Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Thursday. Hatboro-Horsham/Wissahickon photos courtesy of Keith Clemens Photography. CLICK HERE for a gallery of photos. Neshaminy photo provided courtesy of Jesse Garber (https://jsgarber.zenfolio.com/p331584278)
SOL National Division
Bensalem 1, Pennsbury 0
Matt McShane’s run of pitching dominance continued Thursday, and the Owls needed it as they remained undefeated in a nail-biter over Pennsbury on the road.
McShane has now thrown 27 1/3 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. Thursday, he scattered four hits and three walks, but struck out 13 in a 105-pitch, complete-game performance.
Pennsbury’s Justin Mitrovich may have been even more dominant, allowing only one hit and walking one, with nine Ks in a seven-inning, 93-pitch outing.
“(McShane) throws hard,” said Bensalem coach Harry Daut. “His cut fastball was really good today. He was just outstanding, and Mitrovich from Pennsbury was really, really good today too. We scored just enough runs to get by.”
The only run of the game came in the top of the fifth inning.
Logan Young reached on a one-out error, and then with two outs, an error on a fly ball not only kept the inning alive, but scored Young from first.
Pennsbury would then put two runners on base in the bottom of the fifth only to come up empty, and then a leadoff walk in the seventh went for naught, as McShane struck out the side to end the game.
“The highlight was our second baseman Sean Swentkowski,” Daut said. “He made a couple of game-saving plays. There was a semi line drive that he dove for and then he dove for another line drive. He just made a couple of really game-saving plays. That kid does all the dirty work for us. He catches, he plays third, he plays second. I put him all over the field, and he does the job for us.”
Bensalem (12-0, 4-0 SOL Patriot) hosts Springfield Township on Friday. Pennsbury (8-6, 2-4 SOL Patriot) has a nonleague game Friday at Upper Dublin.
Bensalem 000 010 0 – 1 1 0
Pennsbury 000 000 0 – 0 4 2
Council Rock North 7, Harry S Truman 0
To stop a five-game losing streak, sometimes it takes a little bit of hitting, while others require a strong pitching performance. The Indians got both Wednesday and won for the first time since April 22.
On the mound, Collin Williams and Pat Dougherty combined on a no-hitter. Williams went the first six innings, scattering five walks and striking out 11, before being pulled at 100 pitches. Dougherty walked one and struck out one in the seventh to close out the win.
“It was so important to get a terrific outing from one of our arms in Collin Williams,” said North coach Matt Schram. “In the last couple of games, we were giving those dreaded freebies to every team, and they capitalized on them. Walks, errors, and ugly strikeouts are a recipe of disaster and we weren’t doing anything to help ourselves.
“Today, against a well-coached team like Truman, we knew we needed to play clean just to give ourselves a chance. Colin was dominating start to finish. It was well needed.”
Offensively, CR North made the most of five hits. Leor Kedar drove in the game’s first run with an RBI triple in the top of the first and he scored on a groundout by Colin Manel. Two innings later, Austin Stalker hit a two-run home run and Shane Anhalt picked up an RBI single to up the lead to 5-0.
Kedar finished 2-for-3 on the day with two RBIs.
CR North (7-8, 3-3 SOL Patriot) is back in action Friday at Council Rock South. Truman (4-11, 1-5 SOL) plays at Bensalem on Monday.
CR North 203 101 0 – 7 5 0
Harry S. Truman 000 000 0 – 0 0 2
Neshaminy 10, Council Rock South 0 (6 innings)
A six-run second inning and dominant pitching from Justus Agosto was just what Neshaminy needed to snap a two-game losing streak and avenge a previous loss to CR South.
Agosto went all six innings – the game ended in the bottom of the sixth as two runs gave Neshaminy the margin necessary for the mercy-rule – throwing 84 pitches and allowing just one hit and two walks, while striking out seven.
Jack O’Neill had CR South’s only hit, a single with one out in the third, but after that, Agosto retired eight of the next nine batters he faced and the only other base runners came on an error and a hit by pitch.
Offensively, Neshaminy’s six-run second inning provided all the run support Agosto would need. Jake Kozlowki had an RBI double and Gaige Ryan drove in two with a triple for the big hits in the inning.
Josh Martoccio had a RBI double in the fourth, while Mike Donato made it 8-0 with a RBI sac fly.
The game ended in the bottom of the sixth as runs scored on an error and a wild pitch.
