Five SOL baseball teams advanced in district tournament play on Wednesday. To view photos of the CB East/Garnet Valley and North Penn/Perk Valley games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
CLASS AAA
[N-10] PENNRIDGE 7, [N-2] NESHAMINY 1
The Rams punctuated their postseason Cinderella story, knocking Neshaminy out of the district tournament two days after doing the same to higher-seeded Great Valley in round one.
In the process, they handed Neshaminy ace Justin Andrews his first loss in nine decisions.
They continue in the tournament not only feeling invincible, but with an attitude of having nothing to lose and everything to gain.
“I’ve been telling the kids, this is extra baseball, go out and make the most of it,” said Pennridge coach Tom Nuneviller. “We play in a good league, so we’re prepared. The guys are playing with a lot of confidence right now.”
Trailing, 1-0, after three frames, Jake Gordon ignited the Rams with a two-run homer in the fourth inning that turned out to be the winning hit.
Dave Tatoian, who came on in relief of Trevor Dalton (5-1) for his fifth save, helped add insurance with a bases-clearing double in the top of the seventh.
“That kind of put the game away, right there,” said Nuneviller, who also received a big day at the plate from A.J. Molettiere (two doubles, two RBI).
For the Redskins, a season that included a National Conference crown – the program’s first since 1999 – came to an unceremonious end.
Coach Chris Tenaglia was offering no excuses, opting instead to be philosophical.
“It’s always disappointing when you don’t end up on top and go out with a win,” he said. “District One is the best district in the state. It’s a tournament where all the teams are well-coached and all play the game the right way.
“I don’t know if you can say there are upsets. Sometimes it’s just the matchups on a given day. And Pennridge is a very good team.”
Looking ahead, Andrews heads a list of departing seniors.
“He is going to be difficult to replace,” said Tenaglia. “He was 8-0 coming into today. But, while the seniors are all going to be hard to replace, we’re excited about next year.
“This is something I full won’t realize for a week or so. Same for these guys. Hopefully, they will realize that they brought back to Neshaminy the first league title since 1999. It’s something to hold their heads up high about.”
Come Friday, the Rams (16-6) will swap their glass slippers for spikes against Boyertown, a program that carries a great deal of history and mystique.
“I remember Boyertown, going back to when I played,” said Nuneviller. “It’s going to be tough, but this is what it is all about.”
Pennridge 000 201 4 – 7-7-1
Neshaminy 001 000 0 – 1-7-2
[N-12] NORTH PENN 8, [N-4] PERKIOMEN VALLEY 3
The Knights scored five times in the top of the first inning and held on the rest of the way, riding the arm of sophomore Collin Healey, who went 6 2/3 innings in relief in his first extended varsity outing to earn the win.
“It was big getting out to the early le
ad,” said North Penn coach Kevin Manero.
Leadoff hitter Brady West (3-for-4, two runs scored),
Chris Kersey (2-for-4, one run, two RBI) and Mason Nadeau (2-for-3, two RBI) paced an attack that included hits from five other Knights, including an RBI triple from Eddie Posavec.
The Knights entered districts as the 12th-seeded team from the North, but they have made their presence felt, knocking off a pair of higher seeded squads.
“I feel great about our team,” said Manero. “We’re playing the best baseball we have played all year. We’re doing all the right things.
“I’ve been through playoffs before as an American Legion coach and as a high school coach. This is what it’s all about. It gets tougher every day. We just have to stay even-keeled.”
The Knights will now look to extend their run Friday against Strath Haven.
“I know they are good,” said Manero. “We just need to stay with the things we can control and keep on playing good baseball.”
North Penn 510 200 0 – 8-12-3
Perk Valley 100 000 1 – 3-5-2
[N-7] COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 10, [S-2] UNIONVILLE 5
The long ball went a long way for the Indians as they moved into the third round of the district fray.
Ryan “Home Run” Baker smacked a pair of solo dingers – giving him a team-best four on the season. He also added a pair of doubles. Tyler Callender, the Indians’ clean-up hitter, was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a two-run round-tripper in the first inning to put the Indians in the driver’s seat.
“I’m really pleased,” said Indians’ skipper Matt Schram. “We came out swinging. That home run in the first set the tone. We just had a good approach (at the plate) today.”
Schram was particularly pleased with the gritty effort of starting pitcher Matt Renck, who went six innings and picked up the win.
“He only walked one, and that’s real good,” said Schram. “There were a lot of ground balls and a lot of pop ups.”
Still, despite the final score, it was not an easy ride. Unionville scored four times in the bottom of the fifth to forge a 4-4 tie before the Indians answered with a run in the top of the sixth when Brandon McIlwain singled and swiped second and third base before scoring on a wild pitch.
“We made some errors in that one inning, the fifth, when they scored,” said Schram. “We gave them life, but we came right back and got it back in the sixth.”
