CR North edged North Penn to win the District One AAAA title while Pennsbury defeated Boyertown to earn the fifth and final state berth. To view photos of the Rock North/North Penn game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Scott Huff
Glen Mills – The script for this PIAA Quad-A District One Final between Council Rock North and North Penn simply could not have been written any better.
Council Rock North junior flame thrower Brandon McIlwain was on the mound with his Indians clinging to a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. And with a runner of first base with two outs, North Penn brought to the plate the hottest hitter, without question, in the entire district playoffs – power hitting senior Jared Melone who represented the winning run.
CR North head coach Matt Schram strolled slowly to the mound prior to the at-bat – calmly waved off his infielders from coming to to the hill – and had a heart-to-heart/one-on-one discussion with his gifted closer.
“Coach told me just to relax – we have been in a number of these situations before,” said McIlwain. “He told me to go right after him – but don’t throw anything close to the middle of the plate. I love being in those situations – I want the ball in my hand.”
“We talked about our approach to pitching to him,” said Schram. “Brandon is a competitor and wanted to strike him out, but I told him to stay away from the middle of the plate – Melone is a great hitter and just don’t let him beat us.”
McIlwain stayed away from the middle of the plate – Melone surely did not get his best swing at the final pitch – and lifted a harmless foul ball to the first baseman to end the game. The final out presented the streaking Indians with their District One Quad-A championship.
“We finally had them at the right spot at the end of the game,” said North Penn head coach Kevin Mareno. “It was a well played – tight – game. And we gave ourselves a chance to win the game.
“We wanted that (District One championship) trophy, but that is behind us,” added Manero. “We go into state playoffs on Monday, and we can still accomplish some great things this year.”
McIlwain – who is signed and sealed – but yet to be delivered to South Carolina on a football scholarship – was about the biggest factor in a game someone can be without getting a single base hit.
In addition to closing out the game for Rock North winning pitcher Noah Hartwell, McIlwain made his presence felt in the field and on the base paths. McIlwain opened the game as the Indian right fielder and made two sensational catches – one running and one diving – and showcased his powerful arm in keeping Knight runners from taking extra bases. And it was his head’s up base running play – after getting hit by a pitch in the sixth inning – that fueled the CR North offense that scored what proved to be the winning runs.
“Brandon is just a great athlete – anywhere you put him he is going to be the best player,” said Schram. “If he is in the outfield, he is the best outfielder – if he is in the infield, he is the best infielder – if he played soccer, he would be the best soccer player on the field. He didn’t have a good day hitting today – but he helped us in so many ways.”
Council Rock North scored two runs in the second inning to take an early lead. Hartwell opened the frame with a ringing double – advanced to third base on a groundout – and scored on a single by Matt Hand. Hand scored later in the inning when Seth Leuz coaxed a base on balls with the bases loaded.
North Penn sliced the lead to 2-1 with a solo run in the fourth inning. Mason Nadeau opened the inning with a single – moved to second on a fielder’s choice – and scored on an RBI single off the bat of Zach Ziegler.
CR North scored what proved to be the winning runs with a two-run sixth inning. McIlwain was hit by a pitch – senior Cole German laid down a perfect bunt for a single – and McIlwain scooted all the way to third base as the Knights failed to cover the bag. Leuz then singled home McIlwain and German scored on an errant throw as NP attempted to throw out Leuz advancing to second base.
The Indians proved to need those runs as North Penn rallied for a pair of runs in its half of the sixth inning. Melone opened the inning with a single – and one out later moved to second base on a single by pinch hitter Jake Schuster. Melone scored on a double off the bat of Ziegler – and Schuster would score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Anthony Cameron.
However, the Knights could not solve the pitching riddle of McIlwain in the final 1 2/3 innings, and now North Penn will have to focus on the upcoming state playoffs.
“The nature of high school baseball in the playoffs is that you can get a second chance,” said Manero. “We won a (Suburban One Continental Conference) league championship – we lost in the district final – but we still have our chance at a state title.”
Council Rock North – which placed second in the SOL National Conference this season behind Pennsbury – will have that district championship banner to hang in its gym.
“We have never won a title of any kind in the four years that I have been in the program,” said German who led the Indians offensively with three hits. “We started off slow and didn’t win our league – but this is how we expected to play all year. Every time we go on the field we expect to win.”
And now Rock North has reached those lofty expectations.
Council Rock North Indians 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 * 4 12 0
North Penn Knights 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 * 3 9
CR North: McIlwain 4 1 0 0; German 4 1 3 0; Leuz 3 0 1 2; Hicks 3 0 1 0; Schram 4 0 2 0; Hartwell 4 1 1 0; Hofman 4 0 1 0; Hand 3 1 2 1; Nowmos 3 0 1 0. Totals – 33 4 12 3.
