Jarrad Saffren recaps all of Tuesday’s SOL baseball action, which included several suspended games.
By Jarrad Saffren
Heavy winds and rain disrupted various SOL baseball games on Tuesday, which was supposed to be the last day of the regular season. A lot of games were able to finish, and a lot of teams were able to finish their seasons or solidify playoff seeds.
Others were not so lucky. All 10 results, almost results, and recaps are below.
Non-league crossover
Council Rock North 17, Central Bucks West 7
Council Rock North actually fell behind 5-0 in the top of the first on Tuesday, then outscored CB West 17-2 over the next five and a half innings. The Indians improved to 10-4 in games that count toward the District One Class 6A Power Rankings, and strengthened their playoff position. They are 11th in the rankings, and 12 teams earn byes.
Everyone in North’s lineup had a big day, especially Cavan Tully and Matt Shenot. Tully had two hits, two runs and three RBIs. Shenot had three hits, three runs and three RBIs.
“He’s our table setter. He’s the top dog,” said North coach Matt Schram. “When he’s having a good game, he gets on base, puts balls in play, and gets everybody else. He’s the prototypical leadoff hitter.”
Shenot missed last season, his junior season, with an injury, but he started as a sophomore in 2016, when North reached the state quarterfinals.
“We knew last year we’d have two returning starters, Cavan and Shenot. When Shenot went down in football, we knew we were going to struggle. Having him back is a breath of fresh air. He’s nothing but positive, always up, always high-fiving, getting kids up. He’s a positive life force for us,” Schram said. “I believe sitting out and watching made him a better player, specifically offensively. Listening to the coaches talk about at-bats, approach, pitch count. He had to become a student because he couldn’t play. He held a clipboard the whole day and really became very knowledgeable.”
Jason Walter actually led North with four RBIs. Griffin Peterson and Nolan Hartwell both scored two runs and drove in two more. Kyle Dearie and Ryan Stalker scored three and two runs, respectively.
“Up and down the lineup we were strong. Our lineup is deep and we spread the wealth. Our 7-8-9 guys can easily be someone else’s 1-2-3 or 5-6-7. Guys have accepted their roles in those spots as well. That’s why we’ve been able to score a lot of runs this year,” Schram said. “We have a lot of seniors, some with experience, and others who were chomping at the bit to get their opportunity, and they have run with it this year. Being around the varsity and feeling the speed of our practices and games got them ready.”
On the bump, Stalker allowed just one earned run in six innings, fanning seven. He relieved North ace Eric Hoefer after that rough first inning.
“Hoefer didn’t have his best outing and Stalker shut them down the rest of the game. He did a nice job,” Schram said. “And Hoefer was his biggest fan. That’s important, and I mentioned that in our huddle.”
Matt Cooper led CB West with two hits and three RBIs. Tommy Comes paced the Bucks with two runs scored. Tyler Dalzell had a run, a hit, and an RBI. Luke Nitschke had two hits, a run, and an RBI.
CR North closed the regular season at 12-6 overall, and CB West finished at 3-15.
Central Bucks West 5-0-1-1-0-0-X 7
Council Rock North 0-7-1-1-6-2-X 17
SOL National
Neshaminy 5, Council Rock South 1
Neshaminy gave itself a chance to make the district playoffs, and CR South hurt its own chances. The Langhorne boys are 20th in the 6A power rankings with this win, and 20 teams make the 6A field. CR South is 19th, but other results still need to come in. The Golden Hawks could have basically clinched a spot by winning this game.
“We knew we had to win this one and hope that things go our way. A whole bunch of things can change, but I’m happy we were able to win that game and give ourselves a chance to get in,” said Neshaminy coach Dan Toner. “The guys were loose and just had a fun time playing.”
Rock South coach Ted Kirner still likes his team’s chances to earn a spot in the district field.
“I still feel confident that we’ll find our way in,” the Golden Hawks’ coach said. “I don’t see us any higher than the 19 seed, but we have to wait for these final scores to all come in. Nothing is complete until all the percentages are done. There’s a real possibility of 21 happening. If there was a letdown game for us, today was the day.