Ryan, Martoccio and Kozlowski finished with two hits each for Neshaminy, while Ryan also added three runs scored and three RBIs.
With the win, Neshaminy improved to 9-3 on the season (4-1 SOL Patriot) and hosts CB East on Friday. CR South (6-7, 2-3 SOL) hosts rival CR North on Friday.
CR South 000 000 – 0 1 1
Neshaminy 060 202 – 10 8 1
SOL Colonial Division
Central Bucks East 2, Pennridge 1
Host CB East found a way to come back and win a game with a little situational hitting, excellent pitching and solid defense and remained in first place in the SOL Colonial win over the visiting Rams.
Both teams had solid pitching. Pennridge’s Ryan DeHaven shut East out for the first four innings and allowed just two runs on two hits.
East’s Max McGrady allowed one run on four hits with six strikeouts through five innings, while sophomore Xavier Sjostedt picked up the win with two shutout innings of relief.
“Their kid had a no hitter going against us for a little while,” said Patriots coach Kyle Dennis. “The entire game the most batters to come to plate in an inning was five and that only happened twice. It was a really well-pitched game for both sides.”
Pennridge jumped up in the third, as Mitch Atchley singled with two outs and Bobby Croyle followed with an RBI double to right field.
East tied it with a run in the fifth, the big hit a bloop single by freshman right fielder Jack Mislan.
“Brett Young walked with one out,” Dennis said. “He ended up stealing second, made a heads up play on pop up in foul territory where he tagged up and went to third. He ended up scoring on a bloop single by Jack Mislan. If he’s on second base there he’s not scoring.”
One inning later, another freshman, shortstop Reece Moody, led off with another walk, stole second and scored on a RBI single by sophomore Joey Wilga.
“We had a really solid group of seniors, guys who’ve been around for a while,” Dennis said. “Then, we have a young group of guys – freshmen, sophomores and juniors – who are really stepping up and doing a fantastic job for us. Nick Carter, our junior catcher, hits a walk-off for us the other day. Xavier, a sophomore, got the win in two innings or relief for us today. Our underclassmen are really stepping up.”
CB East (10-3, 4-1 SOL) is back in action Friday with a crossover game at Neshaminy. Pennridge (3-11, 1-5 SOL) has a nonleague game Friday home against Lansdale Catholic.
Pennridge 001 000 0 – 1 5 1
CB East 000 011 x – 2 2 0
Central Bucks South 10, Souderton 4
Falling behind by three runs in the top of the first, the Titans needed to respond with offense and did just that, and they never stopped to the tune of 10 runs on 15 hits to run away for the win over visiting Souderton Thursday.
Jimmy Kelly went 4-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and four RBIs to lead the offensive attack for South, while Owen Petrich went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. Dakota Beck also had two hits for an attack that saw 10 different players have at least one hit.
A pair of errors led to three Souderton runs in the top of the first, but South came right back with one in the bottom of the first, one in the second and took the lead for good with a four-spot in the bottom of the third.
Kelly homered to lead off the bottom of the first, Matt Boyce had an RBI single in the second, and in the third a two-run home run by Petrich and three Souderton errors broke the game open in South’s favor.
Another error scored a run in the fourth, and after Souderton scored one in the fifth, Kelly had an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth, and a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth to round out the scoring.
Alex Balint picked up the win on the mound for South, going six innings and allowing one earned run on three hits. Robby Porco finished the game off with a scoreless seventh.
Shanley Wall had a triple to lead Souderton.
CB South (8-6, 4-1 SOL Colonial) remained in a first-place tie with the win, and next week, after playing CB West on Monday, has back-to-back games against co-leader CB East on Tuesday and Wednesday. Souderton (5-9, 2-4 SOL) has a nonleague game Friday at Christopher Dock.
Souderton 300 010 0 – 4 3 5
CB South 114 112 x – 10 15 3
North Penn 13, Central Bucks West 3 (5 innings)
Offensively, the Knights broke out Thursday with a 13-run, 13-hit effort to blow out CB West in a game shortened to five innings because of the mercy rule.
“I thought our approach at the plate was really good today,” said North Penn coach Kevin Manero. “The first several innings our approach was methodical – we played small ball and used the middle part of the field to score some early runs.
“A kid for West hit a home run to make it 5-3, and then in the top of the fifth, our kids really responded. They started to swing the bat with a lot more confidence. It was a break-out day for our bats.”
