Quakertown, CB South, Abington, CB East, Pennridge & Souderton were winners in SOL baseball action on Friday.
SOL American Conference
QUAKERTOWN 12, WISSAHICKON 2 (6 innings)
Twenty-four hours after scoring 13 runs in a rout of Cheltenham, the Panthers were back at it again, this time putting 12 on the board against the Trojans, and the eagerly awaited showdown between a pair of teams without a loss in conference play belonged to the Panthers.
The game – like Thursday’s against Cheltenham – was played on Quakertown’s jayvee field since the varsity field was still deemed unplayable.
The Panthers took the suspense out of this one in the first inning when they scored eight runs with two outs – nine all told. Collecting RBIs in the inning were Mason Hicks, Bradley Bryan, Nathaniel Barnes, JJ Paul, Sean Brennan and Dennis Pierce.
“Today we got a good start early in the game,” coach Jon Pallone said. “We hit the ball hard. Sometimes you hit the ball hard, and it goes right at people, and sometimes it finds a hole every time.
“We were very fortunate today that a lot of times it found the holes and we got a good lead early on in the game. It’s an important lesson for everybody – hopefully, we learned it too. Never give up an inning.”
Justin Guidos and Brian Robison combined to allow two hits and two runs. Robison allowed one hit in one scoreless inning in relief, fanning three and walking one. Guidos gave up one hit and two runs in five standout innings while striking out 10 and walking two.
“Justin wanted to play today,” said Pallone, whose team gave up its first earned runs of the season Friday. “He rises to the challenge every time. He’s got great stuff as a pitcher, but I’ve always thought his biggest attribute as a pitcher isn’t his arm, his location or his stuff. It’s that he battles.
“He’s got an aggressive, confident mentality and wants to rise to every challenge, and every batter is a challenge.”
JJ Paul’s 2-for-3 effort at the plate included one RBI and a run scored. No other player had more than one hit in a contest that saw the Panthers collect 10 hits to just two for the Trojans.
“Yesterday we had two home runs, today we didn’t have any,” Pallone said. “We had a couple of extra base hits, but everyone just found a way to hit the ball hard and get on base.”
Nathaniel Barnes (2 RBIs), Sean Brennan (2 RBIs) and Mason Hicks (1-for-2, 2B, 2 RBIs) all drove in a pair of runs for the Panthers.
Steve Loden and Brian Hynes accounted for the Trojans’ two hits.
When it was over, Pallone had a cautionary word for his players.
“Wissahickon is a very good team,” the Panthers’ coach said. “They have a lot of talented players, Andy (Noga) is a great coach. He’s early in his career, but you can tell he has a lot of great things ahead of him.
“The first thing I said to the guys afterwards, ‘We better not take these guys lightly because they are a very good baseball team.’ Today the hard-hit balls fell in for us. On another day, they might not.”
Quakertown (4-1, 4-0 SOL) will travel to Upper Moreland on Monday, and Wissahickon (5-2, 3-1) will host Cheltenham on Monday.
Wissahickon 002 000 2-2-4
Quakertown 902 001 12-10-1
SOL Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 16, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 9
The Titans scored double-digit runs for the second time in as many days on Friday. Last year, they reached double digits only once and that came in a non-league win.
So confident is this year’s Titan squad that they were unfazed when the Bucks opened up a 7-0 lead after two innings, responding with 16 runs over the final four innings to win going away.
“With the way that we’ve been hitting, we didn’t panic at all, which was really good to see from the young team we have,” said coach Brian Klumpp, whose team was coming off a 14-4 win over William Tennent a day earlier. “We were a little bit sloppy with our fielding. They had a couple of bleeders, and then they got a couple of big hits.
“The first two innings were rough to get through, but once we settled in defensively, then our bats woke up a little bit, which happens a lot. You have a lot of things going on in the field and you’re out in the field for so long. It just becomes a long game, and it kind of takes your bats out of it. Once we settled in, the bats woke up.”
In a two-run fourth inning, a solo shot by Joey Loynd – his first of two round trippers in the game – was followed by a triple from Connor McKeown
“It’s 7-0, and Joey hit the home run and right after that Connor McKeown tripled, so you start to get a little bit of life,” Klumpp said. “The bench woke up a little bit. That definitely started it a little bit.”
