Scott Huff highlights the top pitching performances of the past week.
By Scott Huff
The unique aspect of scholastic baseball is that unlike high school football and basketball – schools are not always able to put its very best team on the field for each and every game.
The distinctive part of baseball surrounds pitching – the ace of the staff can’t throw every game.
“I tell people all the time that pitching at the high school level is more important than any other position in any other sport,” said North Penn head coach Kevin Manero. “Pitching depth at the high school level wins championships. There is no underestimating the impact that pitching has on our sport.”
North Penn has high hopes on competing for a Suburban One League Continental Conference title this season, and the Knights will have to rely on a pitching staff that is very inexperienced at the varsity level.
“We graduated 95 innings of varsity pitching last year,” said Manero as the Knights finished 9-5 in the conference last year. “And the only pitcher coming back was Bryce Mengel – and he has gotten after hitters all year and thrown all three of his pitches for strikes.
“We are still in the process of finding out who else we can use after him,” added Manero. “Brian Maher, Dylan Borawski, and Noah Melchior have all shown to have good stuff at times, and Eric Albaugh has come a long way and is our closer.
“We have seen some really good pitching so far this year, and our hitters have all taken a good approach to hitting,” continued Manero. “I expect us to come up with some timely hitting.”
North Penn (3-2) is in the middle of a conference race and trails unbeaten Central Bucks East (5-0) and Central Bucks South (4-1) in the current standings. The Knights are tied with Pennridge (3-2) – just a game ahead of both Hatboro-Horsham (2-3) and Souderton (2-3).
“It is not uncommon for a number of teams competing for a (conference) championship,” said Manero. “For a number of years now that has been the competitiveness of the Continental Conference. There are no easy games.”
There have been no easy games this year in the Suburban One National Conference.
“This is the most competitive this conference has been since I have been the head coach,” said Pennsbury head coach Joe Pesci. “There really isn’t a team that is unstoppable – everyone is really capable of beating anyone. That was pretty apparent so far the first half of our conference season.”
Neshaminy is at the top of the standings with a 4-1 conference mark – but five teams that include Council Rock North (3-2), Pennsbury (3-2), Bensalem (2-2), Council Rock South (2-2), and Truman (2-2) each only have two losses. And William Tennent (2-3) and Abington (0-4) have pushed teams to the limit before losing in late innings.
“It really makes for an exciting season,” said Pesci. “There may be a team that goes on a run and wins a few games in a row, but it is going to be very difficult. Right now we don’t have an idea as to who is going to be at the top of the standings or near the bottom.
“The team that wins this conference could easily have three of four losses,” added Pesci. “And teams that have five losses could still be looking at (district) playoffs – it’s that close.”
Close is where Springfield has fallen after a 3-0 start in the Suburban One League American Conference.
“We have lost our last two conference games and the players are a little shaken,” said Springfield head coach Chris Shelly. “But we are still in the hunt, and it is our goal to compete for a conference championship.”
The Spartans (3-2) are in second place in the conference standings along with Cheltenham (3-2) – two games behind unbeaten Upper Moreland (5-0) in conference play.
Springfield is a Class AA school that competes in a conference with six Quad-A schools (Wissahickon, Plymouth Whitemarsh, Cheltenham, Norristown, Upper Dublin, and Upper Merion) and a Class AAA school (Upper Moreland).
“We have won back-to-back District One (Class AA) baseball championships,” said Shelly. “We won’t concede anything in our league, but we know that we have districts to look forward to at the end of the season.”
Recent Pitching Gems in the Suburban One League
- Justin Andrews of Neshaminy threw a brilliant five-hit shutout as the Redskins captured a critical 2-0 win over Council Rock South.
- Ryan Fleming of Council Rock South was the hard-luck 2-0 loser against Neshaminy as Fleming allowed just two runs and registered nine strikeouts.
- Shane Monahan of Truman fired a complete game victory as the Tigers clawed Pennsbury 3-1 in a key conference game.
- Bryce Mengel of North Penn hurled a complete game five-hitter as the Knights marched to a 2-1 win over Hatboro-Horsham.
- Evan Myers of Pennridge gave up three first inning runs but shut out rival Souderton the rest of the way as the Rams captured a 6-3 win.
- Tommy Robinson of Upper Moreland fired a four-hit complete game as the Golden Bears clawed Cheltenham 8-1.
- Blair Killough, Robert Welfalf, and Brandon Birkhead of Central Bucks East combined for a four-hit shutout as the Patriots defeated Quakertown 4-0.
- Robert Welhaf of Central Bucks East pitched six innings and allowed no earned runs as the Patriots defeated Souderton 8-2.
- Zach Prendergast of Hatboro-Horsham allowed just one earned run in six innings as the Hatters topped Central Bucks South 6-2.
- JT Vaughn of Norristown permitted just two earned runs and fired a complete game as the Eagles soared to an 8-2 win over Springfield.
- Jack McGlade of Cheltenham allowed a single earned run with six strikeouts as the Panthers defeated Wissahickon 4-1.
- Eddie Decker of Upper Moreland fired a complete game shutout with five strikeouts as the Golden Bears routed Upper Dublin 8-0.
- Ryan Fleming of Council Rock South was masterful with 11 strikeouts in six innings as the Golden Hawks captured a 3-2 win over Pennsbury.
- Bill Shannon of William Tennent did not allow an earned run and struck out five hitters as the Panthers defeated Bensalem 8-2.
- Ryan Kelly of Hatboro-Horsham allowed a single run over five innings as the Hatters topped Pennridge 5-1.
- Ed Bacino of Springfield threw a complete-game five-inning shutout with four strikeouts as the Spartans marched to a 10-0 win over Upper Merion.
On Deck in the Suburban One League
American Conference
Wednesday (4/17/13)
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials @ Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals
Norristown Eagles @ Wissahickon Trojans
Upper Moreland Golden Bears @ Springfield Spartans
Upper Merion Vikings @ Cheltenham Panthers
Friday (4/19/13)
Cheltenham Panthers @ Norristown Eagles
Wissahickon Trojans @ Upper Moreland Golden Bears
Springfield Spartans @ Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials
Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals @ Upper Merion Vikings
Continental Conference
Wednesday (4/17/13)
Central Bucks West Bucks @ North Penn Knights
Pennridge Rams @ Central Bucks East Patriots
Quakertown Panthers @ Hatboro-Horsham Hatters
Central Bucks South Titans @ Souderton Indians
Thursday (4/18/13)
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters @ Central Bucks West Bucks
Friday (4/19/13)
North Penn Knights @ Pennridge Rams
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters @ Central Bucks West Bucks
Souderton Indians @ Quakertown Panthers
National Conference
Wednesday (4/17/13)
Bensalem Owls @ Truman Tigers
Council Rock North Indians @ Neshaminy Redskins
William Tennent Panthers @ Council Rock South Golden Hawks
Pennsbury Falcons @ Abington Ghosts
Thursday (4/18/13)
Council Rock South Golden Hawks @ Council Rock North Indians
Friday (4/19/13)
Abington Ghosts @ Bensalem Owls
Neshaminy Redskins @ Pennsbury Owls
Truman Tigers @ William Tennent Panthers
Suburban One Sports.com
Top Ten
1. Neshaminy Redskins
2. Central Bucks East Patriots
3. Central Bucks South Titans
4. Pennsbury Falcons
5. Pennridge Rams
6. Council Rock North Indians
7. North Penn Knights
8. Upper Moreland Golden Bears
9. Council Rock South Golden Hawks
10. Hatboro-Horsham Hatters
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