CB East and Souderton picked up important conference wins. Abington won its non-league game against Upper Dublin. Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Friday.
SOL Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 6, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 5 (9 innings)
It took nine innings to determine a winner when the neighboring rivals met, and in the end, it was a bases-loaded walk to Will Masterson that propelled the Patriots to the walk-off win.
The win moved the Patriots from 23rd to 21st in the latest District One 6A power rankings with 20 teams receiving district berths.
“We’re right on the bubble,” coach Kyle Dennis said. “We have to take care of our business.
“It we take are of ourselves and take care of the next three games we have, we’re going to be close. I’m hoping for these guys – they’re playing their better baseball right now.”
The ninth inning went something like this: Grant Meiers drew a lead-off walk and was replaced by pinch runner Mark Beatty. Colin Weber’s sacrifice bunt moved Beatty to second. James Pello walked to put a pair of Patriot runners on board. One out later, Jimmy Parrish drew a walk to load the bases, and then it was Masterson’s turn to draw a free pass – his walk brought home Beatty with the game winner.
Dennis lauded the performances of all three of his pitchers. Jack Roland got the start and threw five innings, allowing six hits and five runs (three earned) while striking out two and walking none.
“He did a great job,” the Patriots’ coach said. “He threw a lot of strikes. Unfortunately, he was the victim of some poor defensive play early in the game.
“We had three errors on the day, and I think all of them may have been in the first couple of innings. He didn’t walk anybody, and he did a great job of making West put the ball in play.”
Nick Bitsko entered the game in the sixth and did not allow a hit in three shutout innings that saw him fan eight and walk just one.
“We went to Nick in the sixth inning as a six-out close – hopefully, we would score a run in the sixth or seventh,” Dennis said. “Nick did a great job in three innings. He faced 10 batters and didn’t allow a hit.”
Chris Cassini took the hill in the ninth and picked up where Bitsko left off. He did not allow a hit and struck out the side, giving the Patriots 13 strikeouts and just one walk for the day. The Patriots were on the receiving end of eight walks.
“We went to Chris just in case that game went longer because he’s a starter,” Dennis said. “He didn’t start this week, so we had him to use as much as we possibly could.
“Neither of our guys allowed a hit in relief, and we surrendered one walk and had 11 strikeouts in those innings. We don’t preach strikeouts – we preach no walks. Throw strikes and you’ll be successful in high school baseball if the guys behind you are making plays.”
The Patriots collected 11 hits – three home runs. Trailing 4-1 after three, the Patriots scored three runs in the fourth – Masterson hit a two-run home run, and Bitsko delivered a solo shot to knot the score 4-4. The Bucks scored a single run in the fifth to go on top 5-4, but the Patriots got that one back in the bottom of the inning when Pello delivered a solo home run.
Masterson led the Patriots at the plate with a 3-for-3 effort that included a home run, three RBIs and a run scored. Bitsko was 2-for-3 with a home run, RBI and two runs, and Pello was 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs and a run scored.
For the Bucks, Blaise Heacox drove in a pair. Josh Hannon doubled and drove in a run. Tommy Comes also doubled. Tyler Datzell singled and drove in a run.
Central Bucks East (9-8, 5-6 SOL) will host William Tennent on Tuesday, and Central Bucks West (2-12, 2-8) will host Upper Moreland on Monday.
Central Bucks West 301 010 000 5-6-0
Central Buck East 100 310 001 6-11-3
SOUDERTON 14, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 6
The Titans have been scoring runs in bunches, putting 36 on the board in three wins combined this week. In Friday’s conference battle, it was the Indians who were pounding out hits – 19 all told, six for extra bases.
“We did make some mistakes – we gave up six runs and made three errors, but overall, we hit the ball,” Souderton coach Mike Childs said. “It was a hitting barrage today.
“Nineteen hits is like two or three game’s worth of hits, but I’ll take it. It was a good day. We hit for power. A lot of guys stepped up, a lot of guys got opportunities to step in and hit, a lot that were struggling got some hits. When you have six guys with multiple hit games, that’s always a good thing.”
Blaise Sclafani hit a solo home run to open a second inning that saw the Indians plate three runs.