An eight-run fifth was highlighted by Owen Petrich’s two-out, two-run home run that broke an 8-8 tie.
“For a freshman to step in that spot and do that – that was huge,” Klumpp said.
Petrich’s blast came on the heels of Jake Trachtenberg’s pinch hit RBI double that knotted the score.
“It was the second day in a row Jake Trachtenberg had a pinch hit RBI in a key situation,” Klumpp said.
In a four-run sixth, Ben Berger led off the frame with a home run. Zach Steinberg followed with a double, setting the stage for Loynd’s second home run of the day.
Loynd was an impossible out, finishing 3-for-3 with two home runs and a double, three RBIs and four runs scored.
“He’s ridiculous right now,” Klumpp said. “He’s just seeing the ball really well, he’s being very patient at the plate, waiting for his pitch.
“Last year we couldn’t manufacture runs to save our lives. This year they’re just coming at bunches, but that’s the one thing about the team this year – they’ve bought into the stuff we’ve been preaching as coaches and staff. They battle, they really are close as a team. They don’t get down on each other. They know they’re in every single game we play.”
The Titans had a lengthy list of players – in addition to Loynd – with multiple hits: Berger (2-for-5, HR, RBI, 2 runs), Steinberg (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs, 2 runs), Connor McKeown (2-for-5, 3 runs), John McSweeny (2-for-5, 2 RBIs, run) and Petrich (2-for-3, HR, 2 RBIs, run). Trachtenberg and Dylan Gruber both had two RBIs.
On the mound, Jake McKeown notched the win, bringing order to the game for the Titans. In 4.2 innings, he allowed three hits and two runs – both unearned – while striking out two and walking none.
“Jake McKeown did a great job of coming in and really settling us down,” Klumpp said. “He was effective because he threw strikes, and we ended up making plays behind him.”
For the Bucks, who pounded out 12 hits, Tyler Dalzell led the way with a 2-for-4 effort that included a home run, four RBIs and two runs scored. Matt Cooper (2-for-3, RBI, run), Rhys Nicholas (2-for-4, 2B, RBI, run) and Josh Hannon (2-for-4, RBI) also had multi-hit days.
Central Bucks South (3-3, 3-0 SOL) will host Bensalem in a non-league game Monday, and Central Bucks West (1-6, 1-3) will travel to Pennridge on Monday.
Central Bucks South 000 284 2 16-15-6
Central Bucks West 340 110 0 9-12-4
Non-league
ABINGTON 3, CHELTENHAM 0
Don’t try telling Jon Morrissette that Friday’s game didn’t matter. Granted, it was a non-league game and didn’t count toward the playoffs rankings, but this annual battle between the neighboring rivals always matters. This year’s meeting loomed especially large for two squads that are struggling to get untracked in conference play.
“As far as team morale, this counted,” the Ghosts’ coach said.
George Jacob and Joey DiMaria played starring roles in the win, combining to toss a four-hit shutout. Jacob, who earned the win, started and threw four innings, scattering three hits while striking out three and walking one. Joey DiMaria was credited with the save, allowing just one hit in three shutout innings to close it out. He struck out two and did not walk a batter.
“Both pitchers not only pitched great games, but whenever there was a situation when the other team had runners in scoring position, they really stepped up for the team,” Morrissette said. “They both had times where guys were in scoring position, and they went to a whole new level. Those two did a great job.”
The Ghosts managed just four hits of their own but found a way to score three runs. They got on the board in the second when Jake Ward delivered an RBI single and added two more in the third. Stephen Vogl’s booming triple accounted for one of those runs.
“There was a chance he could have tried to get a home run, but he ended up with a triple,” Morrissette said.
That was more than enough for Jacob and DiMaria, who were on top of their game in Friday’s win.
Abington (2-5, 0-2 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Monday, and Cheltenham (3-4, 0-3) will travel to Methacton for a non-league contest on Saturday.
