Check out the results for SOL baseball teams in action Thursday. Photos of the Neshaminy/Pennsbury game are courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Check back to view a gallery of Keith Clemens’ photos of the Wissahickon/Norristown game. CLICK HERE to view photos from both galleries.
By Jarrad Saffren
Seven baseball teams could win the Suburban One League Continental Conference. Literally every team in the league except perhaps 0-5 (in league play) Central Bucks East. Central Bucks South is in first-place at 4-1 in league play. Three teams—North Penn, Pennridge, and Souderton—are 3-2. Two—Quakertown and Hatboro-Horsham—are 2-2. And one—Central Bucks West—is 2-3.
These teams are beating each other up like old Big East basketball teams or Southeastern Conference football teams. They did so again Thursday night. All eight SOL American and six SOL National teams played too, and things happened, sure. But the Continental is in a class by itself (Sports cliche!) right now, and deserved its own introduction.
SOL Continental
Souderton 2, Central Bucks South 0
Souderton coach Michael Childs said last week that his team was still looking for a number two starter behind Aaron Gulibon.
In an upset win over previously undefeated (in league play) CB South, Childs finally found the pitcher for the role. The same pitcher he cut two years ago.
Souderton dropped its freshmen team in 2011. Without it, Childs had nowhere to place quality rookies who were not quite ready for junior varsity.
Dan Knechel was one of those casualties in 2014.
“That’s why Dan was cut,” Childs said. “We didn’t think he was ready for JV as a freshman. We also looked at him as more of a catcher than a pitcher.”
Knechel was not discouraged.
“I just changed my attitude. I knew I needed to get better to prove to him (Childs) that I belonged,” Knechel said. “I kind of felt like I could have done more. So I had to work harder.”
Knechel thought he got cut again as a sophomore. After tryouts, Childs posted the roster by listing the school ID numbers of players on the team’s website. He messed up Knechel’s ID number.
“I had to call him and tell him he made the team,” Childs said laughing.
Childs was glad he did. Knechel threw 23 innings on JV as a sophomore and did not allow a run.
“Not one,” Childs said.
“That raised my confidence a lot,” Knechel said. “I relied on my curveball and changeup more.”
Knechel added a slider in the offseason and made varsity, although he did not stand out during preseason scrimmages.
“He did okay,” Childs said. “He didn’t really step up though.”
But on April 5 against Quakertown, Knechel got his big break. He entered in the fourth and hurled 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing the Indians to win in the late innings.
The performance earned Knechel a start nine days later against the first-place Titans. Knechel pitched a complete game shutout, allowing four hits and striking out five.
“He took it in stride and kept CB South off balance,” Childs said. “He was absolutely awesome and the kids had his back defensively.”
Knechel used his new slider to baffle CB South hitters.
“That’s his money pitch,” Childs said.
“At first it was just another pitch to help me improve,” Knechel said. “Now I use it very frequently, more than my curve and change. It’s a good ground ball and strikeout pitch.”
Knechel forced a groundout with the bases loaded to end the game.
“It was his game to lose,” Childs said.
After Gulibon tagged first, Knechel pulled out his shirttail and busted out of his quiet, humble shell.
“He was like, ‘Yeah!’” Childs said. “We were all excited for him. We know how far he’s come.”
Childs happily admits that he was wrong two years ago.
“I’ve told him before we all make mistakes. I’m not perfect,” Childs said.
Captain clutch Thylar Summerall drove in both Indians’ runs Thursday. He also had two hits.
Chris Palkovics gave up two runs and four hits in 5.1 innings for CB South. Alex Bendzlowicz struck out three in 1.2 innings.
Souderton (3-3, 3-2 SOL) plays Lansdale Catholic Friday at 3:45 p.m. CB South (5-2, 4-1 SOL) takes on Conwell-Egan at 3:30.
Souderton 0-0-0-1-0-1-0 2
Central Bucks South 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0
Central Bucks West 9, Hatboro-Horsham 8 (8 innings)
Two days, two games, 19 innings of baseball.
On Wednesday, Central Bucks West beat North Penn in 11 innings, its first win of 2016. On Thursday, the Bucks beat Hatboro-Horsham in eight innings, their first winning streak of 2016.