Sophomore Justin Egner led the Knights by going 3-for-3 with two RBIs, while Evin Sullivan, Jack Picozzi, Colin Orndorff and Ryan Sullivan had two hits each.
Christian Stevens picked up the win on the mound, going the first three innings, while Gavin Mikulski closed out the game with two scoreless innings of relief.
An Egner RBI single made it 1-0 in the first and North Penn added to that lead with a RBI single by Picozzi in the third. Jeff Sabater and Egner had RBI singles and another run scored on an error to make it 5-0 in the top of the fourth.
West’s Aidan Kim hit a three-run homer in the fourth to briefly make it a game again, but North Penn responded with eight runs in the fifth to put the game out of reach.
“Eight guys in our lineup had a hit,” Manero said. “We really had contributions up and down the lineup. I can’t say enough with the way Justin Egner has been playing. He had a hit in his first game and hasn’t looked back. Colin Orndorff stepped up due to an injury and has five hits in the last two games. Over the course of the season, a lot can happen, and we’ve had guys come off the bench for us.”
North Penn (9-4, 3-3 SOL Colonial) plays at Pennridge on Monday (5 p.m.), while CB West (5-9, 3-3 SOL) is off until Monday when it hosts CB South.
North Penn 101 38 – 13 13 2
CB West 000 30 – 3 4 0
SOL Liberty Division
Upper Dublin 10, Abington 0 (5 innings)
Win number eight in a row for Upper Dublin didn’t come easily and it was against a team playing very good baseball itself, but the Flying Cardinals ended up blowing this one wide open with a huge fifth inning to finish off the visiting Galloping Ghosts.
Upper Dublin is now 8-7 after starting the season 0-7. Abington (7-4) saw its own six-game win streak come to an end.
UD jumped out early in the first, as Nick Lombardo doubled and then scored on a two-out single by Ethan Madnick. Then, two innings later, Lombardo was hit by a pitch, and with two outs, Madnick hit an RBI triple to left to make it 2-0.
That lead held through to the bottom of the fifth, which started with Lombardo’s second double of the game, back-to-back walks and a two-run single by Tyler Lizell. David Sharp drove in a run with a fielder’s choice grounder, followed by a RBI single by Jared Levis and then with the bases loaded, Kyle Rizzo drove in three more with a double. An RBI single by Lombardo scored Rizzo and ended the game with the 10-run mercy rule.
Lombardo finished 3-for-3 with two doubles, three runs scored and a RBI. Madnick and Levis had two hits each.
Sharp was also the winning pitcher, going all five innings for the shutout, allowing just two hits and four walks, while striking out six.
UD – 1-5 in the SOL Liberty – hosts Pennsbury in a nonleague game Friday. Abington (8-5, 3-3 SOL) plays at Upper Moreland on Friday.
Abington 000 00 – 0 2 0
Upper Dublin 101 08 – 10 9 0
Hatboro-Horsham 7, Wissahickon 3
Five runs in the top of seventh enabled the Hatters to win their sixth straight heading into Monday’s showdown against first-place Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Trailing 3-2, five straight Hatboro-Horsham batters started off the top of the seventh with singles, including a two-run single by Jimmy Tooley and an RBI single by Nick Katherine. Later with two outs, Will Bruner singled home two more to put the Hatters in control of this game.
“That was a huge win over a well-coached and talented team,” said H-H coach Pete Moore. “I could tell from their round of infield/outfield that we were in for a battle today. We were two teams hungry for a win that would help our (District One power rankings).
“Their starting pitcher, Nate DiVincent was impressive. He was able to work out of a few jams before we finally pushed one across in each of the fourth and sixth innings.”
As a team, H-H scored seven runs on 16 hits on the day, led by Katherine who went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and one RBI. Tooley was 3-for-4 with two RBIs, while Cole Fisher, Ryan Toporowski, Bruner and Trey Porter had two hits each.
On the mound, Fisher started the game and picked up the win, allowing just three runs on eight hits while striking out five. Logan Fischer picked up the save, striking out two in finishing the Trojans off.
“I was extremely proud of Cole Fisher, who is really coming into his own as a pitcher,” Moore said. “He is a competitor and the kind of guy you are glad is on your side. He hasn’t pitched in about a year and a half before this season because of the pandemic. He is primarily a catcher for his summer team, but we asked to help us out on the mound. He’s been playing the infield for us when he isn’t pitching and he hits in the three hole. I can’t overstate enough how much of a competitor he is and how important he is both ways for our team.”
