By Scott Huff
The Suburban One League teams made an all too hasty exit from the PIAA state tournament play. Only Council Rock South was able to advance to the second round of state action.
However, there were three outright champions in the regular season in the National, Continental, and American Conferences. Council Rock North, Pennridge, and Upper Moreland all earned absolute championships in their respective conferences – Rock North and Pennridge did it one way, while Upper Moreland did it quite another.
CR North – under first year (at North) head coach Matt Schram – and Pennridge – under nine-year veteran mentor Tom Nuneviller – each ascended to the conference throne with a talented and very experienced ball club. The same could not be said of Upper Moreland’s fourth year head coach Ernie Rehr – at least not in the experience category.
The Indians had no less than nine seniors make major contributions to their championship season. That list included Darren Lauer, Pat O’Leary, Ryan Hartley, Dan Denton, Alex Sable, Mike Tentilucci, Benn Parker, Ryan Hentritzy, and Mike Festa. Rock North had its season come to a sudden end in the first round of the PIAA Quad-A state playoffs with a 6-2 loss to Nazareth.
The Rams had no less than eight seniors play a significant role during their conference title run. That list included Jared Schaffer, Dylan Tice, Kyle Peters, Rocky Ferrier, Cody Zickler, Mike Guldin, Andrew Decew, and Oscar Mikols. Pennridge had its season come to a stunning conclusion in the first round of the PIAA Quad-A District playoffs with a loss to Methacton.
The Golden Bears had only two seniors play an important part of its championship season. David McInerney and Kyle Lockhard were the lone starters for an UMHS team that started seven underclassmen this season. Upper Moreland – the District One champions - lost in the opening round of the PIAA Class AAA state playoffs in a 5-3 loss to Blue Mountain.
There are a host of underclassmen that made an impact on the success of their respective teams this season and will return next year.
That notable list includes –
SOL American Conference Juniors: Kyle Walder & Mike Janas (Upper Moreland); JT Crits (Wissahickon); Jason Cho, Jake Mascio, Matt Minetola, & Bobby Slagle (Plymouth Whitemarsh); and Kevin McGinley & Patrick Campion (Norristown).
SOL American Conference Sophomores: Robert Knox & Matt Kohn (Upper Moreland); Greg McDonough (Wissahickon); Brandon Iorio (Norristown), and Rafael Fernandez & Matt Lawlor (Cheltenham).
SOL Continental Conference Juniors: Dylan Glassmire & Chris Veal (Central Bucks South); Clay Sebesky, Tyler Zeleny, & Ryan Clow (Central Bucks East); Marty Martens, Sam Lis, and Pat Bradley (Central Bucks West); Collin Utterbeck & Mike Potynski (Quakertown); Alec Lashkevich & Bobby Reddick (North Penn); Chris Hes and Tyler Zingle (Hatboro-Horsham); and Cory Capaldi (Souderton).
SOL Continental Conference Sophomores: Eddic Posavec (North Penn).
SOL National Conference Juniors: Greg Mugnier, Chris Ruhl, & Jesse Leary (Abington); Anthony Micalizzi & Harry Daut (Bensalem); Jake Drossner (CR North); Paul Gosselin (Pennsbury).
SOL National Conference Sophomores: Eric Tidwell (Abington); Ryan Fleming (Council Rock South); Brandon Garrett (Pennsbury); Brandon DiBona, Mike Wasserleben, & Chuck Delagol (William Tennent); Justin Andrews (Neshaminy).
SOL National Conference Freshman: Cole Creighton (Neshaminy).
Suburban One National Conference
Player of the Year
Billy Fleming – Council Rock South Golden Hawks
Council Rock South head coach Greg Young says:
“Billy is the best player that has ever come through our program at Council Rock South. He loves to play the game of baseball, and he loves to win. Not only does he love to win – he expects to win and that is what separates him from the others. We will not only miss him on the field during the game, but we will miss him in practice. We wouldn’t have gone as far as we did in the playoffs without Bill.”
