To view action photos from the North Penn/Hatboro game, visit the Photo Gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
By Scott HuffCoach Matt Schram took over the tremendously successful Council Rock North baseball program this year. The Indians were 23-3 a season ago – won the PIAA Quad-A District One title – but were eliminated in the first round of the state tournament.
Schram – who has a gaudy 77-23 overall record at New Hope-Solebury on his resume – is no newbie to the Rock North campus. He has been the Dean of Students at North for the last nine years and is more than familiar with the magnificent talent that adorns the Indian roster this season.
“There is no doubt that I am coming into a good situation,” said Schram. “To be able to come into a program that has been very successful and to have the players that I have to work with this season is very exciting.
“But I come into this with my own program, my own coaching staff, and my own coaching philosophy,” added Schram. “We have great expectations for this team. We want to be the last team playing – and the last team winning – at the end of the season. This team has a state championship as a goal.
“We expect these players to play smart and play for the love of the game,” continued Schram. “We are going to have some bumps on the way – we play in a very tough league – but we will learn from those bumps and become a better baseball team.”
Schram will enter the 2011 battles with a core of eight gifted players that have committed to play baseball at the collegiate level next season.
Daniel Denton – Bloomsburg University – “Daniel is going to be our leftfielder and is without question a power hitter. He really loves to hit the baseball.” - Schram.
Ryan Hartley – University of Delaware – “Ryan is going to be our shortstop and bat third in the lineup. He is a very selective hitter – very smart at the plate. He knows the value of getting a good pitch to hit.” - Schram.
Ryan Hentritzy – Lock Haven University – “Ryan is our second baseman and runs on high octane all the time. He brings a great energy to the game – a real love of the game. Plus he can run like a deer.” – Schram.
Darren Lauer – Elon University – “Darren is our number one guy on the mound. He is a crafty pitcher who can paint the corners. He doesn’t throw anything straight, and he has great command of his pitches.” – Schram.
Patrick O’Leary - Winthrop University – “Patrick is more of a power pitcher than Darren who mixes in a breaking ball. When he is on, he has filthy stiff.”
David Pine – Millersville University – “David – being the catcher - is like the quarterback on this team. He takes the leadership role with the pitchers, and they are very comfortable throwing to him. He has a great arm. He also is a funny kid and keeps things light.” – Schram.
Alex Sable – Shippensburg University – “Alex is going to be our third baseman. He has great hands and a good arm. He can hit for power. On most teams, he would be the number one or two hitter in the lineup.” – Schram.
Mike Tentillucci – Haverford College – “Mike is a little guy that will play center field. Even though he weighs only about 135 pounds, the ball explodes off his bat.” – Schram.
Council Rock North will open the defense of its Suburban One League National Conference title with an away game with William Tennent (4/5/11) followed by a home contest with Abington (4/7/11). The Indians will play a non-league game on Saturday (4/9/11) when Rock North plays highly regarded Germantown Academy.
“It seems like we have been preparing for this season for a long time,” said Schram. “The players and coaches are anxious to get the season going.”
How about Upper Moreland’s Kyle Walder?
Upper Moreland junior pitcher Kyle Walder hurled six innings of perfect baseball before giving up a pair of runs in the seventh inning as the Golden Bears (2-1) clawed host Plymouth Whitemarsh (1-2) 6-2 in a Suburban One League American Division game played Monday (3/4/11).
“Kyle threw a fantastic game,” said Upper Moreland head coach Ernie Rehr. “He had great command, kept his pitch count down, and was very economical about how he pitched the game.
“He really allows his defense to play behind him,” added Rehr as Walder recorded four strikeouts. “And we played errorless ball behind him. Both (sophomore) Dan Cripps and (shortstop) Ryan Snyder played made great plays in the field.”
The Upper Moreland offense was led by – surprise? – senior catcher Dave McInerney. McInerney – who will play college ball at the University of Cincinnati next year – had three solid hits that included a double and triple.
“I try to put myself into the other coach’s shoes when he comes to the plate,” said Rehr. “It is a very tough predicament. When can you not pitch to him? I don’t think there is a good answer.”
