Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Tuesday. (Wissahickon/PW photos provided courtesy of Cindy Manero/PW baseball)
SOL Liberty Division
Quakertown 5, Abington 2 (6 innings)
Quakertown knew that a win would mean at least a share of the Liberty Division title and likely the No. 1 seed for the upcoming District One Class 6A Tournament. It found out earlier that Plymouth Whitemarsh lost to Wissahickon, meaning a Panthers win would give them that league title outright.
Mother nature would have something to say about it, as rain was a part of the Tuesday night game in Quakertown, but when it was called in the middle of the sixth inning, the Panthers had done enough for the 5-2 win, clinching the program’s first league title since 2018.
“I’m very proud of all of our guys,” said coach Jon Pallone. “Not everybody gets the same amount of playing time or recognition, but every guy put in the time and the effort.
“We have a lot of guys back from last year’s playoff run and guys from our highly-successful Legion team that won states. These guys love to play baseball and love to compete. They have a ton of experience in big games as well. They’re a fun bunch to be around.”
Tuesday’s win was the 11th straight in the league for the Panthers.
And they jumped out with a run in the first, one more in the third and three in the fourth to go up 5-0.
Matt Marsten had an RBI groundout in the first and then an RBI double in the third. Danny Qualteria drove in one with a sac fly in the fourth, and Cole Reich picked up two-RBIs with a single one batter later.
As the weather worsened, Abington picked up a pair of unearned runs in the fifth, but when it failed to score in the sixth, play was stopped and later Quakertown was awarded the victory as it was technically a legal game after five innings.
Cooper Natisin went the first 4 2/3 innings, allowing just two hits and the two unearned runs, along with five strikeouts. Macen Probithon and Carl Weiss each pitched out of the bullpen to close the game away.
“A tough game in tough conditions,” Pallone said. “Cooper was out there doing a great job and then the rain came.
“Matt Marsten did a great job putting the ball in play and bringing runners in.”
Quakertown (15-5, 14-2 SOL), in all likelihood will be the No. 1 seed in districts and earn a first-round bye. The seeds will officially be announced on Thursday.
Abington finished its season at 5-12 overall, 5-11 SOL.
Abington 000 020 – 2 2 2
Quakertown 101 30x – 5 4 1
Wissahickon 8, Plymouth Whitemarsh 7
A lot was on the line for both teams heading into this one.
Plymouth Whitemarsh needed a win to stay in the hunt for the Liberty Division title. Wissahickon could play spoiler and head into the district playoffs on a high note and confident it could be a dangerous out next week.
In dramatic fashion, the Trojans picked up their biggest win of the season, rallying with two runs in the top of the seventh to knock off the Colonials.
“We’ve been telling our guys all year that the most important thing is to get hot at the right time, and I think we’ve fallen into that nicely,” said Wissahickon coach Andy Noga. “Today was a huge win in a huge way for us.
“That’s a really good team in PW. They swing it well, they pitch well and they’re very well-coached. We came in expecting a tough battle and went punch-for-punch with them for seven innings.”
Wissahickon scored first with two in the top of the first, taking advantage of three walks, an RBI groundout by Adam Hajdak, a sequence that saw Finn Olszewski scored from third as another runner was picked off first base.
But PW scored four times in the bottom of the first and then two in the third to go up 6-3.
Chase Fisher had a sac fly to score one in the first, two scored on an error and then Colin Brady had an RBI single. Two innings later, after the Trojans took advantage of three errors in the same inning to plate a run, the Colonials scored two more, as Johnny Giordano had an RBI double and Brady another RBI single.
But Wissahickon came right back to tie it up with three in the fourth on a Justin Miller sac fly, Jonnie Klinger stole home and then another run scored on a passed ball.
PW came right back and went up 7-6 on back-to-back doubles by Chase Olszyk and Gavin Moore, and reliever Cooper Jones kept the Trojans off the scoreboard in the fifth and sixth to take the one-run lead into the seventh.
Miller and Olszewski led off the inning with singles, and a walk then loaded the bases with nobody out. After a strikeout, Brayden Ryan singled home the tying run, and an error on a ground ball plated the go-ahead run.
PW committed five errors in the game.
In the bottom of the seventh, Hajdak, who came on in relief and allowed just one earned run, worked around a single and a walk to keep the Colonials off the board and secure the victory.
“Gavin Malloy and Adam Hajdak have been stellar for us all year and have bailed out our offense multiple times, throwing complete game shutouts, and we’ve told our hitters that at some point they’d have to return the favor,” Noga said. “Today, they 
did just that. While neither of them were particularly sharp for their standards, they battled through and found ways to get out of jams and kept us in the game. I thought everyone did their job, 1-9, today in our lineup and we manufactured runs like we have all season.