“At the heart of it, these are kids and they allow themselves to believe the hype. They need to realize and understand that you have to play all 21, especially in this area, conference, and part of Pennsylvania. Mentally we weren’t ready to compete today. I’m hoping it’s not a hard lesson to learn in that it knocks us out. I’m hoping we get another chance as a low seed. We were playing from behind today and that hurt us. We couldn’t put up enough runs to come all the way back. We got a couple days off now to recharge and we’ll either be on a golf course or playing in a playoff game.”
Neshaminy took a 4-0 lead in the top of the first and led the rest of the way. Dalton Turner knocked in two runs.
“It was very good for him. He’s been working on approach and he’s starting to get in a good groove,” Toner said. “It’s good to see him as a sophomore get that experience under his belt.”
Gus Natelli, Brian Nicolas, and Harold Landman all scored a run and drove one in. Jake Fehrle pitched a complete game for Neshaminy, striking out six.
“He’s our number one and he’s always up for the challenge,” Toner said. “He stepped out there and just attacked the strike zone today.”
Evan Fisher drove in South’s run. Jack O’Neill scored it.
Neshaminy ended the regular season at 9-10 overall and 6-6 in SOL National play. CR South finished at 8-10 and 5-7.
Neshaminy 4-0-0-0-0-1-0 5
Council Rock South 1-0-0-0-0-0-0 1
Bensalem 11, Abington 1
Bensalem’s Stephen Aldrich pitched all six innings and did not allow an earned run. He also struck out eight in leading the Owls to a win in their second to last game of the regular season. Bensalem stands at 15-3 overall, 10-2 in league play, and as the SOL National champion. The Owls are also fourth in the 6A power rankings.
Aldrich (four) and Jon Revell (three) combined for seven RBIs on Tuesday. Nicholas Dean added two and also scored three runs. Keith Parrish two hits and scored three runs. Brian Swentkowski scored two runs.
Stephen Vogl drove in Abington’s run. George Jacob scored it.
Bensalem plays William Tennent on Wednesday at 3:45. Abington ended the season at 4-16 overall and 1-11 in league play.
Bensalem 3-0-2-5-0-1-X 11
Abington 0-0-0-0-1-0-X 1
SOL American
Hatboro-Horsham 3, Cheltenham 2
Benny Wilson pitched a complete game, and Hatboro-Horsham overcame a 2-0 deficit to close the regular season with a win. Wilson fanned seven and ended the season with 34 strikeouts in 30 innings. He also finished with a 2.31 ERA.
“He’s been outstanding all year. He started as our closer because he was catching too. He just developed so much over the year that we gave him an opportunity to start and he’s thrown complete games the last two games. Both were very strong outings. His control is outstanding,” said Hatters coach Pete Moore. “He’s a sophomore and the development he had from last year to this year is tremendous. He’s only walked four all year – 34 strikeouts and four walks. He commands the strike zone and can throw three pitches for strikes in any count.”
Moore found something in Wilson, something for the future. He is just as excited about the other pitchers coming back to Hatboro-Horsham in 2019. Jackson Treski struck out 28 in 17 innings and finished with a 1.62 ERA. Jimmy Tooley posted a 1.27 ERA in 11 innings. Eric Thron fanned 23 in 21 innings.
“Coming into this year we knew we had Alex Crim at the top of our staff, and right behind him we had three sophomores. They all did a nice job, plus a freshman who had a 1.27 ERA,” Moore said. “So we know we return four very good pitchers next year.”
On Tuesday, Hatboro-Horsham scored a run in the third and two more in the fifth, taking and then holding a one-run lead. Josh Heebner drove in two of H-H’s three runs. Anthony Bruno knocked in the other. Jake Bianchini, Jake Mayson, and Ryley Robinson scored the runs. Mayson had a pair of hits to lead the Hatters.
Lukas Nakkula knocked in both of Cheltenham’s runs. Aidan Schmidt and Alex Bugg scored them. Bugg also pitched two scoreless innings.
Hatboro-Horsham (7-12, 6-8 SOL) plays North Penn on Friday night at seven, in its regular season finale. Cheltenham finished 6-13 overall and 3-11 in SOL American play in 2018.
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0-1-0-2-0-0 3
Cheltenham 2-0-0-0-0-0-0 2
Upper Dublin 5, Upper Moreland 4 (12 innings)
This game started on March 28, the first day of the regular season, and ended on Tuesday, the last day of the season. Upper Dublin scored a run in the top of the 12th and shut down Upper Moreland in the bottom of the inning.
