This week’s notebook features CR South, Pennridge and Upper Dublin and also recaps the SOL highlights from last week.
By Scott Huff
And the beat goes on…
SOL Continental Conference ‘Snapshot’
Pennridge Rams
Pennridge head coach Tom Nuneviller is extremely proud of his Rams this season.
“We felt that we had one of the best pitchers in the league coming back in (junior) Andrew Mayhew,” said Nuneviller. “But he has thrown only one game this year due to (elbow) injury and we were still able to go through the first half of our season at 5-2.
“Mayhew might be able to throw some innings this week,” added Nuneviller as the Rams enter the week with a 5-3 conference mark. “We have three important games against good teams [Central Bucks West (4-4), Central Bucks South (6-2), and Souderton (6-3)] this week. We are going to have to explore every possibility.”
One of those possibilities might be moving the best closer in the conference – Danny Long – into the starting rotation.
“Danny is Danny and can do whatever we need him to do,” said Nuneviller. “And Nate Coyle has stepped up when Andrew went down and has won some important games.”
One game the Ram fans might not have expected Pennridge to lose was an 11-1 contest against Central Bucks East (1-7) last week.
“There isn’t a team in this league that can’t beat any other team in the league,” said Nuneviller. “If you have one bad inning – one bad pitch – one bad defensive play – you can lose a game.
“Our goal every year is to win a league championship and get into the district playoffs,” added Nuneviller. “And we still have a chance to accomplish both of those goals.”
Stay tuned
In the Rear View Mirror in the SOL Continental Conference
Devyn Bard and Cooper Johnson of Quakertown were impressive as the Panthers captured a pair of conference wins last week. Bard allowed just two hits in his complete game shutout effort, while Aaron Besch and Tyler Guidos each had two RBI in Q-town’s 7-0 victory over Central Bucks West. Johnson allowed just one hit in the Panthers 5-0 win over Souderton, while Besch hit a two-run homerun and Jake Reed drove home two runs.
AJ Curran of Central Bucks East had a terrific pitching performance as the Patriots marched to an 11-1 victory over Pennridge. Curran threw a complete game – allowed just two hits – and had five strikeouts. Andrew Collins and Dan Schick each had two RBI for the winners.
Dan Klepchick of Central Bucks South earned a hard-fought victory as the Titans edged North Penn 3-2 in eight innings. Klepchick pitched the entire game and had five strikeouts. Tyler Watson hit the game winning sacrifice fly in the final Titan at-bat.
Aaron Gulibon of Souderton fired a remarkable one-hit, nine-strikeout shutout as the Indians collected a 13-0 victory over Hatboro-Horsham.
Matt Stevenson of North Penn was a tough-luck loser as the Knights fell 3-2 to Central Bucks South. Stevenson threw 7.1 strong innings and had five strikeouts.
SOL Continental Conference Standings
1. Central Bucks South Titans 6 2
2. Souderton Indians 6 3
3. Pennridge Rams 5 3
4. Central Bucks West Bucks 4 4
North Penn Knights 4 4
6. Quakertown Panthers 4 5
7. Hatboro-Horsham Hatters 3 5
8. Central Bucks East Patriots 1 7
‘On Deck’ in the SOL Continental Conference
Monday – May 2, 2016
Central Bucks East Patriots @ North Penn Knights
Central Bucks West Bucks @ Pennridge Rams
Tuesday – May 3, 2016
Pennridge Rams @ Central Bucks South Titans
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters @ Central Bucks East Patriots
Souderton Indians @ Central Bucks West Bucks
Quakertown Panthers @ North Penn Knights
Thursday – May 5, 2016
North Penn Knights @ Central Bucks West Bucks
Pennridge Rams @ Souderton Indians
Quakertown Panthers @ Hatboro-Horsham Hatters
Central Bucks East Patriots @ Central Bucks South Titans
SOL National Conference ‘Snapshot’
Council Rock South Golden Hawks
Council Rock South head coach Ted Kirner and his Golden Hawks have traveled a difficult road this spring.