CR North: Hartwell (W) 5 1/3 innings; 8 hits; 3 runs; 3 earned runs; 3 strikeouts; 0 walks. McIlwain (S) 1 2/3 innings; 1 hit; 0 runs; 0 earned runs; 2 strikeouts; 0 walks.
North Penn: Christy 4 0 1 0; Peterson 4 0 0 0; Nadeau 4 1 2 0; Melone 4 1 1 0; Apple 3 0 1 0; Namey 2 0 0 0; Schuster 1 1 1 0; Ziegler 3 0 2 2; Cameron 2 0 0 1; Marino 2 0 0 0; Bealer 1 0 1 0. Totals – 30 3 8 3.
North Penn: Williamson (L) 2 2/3 innings; 9 hits; 2 runs; 2 earned runs; 1 strikeout; 2 walks. Healey 4 1/3 innings; 3 hits; 2 runs; 1 earned run; 0 strikeouts; 3 walks.
#1-3 Pennsbury 5, #1-5 Boyertown 4
Pennsbury earned the fifth and final berth in the PIAA Class AAAA Tournament, thanks to its hard fought win over Boyertown in a must-win playback game at Methacton High School. It is the program’s first state berth in more than two decades.
“It’s pretty amazing,” coach Joe Pesci said. “It validates everything we’ve done over the past few years.
“We start in August with our lifting program. We won the fall league championship (in the EBFBL), and then you have November, December, January and February where you’re lifting, hitting and pitching. The kids put in the hours.
“We knew we had something special. We had a lot of returning starters. They tasted the playoffs last year. We lose our first league game to (Council Rock) South and then we reel off 10 straight wins and finish 12-2 in the league and won the league title. The kids are playing great.”
The Falcons – with four walk-off wins to their credit – have shown a flare for the dramatic this season, and Thursday’s win was no different. Forty-eight hours after using a seventh inning rally to earn a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Owen J Roberts, the Falcons withstood a too-close-for-comfort rally by the Bears.
“You have a lot of these heart attack games, a lot of walk-offs,” Pesci said.
The Falcons seized early control of the game with a three-run second. Brody McFadden singled to lead off the frame. A pop foul on a failed bunt attempt was caught by the catcher, but the throw to double McFadden off first sailed into the outfield, allowing McFadden to advance to second. A walk and hit batter loaded the bases with two outs, setting the stage for a two-run single by Pat Lawrence. Billy Bethel followed with an RBI single, and the Falcons led 3-0.
In the third inning, DJ Endler led off with a double, and he scored one out later when Logan Buell delivered an RBI single. Freddie Schrandt singled, putting runners on the corners with Tom Augustin at the plate.
“I gave him a drag bunt (sign), and he bunted,” Pesci said. “The ball hopped off his bat, spun and bounced high in the air. It was going foul, but the catcher snagged it, and tagged Logan Buell, who was trying to score.
“We only got one run and we probably should have gotten two or three that inning.”
The Falcons upped their lead to 5-0 in the fourth inning when Lawrence, who walked, scored on Endler’s double to deep center.
Zach Conley cruised into the sixth inning with a shutout and 5-0 lead, but the Bears, thanks to a pair of walks and a single, loaded the bases with two outs. Pesci went to his bullpen, calling on McFadden. A single plated a pair of runs, but catcher Kyle Marshall gunned down a runner trying to steal second to bring an end to the inning with the Falcons still on top 5-2.
In the seventh, with a pair on board and two outs, the Bears capitalized on an errant throw to push their third run across. It was a 5-4 game after the Bears collected a clutch single, and the Bears still had two men on board.
“We pushed our infield way back,” Pesci said. “The (Boyertown) kid hits a dribbler between first and second base.
“Pat Lawrence comes charging up, flips it to D.J. (Endler) at first, and they call him safe. We all turn and start arguing with the umpire, and the kid rounds third. The kids in the dugout are yelling, ‘four, four, four.’ DJ turns, fires to home, Kyle blocks the plate and makes the tag. That would have been the tying run. It was pretty intense.
“What happened was – the kid hesitated. He rounded (third), stopped, saw us all turn to argue. Somebody in our dugout had the wherewithal, and DJ turned and made a perfect strike from 100 feet away because he was past first base. He made a perfect strike, and Kyle made a great play blocking the bag. It was pretty exciting – the kid hesitating combined with the great defensive play. It could have been disastrous there.
“We didn’t even celebrate after the game. We were just relieved. You’re up three runs with two outs, and then all of a sudden they punch a couple across. You have to give them credit because they battled.”
Endler finished the day 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles while Lawrence was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, a walk and a run scored.
Conley earned the win on the mound, allowing two runs and seven hits while fanning three and walking two in 5.2 innings.
Boyertown 000 002 2 4-11-4
Pennsbury 031 100 x 5-9-1
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