Toporowski gave the Hatters the 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the top of the fourth. Two innings later in the sixth, Bruner had an RBI single to make it 2-0.
Wissahickon, however, scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth, starting with a Jackson Tappen RBI double. DeVincent followed with a RBI double to tie it up at 2. Kasey Weiss’ RBI single with two outs gave the Trojans the one-run lead and set the stage for H-H’s dramatics in the seventh.
“It means a lot to our team to have been able to answer back with five runs of our own after giving up three in the sixth,” Moore said. “With Trey coming up for us, I felt good about our chances. Our team’s energy and belief that we could win skyrocketed when he led off the seventh with a hard single to right. Senior Jimmy Tooley hits in the 4-hole because he is a guy we want up with men in scoring position and he came through with a huge base hit for us.”
Hatboro-Horsham (9-6, 3-3 SOL Liberty) has a big game scheduled for Monday as it hosts unbeaten Plymouth Whitemarsh. Wissahickon (9-6, 4-4 SOL) plays at La Salle in a nonleague game on Saturday.
Hatboro-Horsham 000 101 5 – 7 16 0
Wissahickon 000 003 0 – 3 8 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh 4,Quakertown 3 (8 innings)
Mike Miller and Luke Gartland had RBI singles in the top of the eighth, and then the Colonials escaped trouble in the bottom half of the inning to post the extra inning win and remain unbeaten on the season.
“Mike Miller and Luke Gartland both picked up big hits in the eighth,” said Colonials coach Chris Manero. “Mike’s being the go-ahead RBI and Luke’s giving us what would turn out to be a very important insurance run. Both guys had a tough start at the plate with a pair of strikeouts each, but they kept themselves even keeled and confident when we needed them most.”
PW looked on the way to another productive game at the plate, scoring twice in the first inning to go up early. Luke Caucci had an RBI double and scored himself on an RBI single by Jack Hildebrand.
But that was all Quakertown starter Vinny Pellegrini would allow, as he went six innings and struck out eight hitters to shut down the Colonials’ potent offense.
The Panthers battled back to tie it, as Peyton Kochel drove in one with a RBI groundout in the first, and in the third, Anthony Rostick tripled and scored on a sac fly by Justin Butler.
In the eighth, Jesse Jaconski started the PW rally with a one-out single, and Caucci was then hit by a pitch. Miller followed with an RBI single, and with two outs Gartland singled home Caucci to make it a 4-2 game.
Quakertown didn’t go down without a fight in its half of the eighth either. Ty Everitt led off with a walk and went to second on a groundout. Everitt moved to third on a balk and scored on a Trevor Hurst groundout.
Pellegrini followed with a single, but PW reliever Alex Wilkie-Viscio got out of the jam by producing a line drive out for the final out of the game.
Wilkie-Viscio ended up going 2 2/3 innings, allowing just one earned run to pick up the win in relief of starter Tom Yanoshik.
“As the game went on, Tom Yanoshik came up big for us on the mound,” Manero said. “He pitched out of a few tough spots and made sure we never fell behind. In relief, Alex Wilkie-Viscio seemed to take the mound today with a little extra moxie and got big outs when we needed them.”
PW (14-0, 6-0 SOL Liberty) is back at it Saturday at home against Holy Ghost Prep. Quakertown (8-7, 2-4 SOL) plays at Southern Lehigh on Saturday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 200 000 02 – 4 8 3
Quakertown 101 000 01 – 3 7 1
SOL Freedom Division
William Tennent 14, Cheltenham 2 (5 innings)
A seven-run third inning jump-started a Tennent team looking to bounce back from a six-game losing streak and led the way to an easy win over Cheltenham on Thursday.
Tennent’s last win was April 19 against New Hope-Solebury.
Thursday, the Panthers scored 13 runs on 14 hits. Every position player who got in the game had at least one hit, while Aidan Larsen, Chris Colella, DJ Dickson, and Mike Scheller had two hits each.
Cheltenham scored a run in the bottom of the first and that lead held through the first two innings. In the third, Tennent scored seven runs, starting with a two-RBI double by Scheller. Max Elliot followed with an RBI single, and Kevin Ralston plated two more with a double to make it 5-1. Kyle Bussinger followed with a RBI single and then with two outs a single by Larsen pushed the lead to 7-1.