In the seventh, five more were added. The key blow was a two-run double by Callender.
All told, the tandem of Baker and Callender had seven of the team’s 11 hits and drove in seven of its 10 runs. Tyler Perry added a pair of hits.
The Indians move on to face Methacton Friday, and they will send ace Brett Newman to the mound.
CR North 210 1015 – 10-11-3
Unionville 000 040 X – 5-10-3
[N-1] CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2, [S-8] GARNET VALLEY 1
A dream season was dangerously close to ending with a nightmare of a fluke run – a two-out, infield single by the visiting Jaguars in the fifth inning – being the difference in Wednesday’s second-round playoff clash.
That 1-0 lead stood until the Patriots broke out the baseball textbook and put together two runs in the bottom of the seventh.
“We could not have scripted it any better,” gushed Patriots’ coach Kyle Dennis.
Pat Reilly led off the inning with walk, moved to second 
on a bunt by Sean Uzowski and scored the tying run on a single by pinch-hitter Mike Casbar. Following a single by Carter Uzowski, Vince Careghini plated the winning run.
“It was textbook situational baseball,” said Dennis. “It was great to see them do all the things we have worked on all year.
“It was a pretty good playoff-caliber game by both teams. There was a lot of intensity, along with strong defense and pitching.”
Robby Welhaf picked up the win on the hill, improving his record to 6-1 on the season. He went the distance, giving up two hits while issuing just two free passes. While he only fanned three, he threw a grand total of 84 pitches in seven innings.
“That’s pretty efficient, I would say,” added Dennis, who will send Blair Killough to the mound Friday against Coatesville.
Garnet Valley 000 010 – 1-2-0
Central Bucks East 000 000 – 2-7-0
[N-4] COATESVILLE 10, [N-5] CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0
The Titans faced Duke-bound Brian Brown and had some chances to score in the first few innings, but they were ultimately unable to keep pace.
“He is the best pitcher we faced all year,” said Titan coach Mike Schaefer, whose team managed five hits and drew two walks but were struck out eight times and put down in order in three of the game’s six innings. “He really knows how to pitch. I don’t know if he has lost a game all year. He’s just very good.
“When you get to the playoffs, it’s all about matchups. Today, we got a tough one.”
The Titans best chance to score on Brown came early, with runners in scoring position in the first inning.
“We just couldn’t get the right hit at the right time,” he said. “All year, we have relied on forcing other teams into making mistakes, and that didn’t happen. We would have had to have done some special things today, and it didn’t happen.
“Still, for the season, I’m proud of our guys and the way they battled.”
CB South 000 000 – 0-5-0
Coatesville 004 411 – 10-12-0
CLASS AA
SPRINGFIELD 7, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 6 (10 innings)
Despite trailing most of the way, the Spartans found a way to come out on top in a 10-inning marathon.
“This was kind of a character win for us,” said Springfield coach Chris Shelly. “We faced a good, scrappy New Hope team. They got out to a 5-0 lead. We clawed back. I give our kids credit.”
With two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, Tyler Bond’s grounder eluded New Hope’s second baseman and allowed Chase Luxton to score the winning run.
“It was a tough way to end it for them,” said Shelly. “It wasn’t clean, but it was exciting.
“I tell the kids all the time, ‘I don’t care how you win, just win.’”
The Spartans will now face top-seeded Bristol, with the winner drawing the District 12 champion.
New Hope 140 001 000 0 – 6-5-5
Springfield 002 211 000 1 – 7-10-6
PIAA District One AAA Semifinal Game
Thursday – May 23, 2013
#3 Upper Moreland vs. #7 Pottstown at Spring-Ford High School, 3 p.m.
- Winner Gets: the winner of this game will play the winner of the #1 Holy Ghost Prep vs. #5 Phoenixville semifinal in next Wednesday’s district title game.
- Season Resume: Pottstown finished fifth in the PAC-10 with an 11-7 record (13-8 overall), while Upper Moreland finished in 1st place in the SOL American Conference with a league mark of 13-1 (17-3 overall).
- Playoff Resume: Pottstown upset second-seeded Interboro 8-1 on Tuesday while Upper Moreland rolled to a 12-0 win over Marple Newtown in an abbreviated five-inning game.
- Upper Moreland coach Ernie Rehr says: “I know Pottstown plays in a really hard conference. The PAC-10 is a conference that always plays really solid baseball, so I’m expecting the same thing out of them – just good sound, solid baseball. I expect to be in a battle for seven innings very similar to what we had against Phoenixville in the (district) championship. If we end up with what we had (on Tuesday), then great. We’ll have Eddie Decker starting, but everyone will be available for that game. Winning the way we won (on Tuesday) just allowed everyone to be able to throw. We’re in a nice position.”
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