“I was proud of how Josh Stoneseifer swung it and ran the bases today, and Finn Olszewski had three great team at-bats today.
“We’re clicking at the right time, and I’m so proud of our guys for earning a home playoff game with how they’ve stepped up down the stretch.”
Wissahickon (14-6, 11-5 SOL) unofficially sits at No. 9 in the district power rankings heading into Thursday’s seeding meeting.
PW (15-5, 13-3 SOL) dropped down to No. 5 with the loss, but should that stand, it will have a first-round bye and then a home second-round game in districts.
Wissahickon 201 300 2 – 8 6 1
PW 402 100 0 – 7 11 5
Upper Dublin 3, Hatboro-Horsham 2 (9 innings)
Austin Dahl has been on the SOL’s top pitchers all season for Upper Dublin.
Tuesday, he came out of the bullpen for the Flying Cardinals, but he also delivered at the plate, with an RBI single in the top of the ninth to score Eric Berman for what would turn out to be the game-winning run in a thrilling win for the Flying Cardinals.
Then, for good measure, Dahl set Hatboro-Horsham down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth to clinch the win for UD.
“Today’s game was electric,” said UD coach Ed Wall. “Pitching on both sides was really good. Our defense was a difference maker. Ben Wilkins played a great third base again for us, and Bobby Keck sniped another baserunner.”
H-H, which was playing for its playoff life, led this one most of the day, scoring a run in the bottom of the first on a hit batter with the bases loaded, and then rode the pitching of starter Stephen Plefka, who blanked UD for six innings.
In the top of the seventh, however, trailing 1-0, Evan Sanders drew a walk to lead off the inning and a sacrifice bunt by Wes Gil was thrown away for an error, allowing the tying run to cross the plate.
After another sacrifice bunt, an Eric Berman bunt scored Gil from third to put the Cardinals in front 2-1.
H-H wasn’t to be outdone, however. With two outs, Chase Canney doubled and scored after Ryan Klenk singled and an error on the throw to tie it up at 2 and force extra innings.
The teams remained knotted at 2, until Dahl’s two-out heroics in the ninth.
“We had a few clutch at-bats late,” Wall said. “A walk by Evan Sanders and an 11-pitch walk by Eric Berman that both resulted in runs, driven in by Wes Gil, Eric Berman, and the game-winner in the ninth by Austin Dahl.
“This was a big extra-inning win going into the playoffs, and I was really proud of our guys, overcoming the adversity and battling for the win.”
With the win, UD finishes the regular season at 14-6 overall, 12-4 SOL. Unofficially, it sits at No. 3 in the Class 5A power rankings, and will likely earn a first-round bye.
H-H (8-10, 7-9 SOL) needed to win and get some help Tuesday, and at No. 14, likely finds itself out of the 12-team Class 5A field.
Upper Dublin 000 000 201 – 3 6 1
Hatboro-Horsham 100 000 100 – 2 10 2
SOL Freedom Division
Springfield Twp 5, Cheltenham 0
Needing a win to clinch the Freedom Division title outright, Springfield turned to senior Brett Smith, and he delivered with a complete-game, one-hitter to shut out Cheltenham on Tuesday.
Smith threw 90 pitches, walked just one batter and had 13 strikeouts.
“He’s been doing that all year,” said Spartans coach Dennis Primavera. “The biggest surprise, and gift to the team, has been him back finding his strike zone. He’s always had stuff. He had 13 strikeouts today, and it was efficient.
“Not only was he Brett Smith, our defense had no errors. Errors raise the pitch counts, and Cheltenham had no errors.
“I told the Cheltenham coach afterwards that it was a great job. It’s good to have competition, and I’m looking forward to next year. All the teams in our division are getting better, and the three-game series (scheduling format) is going to be interesting.”
Offensively, Springfield scored in the top of the first, as Owen Hastings walked, went to second on a groundout and scored on an RBI single by Nolan Kidwell.
The Spartans tacked on three in the sixth and one in the seventh, plenty of run support for Smith.
“We’ve got to stop doing games like this where we score a run, and it was 1-0 for five innings,” Primavera said. “We played goofy ball. We had first and second, no outs, and a guy bunts down first base line, and he runs into the first baseman, because he thinks he has the right of way. Well, guess what? You’re out.
