Harry S Truman and Council Rock South both came up with huge wins in SOL baseball action Monday. Check the recaps.
SOL National Conference
HARRY S TRUMAN 2, PENNSBURY 1
Evan Profy, according to his coach, has been money all year.
The Tigers’ sophomore leadoff batter certainly was just that in the bottom of the seventh in Monday’s high stakes game against the Falcons. With the bases loaded, two outs and a 2-2 count in a tie ball game, Profy lined a single to center, plating a run that gave the Tigers the walk-off win.
“Towards the end of the season, his batting average in the league has been flirting with .500,” coach Tim Monaghan said. “He started last year as a freshman and got some playing time. He’s been our everyday leadoff hitter since day one. He leads our team in hits, and he’s been clutch all season long. He has nine RBIs out of the leadoff spot.
“It’s two strikes, two outs, bottom of seven in a tie game against Pennsbury with a chance to go to the playoffs. You couldn’t possibly pack more drama into that at-bat than what that moment was. They’re the defending state champs, all that stuff. It was a crazy game.”
With both team’s sights set on a district playoff berth, the game was switched from Tuesday to Monday to ensure it would be played.
“We really didn’t want to be in a position where we wasted the nicest day of the week when we only have one game left to go,” Monaghan said.
The Tigers needed a big outing from starting pitcher Cameron Culver, and they got it. Culver threw just 77 pitches in the complete game win – 60 of those for strikes. He allowed four hits and two runs (only one earned) while striking out seven and walking a pair.
“Cam was looking for that signature win this year,” Monaghan said. “He was injured at the beginning of the season – he turned his ankle.
“We kind of envisioned him being our number one going into the year. He didn’t get off to maybe the start that you’d want because of his injuries. It just happened to work out when his turn came up in the rotation it was against the teams at the bottom of the league, but he did a great job.
“But he didn’t really get a lot of big-time wins in a big spot this year. I thought today was a show-me moment for him – are you really the number one, and if you are, go out and beat the defending state champs. He was fantastic. He was challenging hitters, he was living on the outer half of the plate, he had very good command, and he was able to locate where he wanted to the majority of the time today. He made it very difficult on them.”
The Falcons put a run on the board in the third when Josh Arruda, who singled, scored on a two-out error. The Tigers knotted the score in the fourth when Wayne Pekarski hit a two-out double that plated Dylan Jackson, who had singled.
In the top of the sixth, Shane Marlin singled and scored on Justin Massielo’s RBI double, but again, the Tigers had an answer, scoring the tying run on an RBI single by Jackson and setting the stage for the Tigers’ seventh-inning rally.
With their regular season completed, the Tigers – 19th in the latest District One 6A power rankings – now have to play the waiting game.
“This is probably the biggest win for the program since 2011, which was the last time we were in districts,” “Monaghan said. “We really hope we did enough to earn a spot in the tournament.
“Coming into our week last week, we thought if we took 2-of-3 we’d be in good shape, but I’ll tell you what – Council Rock South has made it really difficult on everyone. After we beat them, they looked like they might be dead, and they’ve done nothing but win every single game since then against really good teams. That’s a credit to them.”
Jackson (2-for-3, RBI, run) and Pekarski (2-for-3, 2B, RBI) led the Tigers at the plate.
Harry S Truman (7-5 SOL) closed out its regular season with an 8-11 record overall. The Tigers are 8-6 in games counting toward the District One 6A power rankings. Pennsbury (5-7 SOL) is 10-10 overall with a 6-8 record in games counting toward districts. The Falcons were ranked 20th in the latest rankings on Monday night.
Pennsbury 001 001 0 2-5-1
Harry S Truman 000 101 1 3-6-1
Non-league crossover
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3, NORTH PENN 2
The Golden Hawks played the role of giant killer in Monday’s crossover game, defeating the district’s top-seeded team and increasing their chances of earning a spot in the 20-team District One 6A field.
The Golden Hawks won it with an unearned run in the top of the seventh when Jack O’Neil, who reached base on an error and stole second, raced home with the go-ahead run on Matt Smith’s clutch two-out single.
