2013 SOL District Baseball Preview (Quarterfinals)

05/24/13 3:20am Posted by editor

Five SOL baseball teams will see action in Friday's district quarterfinal round.

By Scott Huff

There are four Suburban One League teams remaining in the PIAA Quad-A District One baseball playoffs, and a victory in the upcoming quarterfinal games will send the winners to the PIAA state playoffs as one of the top four teams in the district.  And for the foursome of SOL teams – [N-1] Central Bucks East, [N-7] Council Rock North, [N-10] Pennridge, and [N-12] North Penn –each is in a different bracket.  The final outcome of those quarterfinal contests could have all four teams make states – or three – or two – or one - or none.

P.S.  [#2] Springfield advanced in the PIAA Class AA District One baseball tournament after the SOL Spartans collected an opening round district playoff victory over New Hope-Solebury.

The beat goes on…

PIAA Quad-A District One Quarterfinals
Friday – May 24, 2013

 [S-5] Coatesville Red Raiders @ [N-1] Central Bucks East Patriots

  • Winner Gets – the winner of this game will play the winner of the [N-3] Methacton- [N-7] Council Rock North game at a neutral site on Tuesday (5/28/13).
  • Season Resume:  Coatesville finished the season in 1st place in the Ches-Mont National Conference with a conference record of 14-5, while Central Bucks East finished the season in 1st place in the SOL Continental Conference with a conference record of 12-2.
  • Playoff Resume:  Coatesville – which earned a first round bye – opened the playoffs with a 10-0 victory in six innings over [N-5] Central Bucks South.  The Red Raiders received a splendid pitching performance from Duke-bound pitcher Brian Brown.  Coatesville scored four runs in both the third and fourth innings to ice the win.  Central Bucks East – which also had a first round bye - needed some seventh inning heroics to advance to the quarterfinals with a 2-1 win over Garnet Valley [S-8].  Pinch hitter Mike Casbar drove home the game-tying run and Vince Careghini drove home the game winner in the last at-bat for the Patriots.  Robbie Welhaf threw a complete game to earn the win for CBE.
  • Patriot head coach Kyle Dennis says:  “Coatesville has talent and is strong in most aspects of the game.  They play in a league (Ches-Mont) that has strong teams, and they were good enough to get a bye in the first round.  We are fortunate to have a great 1A pitcher in Blair Killough who has just had a great senior season for us.”

[N-7] Council Rock North Indians @ [N-3] Methacton Warriors

  • Winner Gets – the winner of this game will play the winner of the [S-5] Coatesville – [N-1] Central Bucks East game at a neutral site on Tuesday (5/28/13).
  • Season Resume:  Council Rock North finished in 2nd place in the SOL National Conference with a conference record of 9-5, while Methacton was the Pioneer Athletic Conference regular season champion with a conference record of 13-5.
  • Playoff Resume:  Council Rock North – which opened the playoffs with a 9-8 victory in 9 innings over [S-10] Penncrest – advanced to the quarterfinals with a 10-5 win over [S-2] Unionville. The Indians –who scored five runs in the seventh inning to break the game open – were fueled offensively by Ryan Baker (2 solo homeruns) and Tyler Callendar (2 doubles and a homer).  Matt Renck was the winning pitcher for Rock North.  Methacton – which was awarded a first round bye – trailed 4-0 before rallying for a 7-4 victory over [S-6] Downingtown West.  The Warriors scored four runs in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth inning to secure the win.  Trip Hagner was the winning pitcher, and the offense was paced by Tyler Kirkpatrick and Austin Bregman
  • Indian head coach Matt Schram says:  “Methacton is a very strong program that has prepared itself to play in the playoffs.  They have both strong pitching and a strong lineup. Our game plan is to give the ball to Brett Newman.  We need to continue to throw strikes – play good defense – and receive timely hitting.”