“Another inning, we had second and third no outs. The ball goes to right field, and my guy on third base doesn’t know what to do, so he goes late and gets thrown out at the plate. The guy that hit the ball runs to second and double play. Every inning we had something strange happen.”
Matt Caruso and Nate Levy each had two hits and two RBIs to lead Springfield.
“Caruso has been struggling a little bit, but he’s a mainstay,” Primavera said. “He’s our shortstop. Nate Levy was our starter in left field, and he got into some trouble at the plate. He sat for a while. He was a trooper, he’s a senior, he didn’t complain, and eventually he starts to come around. We started to DH him.
“Kidwell, (Chris) Cahill, they’re all starting to be aggressive, which is what we’re trying to get them to be the last three or four weeks.”
Springfield (10-8, 9-7 SOL) will be the No. 4 seed for the District One Class 4A playoffs, which start May 21.
Cheltenham finished its season at 8-11, 6-10 SOL.
Springfield 100 003 1 – 5 9 0
Cheltenham 000 000 0 – 0 1 0
Upper Moreland 10, New Hope-Solebury 0 (5 innings)
On Senior Recognition Day, Upper Moreland knew it needed to win and get some help if it wanted a spot in the upcoming District One Class 5A playoffs. The Golden Bears certainly did their part with a dominating 10-0, mercy-rule win over visiting New Hope.
“First of all, just so incredibly proud to be a member of this community and play a role in these kids’ lives,” said coach Jim Fasano. “The way our families came together to make this a special Senior Night for the boys is truly special.
“We always get our biggest crowd of the year at this game and the boys didn’t disappoint.”
UM jumped all over the Lions early with a 5-spot in the first inning and never looked back. Four runs in the bottom of the fourth made it a 10-run game, and the Bears set New Hope down in the top of the fifth to end the game.
The team managed 10 hits, three of which were extra base hits.
Colin Fell, as well as pitching in relief for UM, went 2-for-2 with a triple, two runs scored and two RBIs.
Dylan Wood went 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs. Pat Kilgus was 2-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI.
Nick Simons pitched the first four innings to pick up the win, allowing just two hits and a walk, while striking out eight.
Fell pitched a scoreless fifth, with two Ks, to end the game.
“We scored five runs after a leadoff out in the first, and Nick Simons never really gave New Hope a chance after that,” Fasano said. “Simons has been our ace all year long as a sophomore, and his future is incredibly bright. Eight (strikeouts) in four innings is impressive, and he has come so far in the last year, no thanks to me.
“Seniors Colin Fell and Dylan Wood each had two hits tonight to finish their regular season strong. Colin was awesome in his inning on the mound too. It’s good to see him healthy and throwing the way he can.
“Our five seniors are all tremendous kids and will be successful in whatever they choose to do in life.
“Special shoutout to Nate Kelly, our captain this year, who is the epitome of everything we want our kids to be as a leader, person and role model.”
Upper Moreland (9-10, 8-8 SOL) entered the game in the No.13 spot, in the 12-team district playoff field, and with its win, jumped over West Chester Rustin into No. 12, so unofficially the Bears look to have qualified. They will find out officially after Thursday’s seeding meeting.
New Hope (5-14, 3-13 SOL) is scheduled to finish its season with a non-league night game against South Hunterdon (N.J.) at Arm & Hammer Stadium in Trenton on Wednesday, weather-permitting.
New Hope 000 00 – 0 2 0
Upper Moreland 510 4x – 10 10 0
William Tennent 5, Lower Moreland 1
Tuesday was the season-finale for William Tennent, which last won on April 11 against Wissahickon, a stretch of 11 straight losses. The Panthers ended on a high note, however, with solid pitching and defense and a good win over Lower Moreland.
“A lot of ups and downs throughout, but it was great to send the seniors out with a win,” said coach Lucas Denzi. “Our pitching was tremendous, as it has been all year. Jackson (Archibald) and Mike (Woehr) capped off great seasons and combined to get the win.
“We were able to play some good defense behind them, and our offense provided some timely hitting.”
Archibald picked up the win on the mound, allowing just one earned run over six innings with 10 strikeouts, and three hits and two walks allowed.
Woehr worked around two baserunners in the seventh to pitch a scoreless frame to close the game out.
Offensively, the Panthers grabbed the lead early with a run in the first, thanks to two walks, an error and a wild pitch.
They added on to that in the fourth with three more runs, starting with a walk, a hit batter, a single, and an error to make it 2-0. Aidan Wilkowski followed with an RBI single, and Sam Vernick later stole home to up the lead to 4-0.