“We have had a tough year getting games in with the weather, we have had games postponed for both junior and senior proms, we have had a class trip to Disney World, and we had a spring break,” said Kirner. “All we want to do right now is play meaningful games in May and string together some wins.
“We lost too many close games,” added Kirner. “When you win those games – you feel good. When you lose sometimes you over analyze your team.
“We have to play with a short memory,” continued Kirner. “I tell the players that the rear view mirror is a lot smaller than the windshield for a reason. We have to look at what is ahead for us.”
The conference schedule shows that Rock South (2-5) is either a game or two behind each of the other teams in the conference in games played. And that same schedule shows that the Golden Hawks have three games this week at Abington (3-5) on Tuesday; home versus William Tennent (4-5) on Thursday; and home again against Abington on Friday.
“There is no question that we are going to have to play a lot of baseball in a short amount of time,” said Kirner. “We played well against (first place) Council Rock North (8-1) on Saturday and lost 4-1. Our pitching, hitting, and defense has improved.
“Cody Kutler and Josh Kim have been hitting well, and both Noah Davidson and Zach Mayer has pitched well,” added Kirner. “We have a tough road ahead – but we have good talent and control our own destiny.”
Stay tuned.
In the Rear View Mirror in the SOL National Conference
Andrew Alvino and Billy Meyer of Neshaminy each fired complete game wins last week for the surging Redskins. Alvino tossed a one-hit 2-0 shutout against Abington, while Meyer had nine strikeouts in the Skins 7-2 victory over Bensalem.
Bryan Nagy of Pennsbury doubled home the winning run as the Falcons ended CR North’s unbeaten season with a 7-6 victory in 12 innings. Alec Wilson was the winning pitcher in relief for PHS. Nick Price was the winning pitcher for the Falcons in a 13-2 victory over Abington. Tyrone Hodges, Josh Tesarck, and Justin Ward each had two RBI for the winners.
Nick Cataldi of William Tennent was masterful in a complete game 7-0 shutout victory over Truman. Cataldi was impressive with an eight-strikeout performance.
Matt Hand of Council Rock North won his fifth and sixth game of the season without a loss last week. Hand threw a complete game – allowed just a single earned run – and had an impressive 15 strikeouts as the Indians defeated William Tennent 8-2. In the win over the Panthers, Hand also drove home three runs and Julian Kovalcik had two RBI. Hand and CJ Kilgariff earned a win and a save as Rock North defeated rival Council Rock South 4-1.
Zach Mayer and Noah Davidson of Council Rock South combined for a shutout as the Golden Hawks soared to a 6-0 victory over Harry S Truman. Josh Kim had three hits for Rock South, while Nick Gallo had two RBI.
Chris Clewell of Abington drove home both of the Ghosts runs in a 13-2 loss to Pennsbury.
Trevor McGee of Bensalem had two hits as the Owls dropped a 7-2 contest to Neshaminy.
SOL National Conference Standings
1. Council Rock North Indians 8 1
2. Neshaminy Redskins 6 3
Pennsbury Falcons 6 3
4. Bensalem Owls 4 4
5. William Tennent Panthers 4 5
6. Abington Ghosts 3 5
7. Council Rock South Hawks 2 5
8. Truman Tigers 1 8
‘On Deck’ in the SOL National Conference
Tuesday – May 3, 2016
Pennsbury Falcons @ Bensalem Owls
William Tennent Panthers @ Neshaminy Redskins
Council Rock South Hawks @ Abington Ghosts
Thursday – May 5, 2016
Abington Ghosts @ Bensalem Owls
Pennsbury Falcons @ Truman Tigers
William Tennent Panthers @ Council Rock South Hawks
Friday – May 6, 2016
Council Rock North Indians @ Neshaminy Redskins
Abington Ghosts @ Council Rock South Golden Hawks
SOL American Conference ‘Snapshot’
Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals
Upper Dublin head coach Ed Walland his Cardinals will face the biggest hurdle of an unbeaten conference season this week.