“We like playing extra innings,” CB West coach Brad Tracy said. “Seven is not enough.” Tracy said this over the phone. But he sounded like he kept a straight face.
Tracy called the ending “anti-climactic.” Steven Gebre dashed home on a wild pitch.
Both teams scored five runs in the first inning. The Bucks scored three in the top of the second and the Hatters answered with one in the bottom.
In the sixth, HH’s Drew Passerini cranked a two-run double to tie it at eight.
“Aaron Worthington made one bad pitch,” Tracy said. “He gets the ball up eight inches higher and that doesn’t happen.”
Thomas Philips had two hits, a walk, two runs scored, and four RBIs for the Bucks. He has been staying after practice to focus on swinging later. His 11th inning RBI single made the difference in West’s 2-1 win over North Penn.
Gebre, Luke Irons, Drew Sypawka, and Nick Evans knocked in one run each for CB West.
“We haven’t hit much at all this year. Scores around the league have been low. The pitching has been real good,” Tracy said. “Weather has something to do with that.”
“Yesterday we didn’t look at enough pitches. We were anxious early in the count,” he added. “Today we waited and made the pitcher work. I was really happy with our approach today as opposed to yesterday.”
Brian Edgington had three hits for the Hatters. Ryan O’Donnell got two hits and two RBIs. Colin Kennedy, Jarrett Prendergast, and Kyle Katz also had an RBI.
In two days, CB West catapulted itself back into the district playoff picture.
“We had a slow start. The kids knew coming into this week that we could either turn our season around or look toward next year,” Tracy said. “They’ve really responded. The energy and attitude was great in both games.”
“All it takes is one game,” Tracy said. “We didn’t believe earlier in the year.”
CB West (2-4, 2-3 SOL) goes to Bensalem Friday for a 7 p.m. start. Hatboro-Horsham (4-3, 2-2 SOL) buses to Quakertown for a 3:30 p.m. game.
Central Bucks West 5-3-0-0-0-0-0-1 9
Hatboro-Horsham 5-1-0-0-0-2-0-0 8
Quakertown 5, Central Bucks East 0
Quakertown coach Jon Pallone introduced the drill two years ago, but “really harped on it” last offseason.
Pallone and his staff would hover a string knee-high in front of the plate. Panthers’ pitchers would try to hit the string when they threw, which would teach them to keep the ball down in the strike zone.
One pitcher did a particularly stellar job: Senior lefty Cooper Johnson.
“He’s always been a control guy,” Pallone said.
Johnson controlled the Patriots Thursday by, yes, keeping the ball down.
“He was living low,” Pallone said. “With his fastball, his curve, and his change mixed in too.”
Johnson pitched a complete game shutout, allowing two hits. He threw 79 pitches in seven innings.
With a man on first in the seventh, Johnson threw a low fastball and forced a double-play groundout.
“He’s had some good outings. But today was definitely his best,” Pallone said. “He was deserving of the game ball. I wish I had given it out. I thought about it after I got off the bus. I was going to Tweet that he got it. But I realized I can’t Tweet it if I didn’t actually give it out.”
Johnson is now 2-1 with a 1.78 ERA in 19.2 innings this season.
Tyler Guidos knocked in two runs for the Panthers. Aaron Besch and Jake Wooden had one RBI each. Wooden also had two hits.
Tyler Quinlan tossed two scoreless innings for the Patriots.
Quakertown (3-4, 2-2 SOL) hosts Hatboro-Horsham Friday at 3:30 p.m. CB East plays Archbishop Ryan at 3:45.
Quakertown 2-0-0-0-0-0-3 5
Central Bucks East 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0
North Penn 7, Pennridge 3
North Penn starter Jared Gorman pitched a complete game and did not allow an earned run. 
The Knights scored one run in the first and four in the third. The Rams cut the lead to 5-2 in the fifth but never got closer.
Five Knights—Jake Schuster, Alex Peterson, Kadar Namey, Greg Kerr, and Zack Miles—drove in at least one run. Schuster knocked in two.