Tennent closed out the scoring with a run in the sixth on an RBI single by Chase Solkoff.
Vernick led the Panthers with two hits. They finished with six hits, five walks and four stolen bases.
Tennent finished the season with a 3-15 overall record, 3-13 in the SOL.
Lower Moreland ends its season at 8-11, 5-11 in the SOL.
Lower Moreland 000 001 0 – 1 4 2
Tennent 100 301 x – 5 6 3
SOL Patriot Division
Neshaminy 2, Bensalem 1
Despite wrapping up the Patriot Division title last week, there still was plenty to play for this week for Neshaminy, including a top three seed in the upcoming District One Class 6A playoffs and even the finest regular season in school history.
Mission accomplished on both fronts. With Tuesday’s one-run win over Bensalem, Neshaminy will now likely be the No. 2 seed in districts, behind only SOL Liberty champ Quakertown.
“Our focus today was to ‘sweep’ our Patriot Division league,” said coach Dan Toner. “A task that is extremely difficult due to the talented teams we have. That’s what kept us motivated for today.
“Our focus now moves on to the playoffs, where we need to be on point every game. Anything can happen on any given day, and we need to make sure we’re prepared.”
Tuesday’s game wasn’t easy by any stretch, as Neshaminy struggled to get much going against Bensalem starter Trevor Morris. The Owls even held a 1-0 lead after three innings.
Neshaminy got things going in the fourth, as Danny Nocito hit a two-run double to score Stone Powell and Ryan Fox, but that would be it, as they managed just three hits for the game.
Fox more than did his part on the mound, however, going the distance with a 102-pitch outing, striking out 13 and allowing just one earned run on four hits and a walk.
“Ryan has put together one of the best regular season pitching performances we have had here at Neshaminy,” Toner said. “He’s always ready to take the ball and compete.
“When Ryan takes the mound, we have all the confidence in the world.
“For today’s game, we needed a ton of focus. We had some exciting past couple games, already clinched the league title and put ourselves in position to have a high playoff seed. It could have been very easy to drop the last game of the year, but Ryan was on the mound for us, and our defense was superb.
“Our outfielders stole the show on defense today and made some big-time throws. Danny Nocito threw an absolute laser from right field to get a runner out at home. Joel Bonner and Anthony Trommer did the same to hold runners up at third. All of our outfielders have very strong arms, which keeps a lot of teams second guessing when sending their runner home.”
Neshaminy’s 17-2 final regular season record (14-2 SOL) is the best in school history.
Bensalem wrapped up its season at 3-17, 1-15 SOL.
Bensalem 001 000 0 – 1 4 1
Neshaminy 000 200 x – 2 3 1
Council Rock South 10, Harry S. Truman 0
CR South’s playoff fate likely came down to two games against Harry S. Truman on Monday and Tuesday. And the Golden Hawks more than did their part, following up an 11-0 win over Monday with another mercy-rule win Tuesday, this time by a 10-0 score.
“I believe this puts us in really good shape,” said CR South coach Greg Paprocki, whose team occupied the No. 24 and final district playoff spot heading into Tuesday. “Nothing is official until Thursday night’s seeding meeting, but I believe that game should get us in.”
A big seven-run fourth inning blew this game out of reach and enabled Hawks pitcher Billy O’Neill to finish the game off with a scoreless top of the fifth.
O’Neill allowed just two hits, scattered three walks, and struck out nine in going all five innings.
Offensively, CR South pounded out 10 runs on 11 hits.
Joey Pirone and Sam Serpiello each had RBI singles in the third, and Pirone also stole home for the third run in the innings.
CR South had six hits in the big fourth inning, the big blows were doubles by Nemeth and Pirone to drive in multiple runs.
“Billy O’Neill did a great job on the mound for us,” Paprocki said. “Joey Pirone had a career game, going 3-for-3 at the plate.
“I am very proud of these guys, bouncing back the way they did this week. We are looking forward to the opportunity to play in district playoffs.”
CR South finished its regular season with a 9-11 overall record, 8-8 SOL.
Truman wraps up its season at 3-15 overall, 3-13 SOL
Truman 000 00 – 0 2 2
CR South 030 7x – 10 11 0
Pennsbury 2, Council Rock North 1
Connor McCloskey pitched an inning in Monday’s non-league game against Roman Catholic and wasn’t expecting to throw in Tuesday’s regular-season finale against CR North.
“Keller (Bradley) was supposed to start, but he had some shoulder soreness,” said Pennsbury coach Joe Pesci. “I told Connor, hurry up and warm up, and not knowing he was going to pitch today, went out and threw a seven-inning complete game.”
