This week’s baseball notebook features William Tennent, Hatboro-Horsham and Upper Merion and also highlights some of the top pitching performances.
By Scott Huff
Now you have to add William Tennent to the conversation about possible Suburban One League National Conference contenders as the Panthers (4-3) have won four of their last five conference games and are currently one game behind conference leading Neshaminy (5-2). Tennent is tied for second in the standings along with Council Rock North (4-3), and the Panthers travel to Newtown Tuesday to meet the Indians in a critical conference game.
“It has been a long, long time since William Tennent was playing postseason baseball,” said first year William Tennent head coach Rick Penecale. “Our team goal since the beginning of the year was to be relevant and make the (District One) playoffs. Sure it would be great if we could win the league championship, but getting into the playoffs is the big thing right now.
“There are a lot of tough teams in our league, there are no easy games, and really anybody can beat anybody,” added Penecale. “For us to win four of our last five games has given this team a lot of confidence.”
Included in the recent Panther streak are victories over Truman (4-1), Council Rock South (14-6), Abington (9-1) and Bensalem (8-2). The lone loss in that stretch was to Neshaminy (6-2).
“The team really seems to trusting what we are doing as a first year coaching staff,” said Penecale who has coached the Warminster Legion team for the last 13 seasons. “I came into the program knowing a lot of the players from coaching legion, so it wasn’t like they had to figure me out. They know what it takes to win – playing sound baseball. Just go out and play the game – and have fun doing it.”
The Panthers have risen to playoff consideration due to the success of the senior pitching duo of Chuck DeLagol and Billy Shannon.
“Chuck is a real power pitcher getting the ball up there around 90 miles per hour, while Billy is much more of a control pitcher that can hit his spots,” said Penecale. “It is a great combination to have on your pitching staff.
“We have been getting a lot of production out of our lineup from the 2-3-4 hitters,” added Penecale of the trio that includes junior right fielder Vinny Case, senior center fielder Brandon DiBona, and senior third baseman Mike Wasserleben. “They have been carrying us offensively all season.
“We are excited about playing the second half of the (conference) season,” added Penecale. “We certainly have respect for all the teams in our conference.”
And all of those teams now have respect for William Tennent.
Hatboro-Horsham is the defending Suburban One League Continental Conference champion, but the Hatters opened their conference title defense with an 0-2 start. The Black, Red and White (4-3) has won four of its last five conference games and stands in contention despite trailing unbeaten Central Bucks East (7-0) as the second half of the conference season begins by three games.
“There is no question that East is in the driver’s seat at this point of the season,” said Hatboro-Horsham head coach Pete Moore as the Hatters open second half action with home game against the first place Patriots Tuesday. “The best way to catch them is to play them and then beat them. We get that chance to open the second half of the season playing East, and we have to take advantage of that.
“Even if we beat them, though, we still have to get some help from the other teams in the league,” added Moore. “But there are so many quality baseball teams in our league, and we could get that help that we need.”
Quality describes the Hatter pitching staff this season. Zach Prendergast, Ryan Kelly, John Hlywick, Dave Brown, and Tyler Markovic have all had impressive outings this 2013 season.
“We have so much depth that I wish we would play more than two games a week,” said Moore. “We have given up only eight runs in the last five games, and that is going to win you some baseball games.”
In those last five contests, the Hatters defeated Central Bucks West (14-2), Quakertown (5-1), Pennridge (5-1), and Central Bucks South (6-2). The lone setback was a 2-1 loss to North Penn.
“Our bats are coming alive lately,” said Moore. “Grant Opalisky is hitting .484 this year, Ryan Kelly has a five-game hitting streak, and both Brad Humski and Chris Naiberk have come up with some key hits. We have found some ways to score runs, and key hits have won us some games.”
Winning games has become a staple for the Hatters – and a win over Central Bucks East will go a long way in an attempt to defend their conference title.
Upper Merion had a couple of firsts after the Vikings sailed by Upper Dublin 3-1 last week. It was the first win of the Suburban One League American Conference season for Upper Merion (1-6) – and it was the first career coaching victory for first year head coach Matt Mitchell.
“It was a phenomenal win for the players,” said Mitchell who served as the Upper Merion junior varsity coach a season ago. “The players have worked so hard this year, and it was nice to see them rewarded for their efforts with a win.
“We talked after the game about carrying this feeling over to the second half of the season,” added Mitchell. “The talent is here – we just have to put it all together and win some games.”