Cheltenham 000 000 0 0-4-2
Abington 012 000 x 3-4-3
PENNRIDGE 5, UPPER MORELAND 4 (8 innings)
It took extra innings, and it won’t count toward the district playoffs, but all of that was secondary to coach Tom Nuneviller.
“We had a rough week – we lost two games, and we were tie with Neshaminy in a suspended game, and we lost to CB South last week, so we hadn’t gotten a victory yet,” the Rams’ coach said. “We needed a win. It was an exciting way to end it in walk-off fashion.
“We’re scheduled to play CB West on Monday, so hopefully, we’ll have a little bit of momentum going into next week.”
The Rams trailed by one heading into the bottom of the seventh and pushed the tying run across on a bases-loaded walk.
One inning later, Nick Christ drew a leadoff walk and was replaced by Jason Petrik, who re-entered the game. The Rams had a pair on board after Paul Coyle laid down a bunt and beat the throw to the bag. Mike Simpson – with the third baseman back – followed with a bunt base hit to load the bases. Ryan Lerro hit a hard shot that the second baseman was not able to handle, and Petrik raced home with the winning run.
The Rams collected 11 hits. Jon Nase was 2-for-4 with a home run, Paul Croyle was 2-for-5, and Petrik added a double. Shane Long had a pair of RBIs and Brett Henofer had one.
“Jon Nase had a nice line drive base hit in the gap and then he hit a home run his second at bat, so he had a couple of good hits,” Nuneviller said.
Christ earned the win in relief.
“He battled and did a nice job,” Nuneviller said. “It was a good team win today.
For the Golden Bears, it was their second extra-inning game in as many days. Dawson Ruggles (2-for-3) and Jack Dombroski (2-for-5) led the Bears’ 9-hit attack. Tom Longstreth, Connnor O’Donnell, Luke Ciliberto and Ryan Gibbs each had an RBI.
Pennridge (1-3, 0-3 SOL) will host Central Bucks West on Monday, and Upper Moreland (1-3, 1-2) will host Quakertown on Monday.
Upper Moreland 021 000 11 5-11-3
Pennridge 021 000 11 5-11-2
SOUDERTON 3, DOCK MENNONITE 0
The Indians managed just two hits in Friday’s annual game between the neighboring rivals, but they didn’t need a whole lot of offense with Jordan Morales and Brian Janetka on the mound. Morales, who earned the win, did not allow a hit in three scoreless innings. He fanned six and walked two.
Janetka earned the save with four shutout innings in relief. He allowed just two hits and struck out three. He did not walk a batter.
The Indians scored the only run they would need in the first when Luke Taylor delivered an RBI single. They added two more in the third, and that 3-0 lead stood the rest of the way.
Taylor finished the game 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Luke Shank accounted for the Indians’ second hit.
Souderton (4-1, 2-0 SOL) will host Upper Dublin in a non-league game Saturday at 1 p.m.
Dock Mennonite 000 000 0 0-2-4
Souderton 102 000 x 3-2-0
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 18, HATBORO-HORSHAM 7 (5 innings)
The Hatters erupted for six runs in the top of the first, but the Patriots did one better in the bottom of the second, scoring seven. They went on to put 11 more on the board in the next three innings, bringing an early end to the non-league game.
The Patriots had 11 hits in the abbreviated contest – seven were for extra bases. Contributing multiple hits for the Patriots were Tommy Webb (2-for-3, HR, 3 RBIs, 3 runs), Sean E’Nama (2-for-3, 2B, RBI, 2 runs) and Jake Grube (2-for-4, 2B, RBI, 3 runs). Nick Bitsko (2 RBIs), Lew Meringo (RBI), Jack Nugent and Colin Weber (2 RBIs) each contributed a double. James Pello shared the team lead with three RBIs, and Tyler Young had a pair of RBIs.
For the Hatters. Shane Carpenter and Sean Gledhill both contributed doubles.
Bitsko, who earned the win, did not allow a hit in 1.1 innings of middle relief, striking out four and walking none.
Central Bucks East (5-4, 1-3 SOL) will be on the road at William Tennent on Monday, and Hatboro-Horsham (2-5, 2-2) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 600 01 7-5-5
Central Bucks East 074 34 18-11-1
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