Springfield Township advanced to the District One 4A title game against Holy Ghost Prep with its win over Collegium Charter.
DISTRICT ONE 4A
#2 SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 6, COLLEGIUM CHARTER 5
The Spartans found themselves staring at a 5-0 deficit after three innings, and things didn’t look all that promising, but they staged a gutsy late game comeback to eke out the win in Tuesday’s district semifinal contest.
“We were lucky to come from behind,” coach Dennis Primavera said. “But to the credit of the kids, they didn’t give up, so here we are – we’re in the finals of District One against Holy Ghost.”
As for the slow start, Primavera attributed it to his team’s fielding woes.
“We had four errors in the first three or four innings,” the Spartans’ coach said. “Their pitcher – give him credit. He was throwing all three pitches for strikes, and we acted like we never saw a curveball before.
“Then we started throwing the ball around. We had their guys picked off bases and were throwing the ball into center field. They made us make the plays and we didn’t make them so we fell behind 5-0.”
The Spartans scored a pair of runs in the fifth inning and added four more in the sixth. Coming up big in the sixth was Gabe Franczyk, who had a two-run double. Nate Dennis and Alex Wynne had RBI singles in the inning.
“Their pitcher eventually got tired,” Primavera said. “We got timely hits. With two outs in the sixth, Alex Wynne hit a single with a man on second to score the winning run.”
Franczyk was 2-for-4 with two doubles and Wynne was 2-for-3 with the game-winning RBI.
Tim Saiber notched the win, turning an impressive performance in relief.
“I started Tyler Whatley, and he was pitching well – he was throwing strikes, but he wasn’t getting support in the field,” Primavera said. “In the third or fourth, Tim Saiber came in, and he shut them down the rest of the way. He came through.”
Springfield Township (10-10, 9-7 SOL) will travel to Holy Ghost Prep for the District One 4A title game. The game – originally scheduled for Thursday – has been moved to next week since Springfield is holding its prom on Thursday.
For Primavera, who is in the Holy Ghost Prep Hall of Fame, the trip will be a homecoming of sorts since.
“It will be about 55 years since I played on that field last,” he said. “Holy Ghost is a very good team, so we’ll have our hands full.”
Collegium Charter 032 000 0 5-7-2
Springfield Twp 000 024 x 6-7-4
#1 HOLY GHOST PREP 19, #4 LOWER MORELAND 1 (4 innings)
The Firebirds erupted for 14 runs in the fourth inning, blowing open a close game and bringing an early end to Tuesday’s district semifinal.
Tyler McCord’s two-run home run gave the Firebirds a 2-0 lead after one inning. The Lions cut that lead in half with a run in the top of the second. Matt Haggerty and Donato Incollingo opened the inning with back-to-back singles. Haggerty scored LM’s lone run on Aidan Ricciardi’s groundout.
Haggerty and Incollingo accounted for all four of their team’s hits with both collecting a pair. Incollingo had his team’s only extra base hit – a double.
McCord was the catalyst for the Firebirds, finishing the game 3-for-3 with two home runs, six RBIs and four runs scored.
Lower Moreland closed out its season with an overall record of 7-11 (6-10 SOL).
Lower Moreland 010 0 1-4-3
Holy Ghost Prep 212 14 19-14-1
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