Peterson, Schuster, and Kerr all had two hits.
Mitch McLeod and Luke Nuneviller each had an RBI for Pennridge. Joe Robinson belted two hits.
North Penn moved into a second-place tie with Pennridge behind CB South.
North Penn (6-3, 3-2 SOL) battles Souderton Tuesday at 3:45 p.m. Pennridge (5-4, 3-2 SOL) plays Hatboro-Horsham on the same day and time.
North Penn 1-0-4-0-0-2-X 7
Pennridge 0-0-0-0-2-0-1 3
SOL American
Plymouth Whitemarsh 9, Springfield 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh scored seven runs in the second inning. Five Colonials singled and another was hit by a pitch.
“We strung a bunch of hits together. No real big hits. Or one key hit,” PW coach Chris Manero said.
Starter Dillon Famous responded with an all important shutdown inning (Baseball cliche!).
“It was big. Dillon has not had a ton of support this season,” Manero said. “He finally had a chance to pitch with a lead.”
Famous allowed one run in seven innings and struck out six. He also retired the first batter in every inning.
“That really helped him,” Manero said. “He threw fastballs and located them. He kept the ball down in the zone and stayed ahead in the count.”
“Dillon doesn’t show a lot of emotion,” Manero added. “He has thrown well in his first year as a varsity player. But the win helps him feel a sense of accomplishment.”
John Pecharo ripped two hits and two RBIs for the Colonials. Manero moved him to the three-hole two games ago.
“He’s been hitting really well since we put him there,” Manero said. “He puts the ball in play and gives himself a chance.”
Pecharo, who played varsity last season but did not get much time, leads the Colonials with a .368 batting average and six RBIs.
Famous helped himself with two hits, a walk, and an RBI. Noah Goldstein and Luca Amoroso also had two hits for PW.
PW (2-4, 1-2 SOL) travels to Upper Dublin Friday for a 3:30 p.m. game. Springfield (0-4, 0-4 SOL) takes on Upper Merion Tuesday at 3:45 p.m.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-7-0-0-0-2-X 9
Springfield 0-0-0-0-1-0-0 1
Upper Moreland 6, Cheltenham 1
Joey Bates got back Wednesday from Upper Moreland’s senior class trip. Upper Moreland coach Ken Irwin did not pitch Bates because he wanted to give him an extra day of rest.
The decision paid off Thursday.
Bates pitched six innings, struck out seven, and allowed three hits and one unearned run. Tom Jacobs hurled a scoreless seventh.
“Joey had a great outing,” Irwin said. “He could have gone seven but we wanted Tommy to get another inning in this week. We are getting to the weeks where we have three games instead of two.”
Irwin was pleased with both pitchers.
“Tommy’s kind of our closer now and he’s throwing well,” Irwin said. “When Joey needed to make a pitch, he made a pitch. He probably didn’t pitch as well as he would have liked. He was not hitting spots like he normally does. He threw strikes. But he was effectively wild in the strike zone.”
Irwin was not pleased with his team’s defense. The Golden Bears made four errors.
“We made it tough on Joey in the field,” Irwin said. “We were not very sound.”
Upper Moreland scored three in the third to open a 4-1 lead.
Jon Searles and Paul Ciampoli both had two RBIs for the Golden Bears. Searles also went 3-for-3.
“Jonny hit the ball hard,” Irwin said.
Irwin moved Searles to the four-hole so he would have more RBI opportunities.
“It worked three times today,” Irwin said.
Irwin praised his first and third hitters for making him look smart.
“Randy (Meehl) and Nick (DeLucas) getting on and running the bases, that was huge,” the Bears’ coach said. “It’s been different guys each game. That’s what you want as a team.”
Nissim Lebovitz slammed two hits for Cheltenham.
Upper Moreland (4-1, 3-1 SOL) takes on Norristown Tuesday at 3:45 p.m. Cheltenham (0-4, 0-3 SOL) travels to Hatboro-Horsham Friday afternoon.
Upper Moreland 1-0-3-0-0-2-0 6
Cheltenham 1-0-0-0-0-0-0 1
Upper Dublin 3, Upper Merion 1
Cole Swiger beat Jarrett Quinn in a battle of aces and Upper Dublin stayed undefeated.