“Like Rocky IV – ‘He’s not a machine,’” said Rock South coach Ted Kirner, whose team benefitted from four Knight miscues to plate a pair of unearned runs. “They did everything they could to help us out, and we got a couple of key hits when we really needed them. That’s something we’ve been missing all season.
“The message I’m trying to get across to the boys is – every inning you’ve got to put yourself in a position to win that inning. Get on – I don’t care how. Put the ball in play. We were not playing in the greatest of conditions. I don’t believe that had anything to do with any of the errors.”
The game – originally scheduled for North Penn – was played at Council Rock South since the Knights’ field was unplayable.
“The field was soft – it was wet in some spots, and both teams agreed to play on it,” Kirner said. “They didn’t say a peep about it. You play a team like North Penn and the message is – they will not beat themselves.
“Today, we got out of some jams, we were able to get on base, put a little pressure on them and come through with two really clutch hits.”
The first of the two came in the sixth inning after the Knights – thanks to four free passes – got on the scoreboard on a bases-loaded walk to Tyler Siddal in the fourth. Smith opened the sixth with a single, and Evan Fisher reached base on an error. Both runners moved up on Luke Gregory’s sacrifice bunt, and with one out and a pair of runners in scoring position, Kirner decided to stay with the small ball.
“I was trying to just bunt Nick (Gallo), score a run and tie the game up 1-1,” Kirner said. “Nick couldn’t get the job done, and I let him swing down 0-2. He battled – fouled a pitch off, takes two pitches outside, and it’s 2-2, and he just absolutely crushes a ball over the left fielder’s head. It was a no-doubt-about-it stand-up double. We scored two runs and take a 2-1 lead.”
But not for long.
The Knights got that run back in the bottom of the sixth when Rob Weiss, who walked, scored on Jake Drelick’s double to center. After the Golden Hawks scored the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh, the Knights put their leadoff man on board in the seventh when the Hawks botched a sky high pop up on the right side.
“That’s a ball that’s gotta be caught a hundred times out of a hundred, and it fell,” Kirner said. “There was no yelling or screaming at the kid. It was the first time the kid played first base in a while.
“We have kids that are ineligible, and we’re down five of our normal roster players, which is very frustrating. We’re grinding with the guys that we’ve got.”
Rock South reliever Jake Barder fanned the Knights’ four and five hitters and then coaxed a ground ball to third for the game’s final out.
“All day my relief pitcher Jake Barder battled,” Kirner said. “He’s been waiting for his opportunity and really has just owned it the last two weeks of the season.
“He loves the spotlight, loves the pressure. He’s a crafty little lefty – nothing fazes him, and he just keeps getting the job done, and he’s doing it with a smile on his face, which is refreshing.”
Barder, who earned the win, allowed two hits and one run (unearned) in three innings of relief. He fanned two and walked one. Brendan Carter got the start and threw four innings. He did not allow a hit but walked seven and struck out seven.
Smith (2-for-4, RBI, run) was the lone player from either side to finish with more than one hit in a contest that saw the two teams combine for just six hits.
The Knights wasted a strong outing by Joe Valenti, who allowed just four hits and three runs (one earned) in 6.2 innings. He struck out three and walked one.
The Knights are 12-1 in games counting toward the District One 6A power rankings. The Golden Hawks – 18th in the latest rankings – are 6-7 with one game remaining that counts towards district seeding.
“All the work in the offseason – this is what you do,” Kirner said. “I’m very happy for the win for my team. This win is all on my coaching staff, all of the work they relentlessly put in.
“I just hope that they enjoy the moment, and then you got to win tomorrow. You have to come out and you have to win tomorrow. If you want to know what it takes to win in the playoffs, we’re getting some experience now. We did the same thing to ourselves last year where we had to win out against really good teams to try and sneak in.
“We have to do what we’ve got to do to win. We’ve taken care of business the last two weeks, but it means nothing if we don’t take care of business tomorrow, so we need that sharp focus and we’ve got to get ready for tomorrow.”
Council Rock South (8-9, 5-6 SOL) will host Neshaminy in its regular season finale Tuesday, and North Penn (15-3, 11-0) will host Pennridge in its Senior Day game.
Council Rock South 000 002 1 3-4-4
North Penn 000 101 0 2-2-4
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