Council Rock South senior shortstop Billy Fleming says:
“I have many great memories playing for CR South. It has been a great four years. We had an incredible year and set the bar high for future teams. I had the opportunity to play with my brother Ryan this year and that has been awesome. I feel that Coach Young, Coach Carr, and Coach Albrecht not only made me a better baseball player but a better person.”
Suburban One Continental Conference
Player of the Year
Jared Schaffer – Pennridge Rams
Pennridge head coach Tom Nuneviller says:
“The last three years that Jared has played, we have won three conference championships, and he has been a huge part of that success. He has a very good fastball – a split finger – and a good breaking ball. His first two years he wasn’t a strikeout pitcher, but he averaged about a strikeout an inning this year. This year he developed into a very good hitter (.429 batting average – four homeruns) and had some big hits during the season. He is a very likable player – easygoing – and everyone on the team likes him. He is going to walk on at Bloomsburg, and I think that they will be able to find a spot for him. He knows how to pitch – knows how to battle – and he has always been a winner.”
Pennridge senior pitcher Jared Schaffer says:
“The game I threw in the Carpenter Cup was a great way to end my high school career (three shutout innings). It was fun to play in a game with all great players and to play well. I talked with the coach at Bloomsburg, and I have been guaranteed a workout with the team during fall ball. We will see where I stand at the end of that time as far as playing on the team. I had good years at Pennridge – winning three baseball championships and the one basketball championship. We did a lot of winning.”
Suburban One American Conference
Player of the Year
David McInerney – Upper Moreland Golden Bears
Upper Moreland head coach Ernie Rehr says:
“David is one special baseball player. He has tremendous leadership qualities, and his presence on and off the field is going to be impossible to replace. He is a huge cornerstone in the program that we are building at Upper Moreland. I appreciate all of what he has done during his four years with us. The first year and a half I called the pitches from the bench, but for the last two and a half years, he took over that responsibility and has done a remarkable job. The tangible things that he did on the field with his hitting and defense were obvious, but we will miss the intangibles he brought to the team even more. After we lost to Blue Mountain in the playoffs, we still have texted each other and can’t help but think that should be us. Like I said, he is a very special player.”
Upper Moreland senior catcher David McInerney says:
“The thing I will remember most about playing at Upper Moreland was just how great everyone was and how much Coach Rehr has taught me. He taught me to always be humble, and I can say that I learned so much about the game of baseball from him. We won championships in both my sophomore and senior years, and that will always stay with me. I really don’t know what to expect next year in college (at the University of Cincinnati majoring in sports medicine), but I expect to have fun. I know that I will go there well prepared.”
Suburban One Sports.com
All-Star Team
First Team
Pitcher – Jared Schaffer – Pennridge
Catcher – David McInerney – Upper Moreland
First Base – Matt Hollenbeck – Hatboro-Horsham
Second Base – Zach Fitzgerald – Council Rock South
Shortstop – Billy Fleming – Council Rock South
Third Base – Justin Thomas – Council Rock South
Outfield – Dan Denton – Council Rock North
Outfield – Ryan Pater – Central Bucks East
Outfield – Ryan King – North Penn
Designated Hitter – J.T. Crits – Wissahickon
Second Team
Pitcher – Darren Lauer – Council Rock North
Catcher – Brian Beyer – Harry S Truman
First Base – Ryan Downs – Council Rock South
Second Base – Dylan Glassmire – Central Bucks South
Shortstop – Dylan Tice – Pennridge
Third Base – Tyler Coleman – Quakertown
Outfield – Matt Minetola – Plymouth Whitemarsh
Outfield – Kyle Tepper _ Harry S Truman
Outfield – Kyle Gaffney – Upper Merion
Designated Hitter – Anthony Micalizzi - Bensalem
Suburban One Sports.com
Final – Top Ten
1. Council Rock North Indians
2. Council Rock South Golden Hawks
3. Pennridge Rams
4. Upper Moreland Golden Bears
5. North Penn Knights
6. Truman Tigers
7. Central Bucks East Patriots
8. Central Bucks South Titans
9. Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials
10. Upper Merion Vikings
- Log in to post comments
0