Upper Dublin (7-0) will face second place Upper Moreland (7-1) twice in five days with a possible conference championship on the line.
“We play Upper Moreland on Tuesday and Friday, and they have a great season, and have been winning as often as we have,” said Wall. “And then we play Plymouth Whitemarsh on Thursday and they always play us tough.”
The Cardinal pitching duo of seniors Cole Swiger and Connor McFadden has been tough this season.
“Cole pounds the zone and has some giddy-up to his fastball,” said Wall. “And Connor has really taken the bull by the horn this year and has become a pitcher instead of a thrower.
“Both of them have gone deep into games,” added Wall. “We have been able to get them a lot of rest between starts. We try to take care of their arms and we haven’t had to throw them twice in the same week.”
That will most likely end this week with the three games on the schedule. The pitcher that throws on Tuesday against Upper Moreland –whether it is Swiger or McFadden – ‘could’ come back Friday against the Golden Bears in the rematch.
“We’ll have to see where we are with the weather,” said Wall. “You don’t like to have the same pitcher throw against the same team in the same week.
“We have been successful so far, but we still remind them that we have to do the little things if we want to continue winning,” continued Wall. “A play here or there can make or break an entire season.”
Stay tuned.
In the Rear View Mirror in the SOL American Conference
Joey Bates of Upper Moreland hurled a two-hit shutout gem as the Golden Bears whitewashed Wissahickon 8-0. Christian Leighton and Jon Searles each had three RBI as Upper Moreland captured an 8-4 victory over Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Jack McHugh of Cheltenham delivered the game winning hit as the Panthers clawed to a 5-4 victory over Upper Merion in 10-innings. Kieran Versaw-Barnes was the winning pitcher with six innings of relief and five strikeouts.
Jarrett Quinn of Upper Merion struck out 10 hitters in his complete game 8-2 victory over Plymouth Whitemarsh. Quinn also had a fine day at the plate with two hits and two RBI.
Connor McFadden of Upper Dublin fired a complete game as the Cardinals flew to a 12-1 victory over Norristown. JT Breslin had three hits to fuel the UD offense, while Cole Swiger and Justin Horn each had key hits.
Jeremy Spittle of Wissahickon had two hits and an RBI as the Trojans marched to a 5-3 victory over Springfield.
Noah Goldstein of Plymouth Whitemarsh had two RBI as the Colonials fell to Upper Moreland 8-4.
SOL American Conference Standings
1. Upper Dublin Cardinals 7 0
2. Upper Moreland Bears 7 1
3. Wissahickon Trojans 6 3
4. Upper Merion Vikings 4 5
5. Plymouth Whitemarh Colonials 3 6
6. Cheltenham Panthers 2 5
7. Norristown Eagles 2 6
8. Springfield Spartans 1 6
‘On Deck’ in the SOL American Conference
Tuesday – May 3, 2016
Springfield Spartans @ Cheltenham Panthers
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials @ Wissahickon Trojans
Upper Merion Vikings @ Norristown Eagles
Upper Moreland Golden Bears @ Upper Dublin Cardinals
Thursday – May 5, 2016
Cheltenham Panthers @ Norristown Eagles
Upper Dublin Cardinals @ Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials
Upper Merion Vikings @ Wissahickon Trojans
Upper Moreland Golden Bears @ Springfield Spartans
Friday – May 6, 2016
Upper Dublin Cardinals @ Upper Moreland Golden Bears
Suburban One Sports.com
Top Ten
1. Council Rock North Indians
2. Central Bucks South Titans
3. Pennsbury Falcons
4. Neshaminy Redskins
5. Upper Dublin Cardinals
6. Souderton Indians
7. Pennridge Rams
8. North Penn Knights
9. Upper Moreland Golden Bears
10. Wissahickon Trojans
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