Five SOL baseball teams will be in action in Monday’s opening round of the PIAA State Tournament. Check out the preview capsules for all five games, and check back for game recaps of Monday’s action.
PIAA 6A opening round
#1-3 Central Bucks East at #2-1 Hazleton (Monday, 4 pm)
Central Bucks East
—17-7 overall
—12-4 SOL Colonial Division champions
—Key offensive players (regular season): Sr. SS Reece Moody (.400, 22 H, 18 R, 7 doubles, 2 triples, 2 HRs), Sr. Chase Harlan (.339, 19 H, 19 R, 16 RBIs, 5 doubles, 4 HR), Sr. Jack Mislan (.317, 19 H, 16 RBIs, 22 R, 4 HR)
—Top pitchers (regular season): Sr. Damian Frayne (7-0, 2.27 ERA), Sr. Sam Bliss (4-1, 2.82 ERA)
How they got here: In the District 1 6A third place game, #7 Central Bucks East defeated #5 Plymouth Whitemarsh 4-3.
In a district semifinal contest, #7 Central Bucks East fell to #6 Downingtown West 7-5.
In a district quarterfinal contest, #7 Central Bucks East defeated #2 Neshaminy 3-2.
In a second round game, #7 Central Bucks East defeated #10 Garnet Valley 10-7.
Hazleton
—19-4 overall
—Wyoming Valley 1 champion
—Sixth consecutive District 2/4 6A championship
—Led on the mound by Pitt commit Antonio Doganiero and Jonas Aponick, a George Washington commit.
—Chris Florentino (.482) and Dominic Marino (.426) lead the attack.
—Team batting average of .353 and have scored 198 runs.
How they got here: In the District 2/4 6A title game, #1 Hazleton defeated #2 Williamsport 6-2.
In a semifinal game, #1 Hazleton defeated #5 Delaware Valley 14-3.
Opening round bye.
#1-4 Plymouth Whitemarsh at #12-1 La Salle (Monday, 4 pm)
Plymouth Whitemarsh
—17-7 overall
—13-3 SOL Liberty Division second place
—Key offensive players (regular season): Chase Fisher (.483, 14 H, 12 RBIs, 3 doubles, 3 triples), Johnny Giardano (.369, 24 H, 20 RBIs, 21 R, 5 doubles, 2 HR), Gabe Caucci .339, 21 H, 21 R, 9 RBIs)
—Top pitchers (regular season): Chase Fisher (4-0, 0.24 ERA), Colin Brady (4-0, 0.28 ERA)
How they got here: In the District 1 6A third place game, #5 Plymouth Whitemarsh fell to #7 Central Bucks East 4-2.
In a district semifinal contest, #5 Plymouth Whitemarsh lost to #8 Downingtown East 10-0.
In a district quarterfinal contest, #5 Plymouth Whitemarsh defeated #13 Spring-ford 5-4.
In a second round contest, #5 Plymouth Whitemarsh defeated #21 West Chester Henderson 5-0.
La Salle
—21-3 overall
—PCL champions for the fourth time in seven years
—Kevin Schmidt named PCL Defensive Player of the Year & earned first team All-PCL honors
—Junior Aimon Chandler (.403, 25 H, 17 RBIs, 7 2B, 1.071 OPS) is a first team All-PCL selection
—Junior pitcher Joe Pye earned first team All-Catholic honors, finishing the season 8-1 with a 0.76 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 36.2 innings
—Senior Matt Gannon (.406, 28 H, 23 RBIs) & senior Logan Potter (5-1, 1.75 ERA) earned PCL third team honors.
How they got here: In the PCL title game, #1 La Salle defeated #2 Neumann-Goretti 4-1
In a PCL semifinal contest, #1 LaSalle defeated #6 Father Judge 3-0
In the PCL quarterfinals, #1 La Salle defeated #9 Archbishop Wood 7-0.
#1-5 Neshaminy at #11-1 Liberty (Monday, 4 pm)
Neshaminy
—20-3 overall
—14-2 SOL Patriot Division champions
—20 wins set a program record
—Key offensive players (regular season): Chase Bonner (.424, 28 H, 23 RBIs, 17 R,1.086 OPS), Anthony Trommer (.355, 27 H, 24 RBIs, 21 R, 1.016 OPS), A Hunter (.357), Stone Powell (.328, 26 RBIs, 21 R) & B Lall (.319, 20 R).
—Steve Martin leads the Redskins in the circle with a 4-1 record (1.20 ERA).
How they got here: In the District 1 6A fifth place game, #2 Neshaminy defeated #14 North Penn 8-4.
In a playback game for a state berth, #2 Neshaminy defeated #13 Spring-Ford 11-1.
In a district quarterfinal, #2 Neshaminy lost to #7 Central Bucks East 3-2.
In an opening round game, #2 Neshaminy defeated #15 Haverford 10-2.
