The Bensalem baseball program has had an impressive run of success in the SOL. (Article sponsored and photos provided by Bensalem baseball)
By Mary Jane Souder
Keith Parrish grew up playing baseball but found himself losing interest in the sport.
“It was hard for me to have fun with baseball,” the 2018 Bensalem grad said.
All that changed in a hurry when he joined his high school team.
“I don’t know what it was, but Coach Harry – he made it fun,” Parrish said of Bensalem head coach Harry Daut.
This year, Parrish – after playing football at Kutztown University - will be playing baseball instead. He credits Daut for instilling that love of the game in him.
“One hundred percent – Harry made me like the sport a lot better,” Parrish said. “He taught me that it’s more than just a skill game, and it takes a lot of patience to even play this game – not just field or hit but just to be mentally in the game all the time.
“He’s not just a great coach, but he’s a great person as well. He will show you life lessons throughout with the way he teaches.”
Parrish is one of countless players – past and present – who credit Daut for nurturing their love of the sport.
“Harry took over my junior year and stayed there ever since,” said 2015 grad Nick Mulvey. “Harry just brings an attitude of a winning culture.
“Just playing for him – he brings out the best in players. He’s all about teamwork. He preaches that, and everyone buys into his system. He just makes you want to compete at 100 percent every day.”
After high school, Mulvey went on to have a stellar career at Gwynedd Mercy University, earning All-CSAC honors his sophomore and junior years and first team Atlantic East all-conference recognition as a senior.
“Harry prepares you for (college),” Mulvey said. “I’ve always had talks with him about playing in college. He set me up on the right path to be successful after high school. He had me ready to play right away.”
Matt McShane - who played a key role in this spring’s undefeated SOL Patriot Division championship squad - is continuing his career at St. Joseph’s University.
“Baseball was one of my favorite things I looked forward to every day,” McShane said. “Even the practices – most people don’t enjoy practice. We’ve always made practices fun, and no matter how hard they were or how long the practices were, they were always fun just to be around all the other guys and put in work together.”
Stephen Aldrich, a 2018 graduate, is playing baseball at Monmouth University.
“The program definitely prepares you for college baseball,” he said. “Going in as a freshman, one of the first things (Daut) tells kids is that everyone can play college baseball, whether it be Division 1, Division 2, Division 3.
“Harry being the guy he is and playing at the next level, playing in college, playing semi pro baseball and being in baseball his whole life – he understands what you need to be there, so him telling you that and him supporting those kids, it just helps a lot getting on to the next level because he’s experienced and tells it like it is.”
If Daut had his way, the spotlight would never find its way to him.
“Harry’s never one to speak about himself – he never does that,” Mulvey said. “That’s just not him. He’s so selfless. He does this for the community, he doesn’t do it for himself.”
Still, there’s no denying the role Daut has played in the success of the program. Twice in his nine years at the helm (minus the 2020 season due to COVID-19), the Owls won a conference championship. In 2018, the Owls made history when they captured the District One 6A crown and advanced to the PIAA Class 6A state title game.
“(Coach Harry) is the biggest rock; everyone who steps on the field with him – they automatically respect him,” said Aldrich, the mound ace during the Owls’ historic season. “The only thing he teaches – he wants you to go out and play your hardest and just work as hard as you can.
“I think the biggest key to success is Harry Daut because people respect him so much, and they go out there every day and put as much as they can on the field because that’s what he puts in your head – to get out there and work hard.”
Bensalem pride
In the three most recent seasons (the 2020 season was cancelled), the Owls were a combined 59-12. During one stretch, the Owls won 15 SOL games in a row.
“I think that’s amazing because there’s a ton of good teams in the Suburban One League, a ton of good coaches,” said Daut. “I just think the key is we’ve really had the support of everybody – our AD Geoff Per, our principal Bill Ferrara, all the administration, and the Bensalem community just supports us unbelievably.
“We do a golf outing and the whole town comes out. We get an amazing number of people at our games. Not that it means wins or losses, but we have beautiful uniforms, we have a beautiful field. I really think everything combined from the get-go really helped us out, especially the community.”
Daut, himself an integral part of the Bensalem community, is no stranger when players reach high school and join the team.
“My dad grew up with Harry, so I’ve known him since I was born,” Aldrich said. “He’s absolutely one of the most humble people I’ve ever met. I guarantee most of the kids that played for him – they wouldn’t even know that he played college baseball at Temple and had the records he had. You would never know.
“I remember when we were going through our run (to the state title game) – he would just talk about the team and how well the team was doing. He doesn’t care how he’s doing, he doesn’t care only about how certain kids are doing. He’ll give no names. He just cares about the team.”
Matt Silano is a 2020 graduate of Bensalem. He was part of a senior class that did not have a baseball season their final year of high school.
“It was a gut punch if ever I’ve had one” Silano said. “When (Daut) told us, I cried. I’m not going to lie, and I think a lot of other guys did too.