[N-12] North Penn Knights @ [S-1] Strath Haven Panthers

  • Winner Gets – the winner of this game will play the winner of the [N-10] Pennridge – [S-6] Boyertown game at a neutral site on Tuesday (5/28/13).
  • Season Resume:  North Penn finished in 3rd place in the SOL Continental Conference with a conference record of 9-5, while Strath Haven finished the regular season as the champion of the Central League with a league record of 17-2.
  • Playoff Resume:  North Penn – which opened the playoffs with a 9-3 victory over [S-5] Conestoga – advanced to the quarterfinals with an 8-3 victory over [N-4] Perkiomen Valley.  Sophomore Collin Healey threw 6 2/3 innings in relief to capture the win for the Knights.  North Penn scored five runs in the first inning and was fueled offensively by Brady West (3 hits), Chris Kersey (2 hits), Mason Nadeau (2 hits), and Eddie Posavec (RBI triple).  Strath Haven – which earned a first round bye – blasted Radnor 13-3 in five innings.  Donovan Davis collected the win for the Panthers.  Strath Haven rapped out 14 hits that included 3 homeruns – 2 by Caedon Saltis and one by David Splan.  Saltis had 3 hits and 4 RBI for the Panthers.
  • Knight head coach Kevin Manero says:  “I feel great about our team.  We’re playing the best baseball we have played all season.  We’re doing all the right things.  I know (Strath Havcn) is good, but we need to control the things we can control and play good baseball.”

[N-10] Pennridge Rams @ [S-6] Boyertown Bears

  • Winner Gets – the winner of this game will play the winner of the [N-12] North Penn – [S-1] Strath Haven game at a neutral site on Tuesday (5/28/13).
  • Season Resume:  Pennridge finished in 3rd place in the SOL Continental Conference with a conference record of 9-5, while Boyertown finished the regular season as the 2nd place team in the Pioneer Athletic Conference with a conference record of 12-6.
  • Playoff Resume:  Pennridge – which opened the playoffs with a 7-3 victory over [S-7] Great Valley – advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-1 victory over [N-2] Neshaminy.  The Rams handed Redskin ace Justin Andrews (8-1) his only loss of the season.  Jake Gordon paced the offense with a 2-run homerun.  AJ Molettiere had a pair of doubles and a pair of RBI for Pennridge.  Trevor Dalton and David Tatoian combined to pitch the Rams to the win.  Boyertown – which opened the playoffs with a 2-0 win over [S-11] West Chester East – scored all five runs in the fifth inning to defeat [S-3] West Chester Henderson 5-1.  AJ Bugucki – a North Carolina recruit – was the winning pitcher for the Bears.  Cory Fox and Luke Strong delivered key hits for the winners – 2-time PAC-10 Conference champions.
  • Ram head coach Tom Nuneviller says:  “With the league we play in and the competition on our league, I am not too surprised at our success to this point.  Boyertown is always good, and you know that they are going to do the little things well.  Boyertown is a program that knows how to play the game.”

PIAA Class AA District One Playoffs
Friday – May 24, 2013

[2] Springfield Spartans vs. [1] Bristol Warriors

  • Winner Gets – the winner of this game will play the District 12 Philadelphia Catholic League champion at Ashburn Field in Philadelphia on Tuesday (5/28/13).
  • Season Resume: Springfield finished the season as the 4th place team in the Suburban One League American Conference with a conference record of 7-7, while Bristol finished the season as the 5th place finisher in the 14-team Bicentennial-Constitution League with a league record of 8-6.
  • Playoff Resume:  Springfield opened the playoffs with a 7-6 victory over New Hope-Solebury in a game that lasted 10 innings.  Anthony Scafaidi collected the win for the Spartans and also paced the offense with 3 hits.  Bristol – a # 1 seed - was awarded a first round bye.
  • Spartan head coach Chris Shelly says:  “We showed character in beating (New Hope-Solebury) by being down 5-0 and being able to claw back.  I have to give our kids a lot of credit.  It wasn’t clean, but it was exciting.  I don’t care how we win, just as long as we win.”
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