In the top of the 12th, Michael Zicchinolfi – who led the Cardinals with four hits – singled to right, scoring Julian Gimbel. Garrett Breslin pitched a perfect bottom of the 12th to seal the deal. Breslin pitched 8.1 innings in this game, going back to March 28. He allowed just two hits and struck out eight.
“It was awesome, we won, which has been tough this year,” said Upper Dublin coach Ed Wall. “Garrett’s been great all season, our best and most consistent pitcher. It was good to see him go out and have another good outing today.”
Jack Jamison had a pair of hits and drove in two UD runs. Jacob Womelsdorf had a pair of hits. Brian McPeak knocked in the other. Riley Brink and Elijah Peck both scored runs.
Upper Moreland’s Jack Dombrowski and Kevin Walder both had a pair of hits, scored a run and drove one in. Trey Cuozzo had two hits and one RBI. Cole Kitchen also had a pair or hits and scored two runs, and Ryan Gibbs had two hits. Colin Bates struck out eight and allowed one run in 6.1 innings.
Upper Dublin is just 3-12, and 2-10 in league play, after losing the second game on Tuesday. It has been a tough year, but Wall is proud of his nine seniors.
“The weather was unlike at any time that I can remember with it being wet and cold and nasty. We’ve had maybe 10 practices on our field all year,” Wall said. “Our seniors were awesome though. Even with our record, they did exactly what they said. Win or lose, you’ll get our best every time. And they always had a good attitude.”
Upper Dublin 0-0-0-1-3-0-0-0-0-0-0-1 5
Upper Moreland 1-1-0-2-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 4
Upper Moreland 5, Upper Dublin 3
Upper Moreland closed out its league season with a win, taking the second game, the originally scheduled game, from Upper Dublin on Tuesday. Dawson Ruggles earned the win by pitching a complete game. He supported himself by going 3-for-3 and scoring two runs. Ryan Gibbs also was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. Kevin Walder scored a run and had an RBI. Thomas Longstreth scored a run and knocked one in. Kevin Davis had an RBI.
“It was a pretty good performance from everybody. Dawson Ruggles pitched pretty well. Defensively we were sound behind him,” said Upper Moreland coach Dan Heiland. “Ruggles and Walder stepped up and knocked in runs when they had opportunities to.”
Julian Gimbel scored two of Upper Dublin’s runs. Brian McPeak – who had a pair of hits – added the other. Jarrod Matz (two) and Joey Monaghan (one) drove in the runs.
The Golden Bears, at 5-11 and 3-9 in league play, are not going to make the District One Class 5A playoffs. But Heiland is still happy with the season.
“Overall it was a good season for us. Our record doesn’t show in the win column how many games we were actually in. Numerous extra inning games and games where we had the lead and fell short. That happens with a young team,” Heiland said. “But as those guys gained experience, they got a lot better and understood the game a lot more. I’m looking forward to continuing that progress next year. Upper Moreland’s baseball program is moving in the right direction.”
Upper Moreland does have one game left, on Wednesday at 3:45 against Downingtown West. Upper Dublin (3-12, 2-10 SOL) hosts Harry S. Truman on Wednesday at 3:45.
Upper Moreland 1-0-0-2-2 5
Upper Dublin 0-0-1-0-2 3
Springfield Township 3, Wissahickon 3 (Suspended)
Springfield led 3-0 going into the bottom of the sixth. But Wissahickon scored three runs in the next two innings to tie the game. That’s when the rain started and didn’t stop, suspending this game after seven innings.
It is scheduled to resume Wednesday afternoon, but more rain is in the forecast. Even if Springfield and Wissahickon can’t pick this one up before Thursday’s seeding meeting, it won’t be that big of a deal. Both clubs are firmly in their respective district playoff fields.
Springfield is second in the District One Class 4A Power Rankings. Four teams make the field. Wissahickon is sixth in the District One Class 5A Power Rankings, and 16 teams make those playoffs.
“We’re going to try to resume it but it’s supposed to rain until Saturday, and we have to finish it by Thursday at seven. I don’t think it really affects our seeding position or their position,” said Springfield coach Dennis Primavera. “We are going to try to finish it tomorrow but it doesn’t look good for sure.”