“That was definitely huge,” Childs said of putting early runs on the board. “We’ve been struggling the first inning. To come out and score three right away, was huge for us.”
The Indians led 8-4 heading into the bottom of the fourth when the Titans scored two. That, however, would be their last hurrah. They did not score the rest of the way.
Sclafani started and threw 3.1 innings, allowing three hits and six runs (only two earned) while striking out two and walking four. Aaron Groller closed it out with 3.2 shutout innings in relief. He allowed one hit, struck out six and walked five.
David Gulibon led the Indians with a 4-for-5 game that included two doubles, three RBIs and three runs scored.
“Gulibon was on fire today, and that was out of the five hole,” Childs said. “We keep mixing the lineup around to try and make things happen. This is our 14th game and our 14th lineup, but guys are stepping up.
“Last week we had a bad week, and we said we had to turn it around. This week we went 3-0. We have to get hot at the right time.”
Ryan Dalton was 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
“A kid like Ryan Dalton just started for the first time the last game,” Childs said. “He had a hit last game for the first time all year, now to go 3-for-5 today – that’s pretty good.”
Also contributing multiple hits for the Indians were Luke Barnum (2-for-5, RBI, run), Luke Shank (2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBIs, 2 runs), Luke Taylor (2-for-5, RBI, run) and Jordan Morales (2-for-2, RBI, 2 runs). Conlan Wall doubled and drove in a run. Groller also had a double.
Contributing one RBI each for the Titans were Michael Marino, Jack Trachtenberg, Connor McKeown, Bryan Rossi and John McSweeny.
The win avenged last week’s 3-2 loss at the hands of the Titans, who are 10th in the latest District One 6A power rankings while the Indians are 13th.
“We knew we needed this game to up our district rankings a little bit,” Childs said. “Now we have a big one on Tuesday we’re looking forward to. North Penn beat us 13-1 last time. I don’t think we’re that bad of a team. They hit the ball really well.”
Souderton (10-5, 6-3 SOL) will travel to North Penn on Tuesday, and Central Bucks South (9-6, 7-3) will be on the road at Bensalem for a cross-over game on Tuesday.
Souderton 032 322 2 14-19-3
Central Bucks South 013 200 0 6-4-3
Non-league
ABINGTON 8, UPPER DUBLIN 6
The Ghosts exploded for seven runs in the third inning, taking a lead they would not lose in Friday night’s non-league contest.
George Jacob led the Ghosts with a 2-for-4 effort at the plate that included a pair of doubles and three RBIs. JP Nolan was 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Will Breslin was 1-for-3 with one RBI and a run scored.
For the Flying Cardinals, Jarrod Matz was 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored, and Julian Gimbel was 2-for-2 with a double, RBI and two runs. Jacob Womelsdorf doubled and scored a run. Riley Brink singled and drove in a pair of runs.
Jacob – who started and threw four innings – earned the win on the mound, allowing six hits and five runs while striking out five and walking two. Liam Friel, Christian Lavallie and Breslin each threw an inning. Breslin struck out one and did not allow a hit in a scoreless seventh to earn the save.
Abington (3-13, 0-10 SOL) will host Council Rock South on Monday, and Upper Dublin (3-8, 2-6) will host Cheltenham on Monday.
Upper Dublin 001 041 0 6-8-2
Abington 007 001 x 8-7-0
CONWELL-EGAN 5, NESHAMINY 2
The Eagles scored four runs in the first, and although the Redskins answered with two in the bottom of the inning, they never could dig their way out of that early hole.
Neshaminy managed just four hits – two by Gus Natelli, who finished the game 2-for-2 with a run scored. Brian Nicolas was 1-for-2 with a double, and Dalton Turner had a pair of RBIs.
The Redskins received solid outings from their bullpen. Dan Fus threw two innings, allowing one hit and one run while striking out three and walking one. Andrew Kleppinger did not allow a hit in three shutout innings while fanning three and walking one. Chris Cavallaro threw a scoreless seventh, striking out one.
Neshaminy (8-8, 5-4 SOL) will travel to Council Rock North on Tuesday.
Conwell-Egan 401 000 0 5-5-2
Neshaminy 200 000 0 2-4-2
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