Scheller had an RBI single in the fourth, while Elliot and Ralston both drove in runs, and then an inning later, Larsen had an RBI triple, Colella an RBI single, Dickson an RBI single and then finally an Elliot sac fly drove in a run to make it 14-2.
Dickson pitched for Tennent, allowing just two earned runs on three hits, while striking out eight.
“We had a rough first inning with a few walks but DJ ended up pitching out of it and having a solid game,” said Tennent coach Lucas Denczi. “The boys picked him up with the bats and we were able to answer. Unfortunately, we lost senior Kevin Ralston to a season-ending injury as he was diving for a deep fly ball in the outfield (later in the game).”
Tennent (5-8, 5-1 SOL Freedom) next plays Monday when it hosts Springfield. Cheltenham (0-12, 0-6 SOL) plays at MaST Charter Saturday in a nonleague game.
William Tennent 007 34 – 14 13 0
Cheltenham 100 10 – 2 3 1
Lower Moreland 8, Upper Moreland 2
Freshman Mason Tammaro was strong on the mound and gave his team a chance to rally from an early deficit to post the big win over visiting Upper Moreland.
Tammaro went six innings, allowing just two earned runs on eight hits and one walk. Vincenzo Berardi pitched a scoreless seventh inning to finish off the Golden Bears.
“Big for us to get a win today,” said LM coach Tony Martino. “We have been struggling to put together a complete game. Today we had good defense, good pitching and our bats did enough to get us a win against a good team. Mason Tammaro threw great for us today only walking one in 6 innings. He just made one mistake which was the two-run home run on a 1-2 pitch but besides that he threw really well.”
Offensively, it was UM that jumped up first, scoring two runs in the top of the third as Kevin Davis hit a two-run home run, and that lead held through the first four innings.
Lower Moreland finally broke through with a four-spot in the bottom of the fifth, as Jack Doneker got things started with an RBI single. Donato Incollingo followed with a three-run home run to put LM in front 4-2.
An inning later, LM blew the game wide open with four more runs, taking advantage of three errors and RBI singles by Doneker and Tammaro.
Doneker went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs, while Incollingo and Tammaro had two hits each.
Lower Moreland (4-9, 3-3 SOL Freedom) plays at New Hope-Solebury on Monday. Upper Moreland (4-9, 2-4 SOL) hosts Abington on Friday.
Upper Moreland 002 000 0 – 2 9 4
Lower Moreland 000 044 x – 8 9 0
Springfield Twp 7, New Hope-Solebury 2
For two teams needing a win as the SOL schedule returns to division play, it was Springfield that started quickly and rode that to the convincing road victory.
The Spartans scored three runs in the first and were up 5-0 in the third and then 7-1 after four innings.
On the mound, Jack O’Malley was outstanding for Springfield, allowing just one earned run, while scattering eight hits and two walks. He threw 109 pitches and went the distance.
“Obviously, the big story today is Jack O’Malley,” said Spartans coach Dennis Primavera. “That’s a godsend. I’m pitching by committee, and I was down to two pitchers who could come in, and I had them ready.
“The last two innings – when he hit 80 pitches in the sixth inning – it was nip and tuck. He had a nine-pitch inning in the sixth, and that really helped. He was throwing strikes. That’s one of the pleasing things that happened today.”
Offensively, Springfield scored seven runs on 10 hits, led by Joe Smith, who went 4-for-4 with two RBIs. Nate Dennis and Brett Smith had two hits each.
“Joe Smith continues to be a hitting machine,” Primavera said. “He just gets himself into a hole every at-bat, and he comes out with a hit. I don’t know how he does it, but if he continues to do it, everybody will be happy. He’s done that now for three or four games. I think his batting average for the year is about .480. That’s a pleasant surprise.
“The top of my lineup is still hitting, still producing.”
Brooks Saft and Michael Jenora had two hits each for New Hope.
Springfield (5-9, 5-1 SOL Freedom) remains in a first-place tie with the win and will play a nonleague game against Bensalem Friday, before playing at co-leader William Tennent on Monday.
“We just came off a two-week stretch of playing all the big boys, and we’re back to playing the teams that mean something to the season,” Primavera said. “This was an important game. New Hope is always an important team we play. We were fortunate to play them twice this year coming out on top, so we need to go forward and play the rest of the teams in our division and see where playoffs go.”
New Hope (6-10, 3-3 SOL) hosts Lower Moreland on Monday.
Springfield 311 200 0 – 7 10 1
New Hope 001 000 1 – 2 8 5
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