“I’m not sure how it’s gonna affect us, if it’s going to change our seeding at all,” said Wissahickon coach Andy Noga. “But we’d still like to win the baseball game. We don’t want to go out on a loss. We’re pretty much set as a six or five seed. But we fought our way back, so we want to see it out and get a victory we deserve.”
Michael Steitz, Steve Loden, Eddie Fortescue, Andrew Booth, and Brian Mendhart all slammed multiple hits for Wissahickon. Steitz, Loden, and Booth scored the runs. Loden, Fortescue, and Brian Hynes drove in runs. Mike Gorman pitched 1.2 shutout innings.
Trevor McCaffery (one) and Brian Murphy (two) drove in Springfield’s runs. Morgan D’Amico, Nate Denis, and Max Perry scored the runs.
Springfield (9-7, 9-4 SOL) and Wissahickon (12-5, 10-3 SOL) do not have any more regular season games once this one ends.
Springfield Township 0-1-1-0-0-1-0 3
Wissahickon 0-0-0-0-0-1-2 3
Quakertown 7, Plymouth Whitemarsh 0 (Unfinished)
Quakertown scored four runs in the first, two in the second, and one in the third. Panthers’ starter Justin Guidos shut out the Colonials through four innings, striking out eight. But rain washed this game out after the bottom of the fourth.
Sean Brennan and Dennis Pierce both had two runs and an RBI. JJ Paul had three RBIs and a run. Brian Robison and Nolan Byrnes both scored a run and drove one in.
PW reliever Steve Gallagher allowed no runs in 1.2 innings.
Quakertown (13-4, 11-2 SOL) is sixth in the 6A power rankings. The Panthers host Pennridge on Wednesday night at seven. PW (11-7, 8-5 SOL) is 17th in the rankings and likely to make the 20-team playoff field. The Colonials play Radnor on Thursday at 3:45.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-0-0-0-X-X-X 0
Quakertown 4-2-1-0-X-X-X 7
SOL Continental
Souderton 8, William Tennent 3
Souderton played a complete game, finished the season at 13-6, and increased its chances of earning a first round playoff bye. The Indians are 13th in the 6A power rankings, but could move up depending on how other games shake out. The top 12 teams earn first round byes.
“I’d be happy at 13, I’d be happy at 12. Twelve gets us the bye, which would be huge. But we’re also happy to play Monday and not sit as long. But we’ll see. We have to wait for some more games to finish,” said Souderton coach Michael Childs. “We have three wins going into playoffs, so we’re feeling good. Our pitching is rolling pretty good and I don’t even think we’ve seen their full potential.”
Souderton starter Jordan Morales (eight) and reliever Aaron Groller (five) combined for 13 strikeouts on Tuesday. They also allowed just five hits and three runs.
“Jordan and Groller were great today. They threw strikes, got ahead. Groller hit spots and was cruising pretty well,” Childs said. “They both worked the off speed stuff. They kept Delgado in check with no extra base hits. I was pleased with that. He’s one of the better power hitters in the league.”
Morales, who had a pair of hits, and Luke Barnum both drove in two runs for Souderton. David Gulibon and Blaise Sclafani both scored two runs. Sclafani’s 3-for-4 effort at the plate led the Indians. Luke Taylor and Ryan Dalton each had a run and an RBI.
William Tennent’s Pat McCauley, who was 2-for-3, scored two runs and drove in one. Julian Manes and Kevin Ralston both had an RBI. Nick Meltzer scored a run.
William Tennent (8-10, 4-8 SOL) plays Bensalem on Wednesday at 3:30, in its season finale. The Panthers are 25th in the 6A rankings and probably won’t make the playoffs.
Souderton 0-0-2-4-0-0-2 8
William Tennent 0-0-0-2-0-1-0 3
Central Bucks South 1, Central Bucks East 0 (Unfinished)
Ben Berger blasted a home run in the bottom of the first, giving CB South a 1-0 lead. South starter Ryan Rieber allowed one hit and no runs in four innings. But the game was rained out in the top of the fifth.
Both teams are in the playoff race, CB South at 12th in the 6A rankings, CB East at 23rd, so they should finish this game.
CB South (10-8, 7-4 SOL) hosts Upper Merion on Wednesday at 3:30. CB East (10-9, 4-7 SOL) has no regular season games left besides this one.
Central Bucks East 0-0-0-0-0-X-X 0
Central Bucks South 1-0-0-0-X-X-X 1
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