catcher Connor Macaulay led off with a double, but his courtesy runner was picked off second base to end that threat.
The Golden Hawks added an insurance run in the third inning. Anderson was once again in the middle of the action. He collected a one-out double, moved up to third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly by Will Faccenda, giving the Golden Hawks a 2-0 lead.
“Hats off to their pitcher – River Carbone. He threw well too,” Kirner said.
In six innings, Carbone allowed seven hits and one earned run while walking one and striking out two. His only walk was to the first batter of the game.
Macaulay and Ponente led the Golden Hawks with 2-for-3 efforts at the plate.
With a first round bye, it had been seven calendar days since the Golden Hawks had seen game action.
“It’s good to get out there and still know you’ve got it,” Kirner said. “You knock off some of the rust, and you keep building momentum.
“You feel good you got the bye, however, they’ve done it. They’ve won a game, they know what it’s like, and they have no pressure on them. The pressure’s on us. Our guys took ownership when we were on offense, they hopped on Greg’s back, and they played phenomenal defense.
“Downingtown West is a very good team. At this point, anybody is capable of beating anybody. It’s not always the best team that wins. It’s the team that plays the best that day, and that’s what makes it exciting.”
Rock South will host [N7] Methacton in a quarterfinal game on Thursday. The Warriors upset [S2] Garnet Valley 12-5.
Downingtown West 000 000 0-0
Council Rock South 101 000 x-2
[N6] Pennridge 8, [S3] Strath Haven 0
Eric Wesolowski was in complete command on the mound, tossing a three-hit masterpiece to earn the complete game win. During one impressive stretch, he retired 12 in a row. He faced just 23 batters over seven innings, striking out nine and walking just one.
“Wesolowski was on the whole game,” coach Tom Nuneviller said. “He struck out the leadoff batter in the first five innings. He finished with nine strikeouts and was just very good.
“We had some fine defensive plays. They hit some balls hard. Our shortstop (Brad Misialek) and third baseman (Dan Long) made some really nice plays. In the sixth inning, a kid hit a swinging bunt chopper, and Danny charged it. It was bang-bang at first and got him out. Defensively, we played really well.”
Offensively, Long stole the spotlight. It was his grand slam in the fifth that blew open a close game. He also hit a two-run home run in the seventh to finish the day 2-for-3 with two home runs, three runs scored and six RBIs. Jeff Roedell was 2-for-4 with an RBI as the Rams continue to play good baseball on the road.
“They thrive on it a little bit,” Nuneviller said. “That’s what we did last year – backs against the wall, and we’re going after it.
“When you get good pitching and get timely hits, it works. We actually played better on the road this year than we did at home during the regular season. They’re a fun group to be around. They believe in one another, they pick each other up.
“Even in our first game against West Chester East, we made a couple of bad plays, but right after that, guys made defensive plays to pick each other up or we got a strikeout or someone got a big hit. That’s what our team is about.”
The Rams got on the scoreboard in the second. Long reached base on an error, and he scored when Tom Nuneviller’s single to left got by the outfielder. Nuneviller came home on a groundout by catcher Jeff Roedell, giving the Rams an early 2-0 lead.
“That was huge because in the bottom of the first inning they had runners on first and third, and Jeff Roedell threw out the runner trying to steal second,” coach Nuneviller said. “That got us two outs with a runner on third, and Wesolowski struck out the last batter to get out of the first.
“After shutting them down in the first, we came back and scored two, and that was huge.”
The Rams will face [N2] Boyertown – a 3-0 winner over Radnor Wednesday - in a quarterfinal game at Bear Stadium on Friday.
Pennridge 020 040 2 8-8-0
Strath Haven 000 000 0 0-3-3
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