“It was one of the hardest things because we had a good team. We were going to come out and play well. It was one of the most devastating things I’ve had to go through.”
Silano, a sophomore at Penn State University Main Campus, is not playing collegiate baseball, which made losing his final season even more painful.
“I’ve always loved baseball from when I was young,” he said. “It was my favorite sport growing up, but once I got to high school and met Coach Harry – he taught me more about baseball, he’s made me love it even more. I really couldn’t thank him enough for it. He really made my love for the game grow.”
The Owls have been the very definition of the phrase Bensalem Strong.
“Bensalem Strong is not so much a baseball thing, not so much a high school sports thing – it’s kind of a township thing now,” Aldrich said. “Going on that (state) run and being part of Bensalem Strong, you really got to see how much the town came together.
“Going to football games, going to basketball games, you could see the town always came through and always supported everyone. Being with baseball, there were so many people there. Even the students that would come, teachers and some people that aren’t even from Bensalem who are just friends of people from Bensalem would come out and support us.
“Being able to be part of that and watching how strong our community is and how supportive they are – everyone was so great. If anything happens, just seeing that helps you so much as a player. When you’re on the field, seeing people cheer you on helps you want to be able to play better and compete better. Bensalem Strong is always going to be one of the best things I’ve ever heard, the best thing that happened to me.”
All in the family
Bensalem baseball, according to the players, is a brotherhood, a family, and it starts at the top with Daut.
“Coach Harry knows what he’s talking about,” Aldrich said. “He knows the game of baseball. Any sports practice - sometimes kids go to practice and you don’t really want to be there. Maybe you don’t like your coach. Playing for Bensalem baseball, it’s like joining a family automatically. Harry welcomes you. I know a lot of coaches – if you’re a freshman, they kind of look down on you. Harry is one of those people – he doesn’t care what age you are, what you look like, whatever. He just wants to win. He wants the best for the team and the program.
“Even the kids that don’t really know Harry like I did going into it, you feel welcome, you feel like a family, and throughout those four years it can only get better with him. That’s who Coach Harry is. He only wants the best for everyone.”
“Everybody has the same goal and we all do it for each other,” Silano said. “Nobody is in it for themselves. All the players do it for each other and all the coaches. The coaches want to do it for everybody.
“It’s a great sense of family and community. Even the community as a whole – the year we made the state run, all the fans were involved. It just brought the whole community together, and it’s awesome.”
“It starts with our coaches,” McShane said. “Coach Harry holds a high standard for all of us.
“We’ve always been tight, we’ve always worked together. Even though the season is only three or four months long, we’re either hanging out with each other or we’re in the gym or something all year round. Most schools have a couple hundred kids try out for their program. We only have a couple handfuls. I’ve always looked up to the kids that were older than me, especially the ones that played my position as pitcher - Steve (Aldrich), Nick (Dean), Dom (Grady), (Nick) Foss (Fossile) just to name some of them. As a senior this year, I tried to give the same thing those seniors gave to me when I was a freshman. They accepted me like family, like I’ve been there the whole time they were.”
The close connections don’t end when the players walk off the diamond at Bensalem for the last time.
“I have connections with a lot of people because of baseball,” Parrish said. “Everyone I played with that senior year I still talk to, and even younger guys that were sitting the bench, I still see how they’re doing.”
“All the coaches, all the teammates – I still call them my brothers,” Silano said. “We still talk, we hang out all the time. That’s what I miss the most, and I take away everything I’ve learned, especially from Coach Harry. He’s been one of the biggest role models in my life.”
More important than the wins and losses, Daut instilled a love of the game in his players.
“Just playing baseball was so fun,” Mulvey said. “What Harry’s been able to do over the years has been exciting. I’m so happy for him.”
When it comes to coaching, Daut points to the influence of Rick Lee, now an assistant at Council Rock North, who was his high school football and baseball coach.
“He’s a coach I really look up to,” the Owls’ coach said. “I was an assistant to Rick from 2011 to 2012, and my two assistants – Harry Daut Jr and Kurt Sowa – also played for Rick. He basically got me started at Bensalem.
“As a program, we try and make every player accountable for everything they do on and off the field – NO EXCUSES. As a team and staff, we pride ourselves on being as mentally tough or tougher than our opponents, especially on the mound. Every kid dedicates himself to the whole program and what we’re all trying to do. The bottom line is we’re all trying to win a Suburban One League game. That’s all we’re trying to do, and it’s really important.”
Ask Daut what he’s most proud of, and he doesn’t point to his team’s accomplishments on the diamond (although he is unmistakably proud of those).
“I can only think of four or five kids that haven’t gone on to attend college or university,” the Owls’ coach said. “Academically, our kids are motivated. I just think they’re first class on and off the field, I really do. They’re quality kids.”
According to his players, it all starts at the top.
“Coach Harry doesn’t like to talk about himself, but him and the other coaches – they’re what started it, and I can’t thank them enough,” McShane said. “I don’t think I’d be where I’m at without them. I think the rest of the team could all say the same.”
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