McCloskey allowed one earned run on four hits and one walk, while striking out eight.
“He was second team all-league last year,” Pesci said. “He was great. This year has been up and down, but I don’t mean that in a bad way. There were days he didn’t have his best stuff, and he goes out and battles.
“Against CR North the first time, he throws a complete game and gives up no earned runs, and we lose. He pitched against Neshaminy twice. Against CB East, he gave up three runs in the first inning, and then pitched well the rest of the game and gave us a chance to win.
“Today, Keller goes down – and hopefully he’ll be fine for next week – Connor comes out and just shows. You can see the intensity is there with him.”
Offensively, Pennsbury had eight hits, but struggled to plate runs against CR North starter Jude Hamilton.
“We had eight hits and we also got on bases on some errors, and we just didn’t push them across,” Pesci said. “The first inning, we had two guys on and didn’t score. Second inning, we get a guy on and didn’t get him around.
“Another inning, we had the bases loaded and didn’t score a run. My 9-hitter (second baseman Carlton) Crane hits a line drive and (CR North’s Leor) Kedar makes an incredible catch at shortstop to save two runs. I think we outplayed them, but they made the plays when they had to.”
In the top of the fourth, Pennsbury scored its only runs of the game.
After a hit batter and a walk, Ryan Webber drove in one with an RBI single, and then with two outs, Crane singled to put the Falcons in front 2-1.
Pennsbury (15-5, 11-5 SOL) finished the May portion of its schedule with six straight wins and unofficially sits at No. 11 in the district power rankings.
CR North (11-9, 8-8 SOL) lost its final three games by a combined score of 7-3. The Indians unofficially sit in the No. 24 and final spot in the playoffs, heading into Thursday’s seeding meeting.
Pennsbury 000 200 0 – 2 8 2
CR North 100 000 0 – 1 4 2
SOL Colonial Division
Central Bucks West 6, Pennridge 0
CB West knew it needed to win and get some help if it wanted to sneak into the district playoffs. The Bucks did their part, but, unofficially, look like they’ll be on the outside looking in on the 24-team Class 6A tournament field.
“We knew coming into today that unless we took care of business and got some help in other games, we were likely going to finish the day on the outside looking in,” said coach Brian Weaver. “We couldn’t control the other games or teams, so we just emphasized controlling our approach at the plate and making the fundamental plays defensively. The guys really responded to that message. They did a heck of a job in all phases.”
On the mound and with the bats, the Bucks brought their A-game on Tuesday.
It started with senior pitcher Sam Greer, who was dominant from start to finish. He threw a 96-pitch, complete game, allowing just three hits and walking just one with 13 strikeouts.
“Sam Greer set the tone on the mound as always,” Weaver said. “He’s been just tremendous in every game he’s thrown, and the last three Tuesdays have been gems against East, South, and now Pennridge.
“We ask a lot of him in all phases, and he responds. I’m not sure what the Mount Rushmore of West baseball looks like, but based on what he’s done at the plate, on the mound, and in the field over the last couple of years, I’d argue that he’s carved out a spot.”
Offensively, CB West finished with 11 hits, six of which were extra base hits.
Greer was 2-for-4 with two solo home runs. Quinn Illig was 3-for-4 with two solo home runs. Duke Psoras was 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and two RBIs.
“Offensively, the first time we saw (Pennridge starter Connor) Smith we were a little too aggressive at his pitches and we never quite got the contact we wanted,” Weaver said. “This time we were a little more patient and drove the ball more than we elevated it. We’ve struggled to produce runs at the plate the last few games, but this game the guys were really dialed in.
“Five homers qualifies as a pretty good day, but I’m even more impressed with when we hit them. Illig had one with two outs, Duke had two outs and two strikes, Sam hit one with two strikes.
“We really emphasized just fighting this last week, fighting in each at-bat and each pitch. So to see them do that, then get the win, that’s a great way to close down the regular season: executing the things we try to emphasize.
“It would have been so easy to just roll over and quit after the last couple of games. Instead, we end on a great note, and if that’s the last of it for us, it was a good way to close the book on the season. If not, hopefully it’s a springboard into what’s next.”
CB West ends its regular season at 9-10 overall, 7-9 SOL.
Pennridge (11-8, 7-8 SOL) had a nightcap against CB South suspended Tuesday night because of rain with the Rams leading 4-0 in the fourth inning. It will be concluded, weather permitting, at a date later in the week.
CB West 110 101 2 – 6 11 0
Pennridge 000 000 0 – 0 3 0
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