Some of that talent surrounds the senior class of Bobby Landmesser and Michael Greenwood – junior Adam Bradway – and sophomore twin brothers Alex and Andrew DelGiudice.
“Bobby has been our leader and best player the entire season, and Michael threw a great game against Upper Dublin,” said Mitchell. “And the twins have the talent is become excellent high school players the next two seasons.
“Baseball is baseball,” continued Mitchell. “And we have the ability to turn some of those losses we had the first half into wins the second half.”
Recent Pitching Gems in the SOL last week
- Evan Myers of Pennridge fired a five-hit shutout as the Rams defeated North Penn 4-0. Myers had four strikeouts and permitted a single walk.
- Billy Shannon of William Tennent threw a complete game and yielded just three hits in the Panthers 4-1 win over Truman.
- Matt McDonough of Abington fired a six hitter over six innings as the Ghosts defeated Truman 4-3.
- Michael Greenwood of Upper Merion threw a complete game with six strikeouts and the Vikings sailed to a 3-1 win over Upper Dublin.
- Cole Creighton of Neshaminy gave up no runs over six innings as the Redskins topped Pennsbury 8-0.
- Zach Prendergast of Hatboro-Horsham struck out nine batters over five innings and allowed no earned runs in the Hatters 14-2 win over Central Bucks West.
- Nate English of Council Rock North came up with a huge win as the Indians defeated Neshaminy 9-1.
- Ricky Dennis of Central Bucks South threw a complete game and allowed just six hits as the Titans defeated Souderton 7-2.
- Robbie Welhalf of Central Bucks East fired a complete-game shutout as the Patriots defeated Pennridge 7-0.
- Sage Fuhrmeister of Quakertown pitched a fine game in defeat with eight strikeouts in five innings in a 5-1 loss to Hatboro-Horsham.
- Brian Maher of North Penn threw a complete game and gave up no earned runs as the Knights bested Central Bucks West 3-2.
- Bill McFarland of Wissahickon fired a complete game – gave up just four hits with five strikeouts – as the Trojans topped Norristown 11-0.
- John Hlywick of Hatboro-Horsham struck out nine hitters in just four innings as the Hatters topped Quakertown 5-1.
On Deck in the Suburban One League
National Conference
Tuesday – April 23, 2013
William Tennent Panthers @ Council Rock North Indians
Abington Ghosts @ Council Rock South Golden Hawks
Truman Tigers @ Neshaminy Redskins
Bensalem Owls @ Pennsbury Falcons
Thursday – April 25, 2013
Pennsbury Falcons @ William Tennent Panthers
Neshaminy Redskins @ Bensalem Owls
Council Rock North Indians @ Abington Ghosts
Council Rock South Golden Hawks @ Truman Tigers
Friday – April 26, 2013
Abington Ghosts @ Bensalem Owls
Continental Conference
Tuesday – April 23, 2013
Central Bucks South Titans @ Pennridge Rams
Quakertown Panthers @ Central Bucks West Bucks
Souderton Indians @ North Penn Knights
Central Bucks East Patriots @ Hatboro-Horsham Hatters
Thursday – April 25, 2013
North Penn Knights @ Central Bucks South Titans
Central Bucks West Bucks @ Central Bucks East Patriots
Pennridge Rams @ Quakertown Panthers
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters @ Souderton Indians
Friday – April 26. 2013
Souderton Indians @ North Penn Knights
American Conference
Tuesday – April 23, 2013
Wissahickon Trojans @ Upper Dublin Cardinals
Norristown Eagles @ Upper Merion Vikings
Upper Moreland Golden Bears @ Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials
Cheltenham Panthers @ Springfield Spartans
Thursday – April 25, 2013
Upper Dublin Cardinals @ Norristown Eagles
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials @ Cheltenham Panthers
Upper Merion Vikings @ Upper Moreland Golden Bears
Springfield Spartans @ Wissahickon Trojans
Friday – April 26, 2013
Wissahickon Trojans @ Upper Dublin Cardinals
Suburban One Sports.com
Top Ten
1. Central Bucks East Patriots
2. NeshaminyRedskins
3. Central Bucks South Titans
4. Council Rock North Indians
5. Hatboro-Horsham Hatters
6. Upper Moreland Golden Bears
7. North Penn Knights
8. Pennridge Rams
9. William Tennent Panthers
10. Cheltenham Panthers
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