Check out the results for SOL baseball teams in action Thursday.
Hatboro-Horsham 3, Pennridge 1
Twenty-four hours after sophomore Colin Kennedy tossed the Hatters’ first complete game since 2012, Ryan Murphy went out and duplicated that feat, tossing an impressive four-hitter that included five hits and no walks in just his second start of the season.
“He’s been our closer, and he was very good in his start against Pennsbury this year,” coach Pete Moore said. “He was just tremendous today.
“I can’t say enough good things about him. We looked at his stats after the game, and he threw 72.6 percent strikes, which is unheard of at any level of baseball. He was just pounding the zone. He threw a complete game with less than 90 pitches thrown. He was everything you could ask any pitcher to be at any level. He was awesome.”
Making the performance especially significant was the fact that it came over a Pennridge squad favored to contend for a conference crown.
“It was a big win for us,” Moore said. “Our kids were really up for the game today.
“Pennridge is just always a very good team, not only in our league but in the district and state.
“They kind of have a target on their back with as good as they are with the name they have. I think they’re going to run into it this year where teams are very excited to play them. Our guys were up for that today. They wanted to prove their worth and show that they belonged to be mentioned with the top teams in the league. Today was an opportunity for them to show that. I was extremely proud of the effort that they gave.”
The Hatters plated all of their runs in a three-run first. Chris Crookham led off with a single, and Eric Lane drew a walk. Colin Kennedy was safe on an error on a slow roller between first and second to load the bases. Joe Simmons delivered an RBI single, and Kennedy scored on a groundout. The third run crossed the plate on a wild pitch to spot the Hatters an early 3-0 lead.
“Any time you can pitch with a lead, that’s what you want to do,” Moore said.
The Rams scored their only run in the fifth.
Moore lauded the standout defensive play of third baseman Kevin Barron and shortstop Chris Crookham.
“For the first time ever at Hatboro-Horsham, we decided to employ a shift on certain guys this year when the situation is appropriate,” Moore said. “Danny Long is one of the best hitters in the league, and we have enough data from the past several years – when he comes up – to employ a shift where we’re going with a right-handed shift and have three infielders on the left side.
“Chris made a really nice play in his first at-bat when we had the shift on and threw him out. In his last at-bat, Danny Long smoked a line drive, and Chris was able to make a play on it because he was in the right spot.
“Kevin made a play in the last inning on David Tatoian on a ball that took an extra hop at the end and Kevin had to back up on. He threw him out at first. Earlier in the game, he started a double play. As a pitcher to have that kind of defense behind you gives you a little bit of extra confidence to do what Ryan did and throw so many strikes.”
Alec Blyler was 2-for-2 to lead the Hatters. Caleb Hand accounted for two of Pennridge’s four hits, finishing the day 2-for-2 with an RBI.
Joe Molettiere tossed a gem of his own, allowing just five hits. Only one of the Hatters’ three runs was earned. He fanned eight and walked two in six innings.
Both teams are 2-2 in league play and 5-2 overall.
Pennridge 000 010 0 1-4-2
Hatboro-Horsham 300 000 x 3-5-0
Bensalem 7, William Tennent 6
The Panthers got off to a fast start, plating three runs in the top of the second. Timothy Broadhag, who had the Panthers’ lone extra base hit, got the ball rolling with a leadoff double, and Nick Cataldi’s single put runners on the corners. A one-out single by John Lucas put the Panthers on the scoreboard, and RBI singles by Brandon Beck and AJ Shapiro gave Tennent an early 3-0 lead.
But not for long.
The Owls came roaring back in the bottom of the inning, staging a two-out rally. Chuck Vile got things started with a single, and after Vile stole second, Jerry Crespo followed with an RBI single. A walk to Trevor McGee set the stage for a two-run single by Chris Reyes to knot the score 3-3.
The Owls took a 5-3 lead in the third. Nick Mulvey opened the frame with a solo home run. With two outs, Vile singled and stole second, and Crespo followed with his second RBI single of the game.
Tennent knotted the score in the top of the fourth, but the Owls plated single runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth to take a lead they would not lose. In the fourth, Mulvey singled to bring home Keith Parrish, who had walked, with the go-ahead run. In the fifth, Joey Benedetti roped a solo home run to left center to put the Owls on top 7-5.
The Panthers scored an unearned run in the sixth but would get no closer.
Mulvey (2-for-3, home run, 2 RBIs, run), Vile (2-for-3, two runs), Crespo (2-for-3, 2 RBIs), Benedetti (1-for-3, home run, 1 RBI, run) and Reyes (1-for-3, 2 RBIs) carried the big bats for the Owls.
For the Panthers, who held a 9-8 advantage in hits. Lucas finished the day 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored.
Colin Taylor, who relieved Mulvey in the fourth, earned the win, allowing one hit and one run while fanning three and walking one in three and a third innings.
Bensalem evened its record at 3-3 in the league and overall while the Panthers are 0-5 in the league (0-7 overall).
William Tennent 030 201 0 6-9-2
Bensalem 032 110 x 7-8-3
Pope John Paul II 6, Norristown 0
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