Upper Moreland will be on the road on Wednesday (4/6/11) when the Golden Bears meet Cheltenham. Upper Moreland will finish its game on Thursday (4/7/11) against Upper Dublin (0-1). In that suspended game, the Bears lead the Flying Cardinals 11-8. The game will resume in the top of the third inning.
Upper Moreland Golden Bears 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 - 6 7 0
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 - 2 3 2
**
Wissahickon (2-1) scored eight runs in the third inning and received a complete-game shutout effort from senior Greg Nebucsin as the Trojans hammered host Cheltenham (1-2) 11-0 in a Suburban One League American Conference game. Nebucsin limited the Panthers to just five singles.
“Greg was around the plate the entire game and kept them off balance,” said Wissahickon head coach Shannon Gunby. “He relies on his control to be effective, and he was able to spot both his fastball and changeup.”
Wissahickon pounded out 12 hits and took advantage of six costly Panther errors to coast to the win. Senior Chase Merrill had a pair of hits and four RBI for the Trojans, while junior Brennan Weiss and sophomore Billy McFarland each had two hits.
“I thought that this was the first game that we really saw the ball well,” said Gunby. “We made good contact and had some really good swings.”
Wissahickon Trojans 0 0 8 0 0 1 2 - 11 12 1
Cheltenham Panthers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 5 6
**
Upper Merion (1-1) edged rival Norristown (2-1) by a4-1 margin in a Suburban One League American Conference game played Monday at Norristown.
Ray Gambone was the winning pitcher for the Vikings and also hit a double. The only other extra base hit for Upper Merion was a double by Kyle Gaffney.
Upper Merion Vikings 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 - 4 7 3
Norristown Eagles 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 1 3 3
**
North Penn (2-0) manufactured a pair of runs to defeat Hatboro-Horsham (1-1) by a 2-0 score in SOL Continental Conference action. The Knights managed just two hits off of junior Zach Crim, who walked three and fanned one. In a winning effort, sophomore Bryce Mengel benefitted from the Knights’ flawless defense – and two double plays – to work six shutout innings. He scattered five hits and walked four in his first start several weeks.
“We spend most of our time (working) on defense,” Knight coach Bob McCreary said. “I always tell our guys – hitting will go up and down depending on the pitching against you, but base running and defense – that should be a constant regardless of who you play.
“Bryce showed a lot today,” continued McCreary. “We know from last year he’s going to come out and be strong many times, but this is great because even on days where he’s not all that strong he can battle and get ground balls. With what he had today, it’s amazing they didn’t score a run.”
The Knights plated an unearned run in the second and added an insurance run in the third when catcher Craig Lepre delivered a two-out RBI single to right. The Knights stole three bases, and it was stolen bases by Ed Posavec and Casey Clauss that played a role in both North Penn runs.
“This isn’t a lineup that’s going to be leading the league in extra base hits and home runs, so we have to do what we can to move guys around,” McCreary said.
The Hatters stranded nine base runners in the game - six in the first three innings, but every time Mengel needed a big out he got one. He fanned two – one of those came with the bases loaded and one out in the third. The Knights’defense took care of the rest.
“When I get defense like that, it makes my job easier as a pitcher because I don’t have to strike out everyone,” Mengel said. “I can just let them hit it, and they can make the plays. That’s all I can ask for.”
Bob Reddick worked a scoreless seventh for the Knights – fanning a pair - to earn the save.
Hatboro-Horsham 000 000 0 0-6-2
North Penn 000 000 x 2-2-0
Owls Fly to Non-League Win
Bensalem opened its 2011 baseball season with a 9-0 non-league win over Bristol on Monday (4/4/11).
Eric Raud notched the win for the Owls with five innings of work. Raud struck out four Warrior batters.
The offensive load for the Owls was handled by Frank Primazera, Anthony Miccalizzi, and Brett Kohn. Primazera drove home three runs for the winners, while Miccalizzi had a double and a triple. Kohn socked a double for Bensalem – which collected 13 hits.
Bristol Warriors 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 4 2
Bensalem Owls 1 2 0 4 2 0 x - 9 13 0
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