Liberty
—20-5 overall
—Led by East Penn Conference MVP Noah Gyauch-Quirk. The senior pitcher and Lehigh commit was 8-1 with 0.86 earned run average. In 50.2 innings, he has struck out 88 and allowed 28 hits. Gyauch-Quirk also hit .416 with 32 hits and 23 RBIs.
—Also key contributors are EPC first team infielder Jacob Rivera (.494, 38 hits, 14 SB 33 RBIs, 30 R, 1.210 OPS), catcher Franklin Pichardo (.347, 25 hits, 27 RBIs) and outfielder Braylen Gonzalez (.429, 36 hits, 17 SB, 19 RBIs, 30 R, 1.256 OPS)
—Six-game winning streak entering state tournament and winners of 10 of 11 games
How they got here: In the District XI title game, #1 Liberty defeated #3 Parkland 7-4.
In a district semifinal game, #1 Liberty defeated #5 Northampton 8-6.
Opening round bye.
#1-6 North Penn at #3-1 Hempfield (Monday, 4 pm)
North Penn
—16-8 overall
—10-6 SOL Colonial Division second place
—Key offensive players (regular season): 1B Ben Farley (.368, 21 H, 18 RBIs, 5 doubles, 2 triples, 4 HR), C Chase Jones (.344, 22 H, 16 RBIs, 6 doubles, 2 aHR), DH AJ Briggs (.324, .409 OBP)
—Top pitchers (regular season): So. Trevor Lugara (3-4, 2.69 ERA), Sr. Nolan Palovich (4-1, 2.01 ERA)
How they got here: In a District 1 6A playback game for fifth place, #14 North Penn fell to #2 Neshaminy 8-4.
In a playback game for the final state berth, #14 North Penn defeated #1 Quakertown 7-4.
In a quarterfinal game, #14 North Penn fell to #6 Downingtown West 7-3.
In a second round game, #14 North Penn defeated #3 Methacton 2-1.
In an opening round game, #14 North Penn defeated #19 Ridley 3-2.
Hempfield
—18-5 overall
—Lost to Manheim Township in Lancaster-Lebanon League final
—First District 3 title since 2015 and third overall
—Led on the mound by University of South Florida Commit Logan Harelson.
—Catcher Josh O’Toole, a Coastal Carolina commit, hit .444 in May.
—Drew Benchich is a West Liberty University commit.
How they got here: In the District 3 title game, #3 Hempfield defeated #9 Ephrata 9-3.
In a semifinal game, #3 Hempfield downed #7 Waynesboro 12-5.
In a quarterfinal game, #3 Hempfield defeated #11 Penn Manor 4-3 in 8 innings.
Members of this year’s North Penn squad when they were 12U for the North Penn Raiders (2019) includes Trevor Lugara (foreground), Josh Martinell (far left), Bren Grattan (front to the right of Martinell), Ben Holdsworth (in front of Lugara) & Chris Jones (center back). Photo provided by NP Baseball.
PIAA 5A opening round
#1-3 Upper Dublin at #12-1 Monsignor Bonner/Archbishop Pendergast (Monday, 4 pm)
Upper Dublin
—16-7 overall
—12-4 SOL Liberty Division third place
—Key offensive players (regular season): Austin Dahl (.346, 18 H, 15 RBIs), Eric Berman (.306, 19 H, 18 R, 9 RBIs), Nate Cairnes (.259, 15 H, 14 R, 6 RBIs)
—Top pitchers (regular season): Austin Dahl (7-0, 0.15 ERA, 46 IP, 15 H, 1 ER, 75 K), Evan Sanders (1-0, 1.42 ERA)
How they got here: In the District 1 5A third place game, #3 Upper Dublin defeated #4 Strath Haven 4-0.
in a district semifinal, #3 Upper Dublin fell to #10 Radnor 5-1.
In a quarterfinal contest, #3 Upper Dublin defeated #6 West Chester East 9-2.
Monsignor Bonner/Archbishop Pendergast
—17-8 overall
—8-4 PCL
—Led on the mound by first team All-PCL pitcher Johnny Ortegea, a St. Joseph’s University commit. The junior right-hander has a 2.17 earned runner average with 38 strikeouts in 38 innings.
—Also led by first team All-PCL selections senior Quinn Bryan (.379, 13 RBIs, 1.033 OPS) and sophomore Austin Cannon (.344, 22 runs).
—Earning second team honors were senior Harry Carr (.339, 21 RBIs, 17 R, 1.071 OPS) and senior Jaxon Kehoe (.412, 28 hits, 25 R, 15 RBIs, 13 SB, 1.047 OPS).
—Earning third team All-PCL recognition were senior Irv Fisher (.333) and junior pitcher Cory Sheridan (2.41 ERA, 3-2, 32 IP, 41 Ks).
How they got here: In the District XII title game, Bonner-Pendergast beat Frankford 11-0.
In a PCL semifinal, #5 Bonner-Prendergast lost to #2 Neumann Goretti 4-3 in 11 innings.
In the PCL quarterfinals, #5 Bonner-Prendergast defeated #2 St. Joe’s Prep 7-2
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