Swiger pitched seven innings, fanned nine, and allowed three hits and one unearned run. Quinn struck out 13 but allowed three runs, two earned, and took his first loss of 2016.
Swiger retired the Vikings in order in every inning except the third and seventh. He fanned the last two hitters in the seventh with the count full.
“The seventh was definitely the most taxing for him,” Upper Dublin coach Ed Wall said.
Swiger has two wins, one against Wissahickon, one against Upper Merion. Wall said they are Upper Dublin’s “two biggest wins.” The ace also closed UD’s win over Cheltenham.
Both starts were complete games. Swiger gave up one run and five hits against Wissahickon.
“For sure, he’s our number one,” Wall said.
Wall also praised Quinn.
“Quinn’s a good pitcher,” the UD coach said. “He kept us on our toes and does a real good job controlling the run game. There’s a reason he’s undefeated coming into this game.”
Upper Dublin scored three runs in the fifth to take a 3-1 lead. Swiger and Conor McFadden each had one RBI. McFadden stroked the go-ahead single, scoring Justin Horn, who got on base three times.
Upper Dublin (5-0, 4-0 SOL) battles Plymouth Whitemarsh Friday afternoon. McFadden will pitch.
“It should be a really good game,” Wall said. “We have to take it one game at a time (Sports cliche!) and come out with the same energy as today.”
Upper Merion (3-5, 3-2 SOL) plays Radnor Saturday at 3 p.m.
Upper Dublin 0-0-0-0-3-0-0 3
Upper Merion 0-0-1-0-0-0-0 1
Wissahickon 7, Norristown 1
Every Wissahickon player contributed to a convincing win over Norristown.
Logan Willans earned his second win of the season by allowing one earned run in seven innings. He also struck out five.
Alex Tappen went 2-for-3 with a home run. Matt Shilling went 3-for-3 with an RBI. Blake Rapoport was 2-for-2 with two walks and two stolen bases. Mike Schoenleber was 2-for-4 with a steal. Eddie Fortescue hit 1-for-3 with two RBIs.
Wissahickon scored five runs in the first inning and the game was never close again.
Tappen’s home run came in the second. Shilling singled home Rapoport in the fourth.
Dominic Proietto drove in the only run for Norristown. Terell Dale touched home plate with his cleated foot.
The Trojans ended a two-game losing streak and moved into a third-place tie with Upper Merion. Norristown dropped to fourth.
Wissahickon (3-5, 3-2 SOL) takes on Plymouth Whitemarsh Monday afternoon. Norristown (3-3, 2-2 SOL) goes to Upper Merion Tuesday for a 3:45 p.m. start.
Wissahickon 5-1-0-1-0-0-0 7
Norristown 0-0-0-1-0-0-0 1
SOL National
Neshaminy 5, Pennsbury 2
The winner would move into third-place behind Council Rock North and Bensalem, who are a combined 14-1.
So both the Redskins and Falcons threw their aces. Neshaminy’s Matt Grudza pitched a little better and longer than Pennsbury’s Zach Conley.
Grudza pitched a complete game, allowing six hits and two runs, one earned. Conley finished five innings, allowing eight hits and three runs, all earned.
“Grudza threw well,” Neshaminy coach Chris Tenaglia said. “He throws strikes, moves the ball around, and keeps guys off balance.”
“They hit some balls hard,” Tenaglia said. “For the most part they were right at somebody and we were able to make a play.”
Tenaglia was still impressed with Conley, even though it was not the lefty’s best performance.
“Conley’s got good stuff. He’s a very good, smart lefty with experience. Anytime you beat him it’s a big accomplishment,” Tenaglia said. “We figured with a lefty, his ball would tail away from right handed hitters. They would have to see the ball deeper and drive it the other way. We took that approach even more as the game went on, especially with two strikes.”
Neshaminy scored two runs in the first and another in the third. Three was enough, but the Redskins tacked on two more in the sixth.
Mike Burns had two hits, a walk, and an RBI. Ed Parry had one hit, one walk, and three RBIs. Grudza reached base three times and scored a run.
Tyrone Hodges and Bryen Kimbrough drove in the only runs for Pennsbury. Alec Wilson pitched 1.2 scoreless innings for the Falcons.
Neshaminy (4-5, 3-2 SOL) buses to Harry S. Truman Tuesday for a 3:45 p.m. start.
Pennsbury (3-4, 2-3 SOL) plays Council Rock South at 3:30.
Neshaminy 2-0-0-1-0-2-0 5
Pennsbury 0-0-0-0-0-1-1 2
Bensalem 5, Harry S. Truman 2
Righty Kyle Goodwin stepped up to pinch-hit for Harry S. Truman against lefty hurler Trevor McGee.
But Bensalem coach Harry Daut relieved McGee with righty Tiernan Ryan. The bases were loaded with two outs in the top of the sixth. Goodwin smoked a fastball into centerfield, scoring two to put Truman up 2-0.
“I was thinking, ‘Alright, two runs is nothing. We can come back from that,’” Ryan said.
It was a very prescient statement.
In the bottom of the sixth, Joey Benedetti, Rick Massott, and Kenny O’Connell singled to load the bases with no outs. Then Shawn Puskar walked to cut the Truman lead in half. Tigers starter Justin Kerner was pulled for Casey Vanhorn. Kerner allowed just three hits before the sixth.
Vanhorn walked Keith Parrish, tying the game at two. Ninth hitter Scott Rooney stepped into the batter’s box with the bases still loaded. Rooney took a 3-2 fastball above his head for ball four.
“Out of his hand you could just see it was lifting up,” Rooney said.
Kenny O’Connell trotted home with the winning run.
Bensalem scored two more runs in the frame, on a squeeze bunt and a rundown between second and third. Ryan came back out and pitched a perfect top of the seventh.
“I was feeling a lot better,” Ryan said. “I just wanted to get that inning over with so we can get out of here. Every time I go out to pitch it’s 0-0 in my mind, so I just keep pitching, keep throwing strikes.”
McGee pitched five scoreless innings but was charged with both runs in the sixth. He walked eight but only allowed two hits.
Bensalem narrowly avoided a two-game losing streak after falling to Abington Wednesday. Truman lost its sixth straight game since beating Council Rock South to open its season.
Bensalem (7-1, 4-1 SOL) plays CB West Friday afternoon. Truman (1-6, 1-4 SOL) takes on Bristol Saturday afternoon at Arm & Hammer Park, home of the Trenton Thunder.
Bensalem 0-0-0-0-0-5-0 5
Harry S. Truman 0-0-0-0-2-0-0 2
Abington 2, William Tennent 1
Abington won its second straight league game after losing its first two.
“We got out of the gate with two non-league wins and we were playing really well,” Abington coach Dave Torresani said. “In our two league losses, we only played bad for one inning against Neshaminy and two against Pennsbury.”
Abington handed Bensalem its first loss in 2016 on Wednesday.
“They’ve been playing really, really well. But we had to get a league win,” Torresani said. “Paul Poppert carried us on his back.”
Another veteran starter carried Abington Thursday. Greg Troyer gave up one unearned run and three hits in seven innings. He only struck out two, but by design.
“He pitches to contact and gets a lot of ground balls,” Torresani said. “We made plays this week. That’s been the difference from the first two league games.”
The Ghosts made 10 errors in an 11-1 loss to Pennsbury on March 31, with Troyer on the bump.
“Greg didn’t have such a tough outing against Pennsbury,” Torresani said. “Ten errors is ridiculous. I’ve never been a part of something like that. Come on. That’s crazy.”
Justin Yerkes and Josh Pershing drove in the runs for Abington against Tennent. Chris Clewell reached base twice and scored a run.
Tennent’s Nick Cataldi gave up two runs and four hits in five innings.
Abington (4-2, 2-2 SOL) buses to Council Rock North Tuesday for a 3:30 p.m. start. William Tennent (3-4, 2-3 SOL) takes on Bensalem on the same day and time.
Abington 0-0-0-2-0-0-0 2
William Tennent 0-0-0-1-0-0-0 1
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