By Scott Huff
Council Rock North [N-1] punched its ticket to the PIAA Quad-A state playoffs with a comfortable 6-0 victory over visiting Downingtown East [S-4].
“I guess it is a little bit of a relief knowing that we are in states,” said Council Rock North head coach Dan Kusters. “We don’t want to just settle for a spot in states, though, we have our sights set on more.”
The first ‘more’ would be a PIAA District One Quad-A title. The Indians will face hot-hitting Owen J Roberts [S-2] in a district semi-final game next Tuesday (June 1).
But in order for Rock North to gain that OJR match-up in the semis, the Indians had to take care of business against Downingtown East.
Junior Darren Lauer came up with a superlative contest of the mound for the CR North with a complete game shutout. He scattered seven hits and struck out six.
“Darren threw very well for us today,” said Kusters. “He got himself in and out of jams with some big pitches. He got a lot of key strikeouts, and we were able to turn a key double play behind him.
“We did a great job defensively today – no errors,” added Kusters. “And (shortstop) Ryan Hartley made some terrific plays both in the hole and up the middle.”
The Rock North offense was piloted by lead off hitter Jesse Goldberg. Goldberg had three hits, scored a pair of runs, and had three clutch RBI.
Tim Filer and Mike Tentilluci each had sacrifice fly RBI’s for the Indians.
Rock North will have to defeat an OJR squad that has scored in double digits in both of their PIAA Quad-A District One wins.
The Wildcats edged Pennridge [N-7] 13-12 in the first round, and advanced to the CR North game with a convincing 15-4 victory over Wissahickon [N-3].
“The bottom line today was that they swung the bats, ran the bases, and did everything you needed to do to win a baseball game,” said Wissahickon head coach Shannon Gunby. “It was a team that we knew we couldn’t give any extra at-bats, and we did that in the first inning.”
The first inning was a ‘killer’ for the Trojans as OJR snatched a 5-0 lead.
“We had two outs with them scoring only a single run,” said Gunby. “And then we turn around a commit an error, and the next thing you know we are down 5-0.
“It is very difficult to come back from a 5-0 lead in a playoff game,” added Gunby. “And they continued to hit the ball. They just overpowered our pitchers.”
The Wildcats used a three-run homer in the first inning to break the game open and blasted a three-run homer to end the game with a ‘mercy-rule’ shot to close out the scoring at 15-4.
The Wissahickon season and hopes for a state invitation are not over, however.
The Trojans will face Downingtown East in a ‘playback’ game on Tuesday, and if Wissy wins it will play the winner of the Neshaminy-Avon Grove game for the fifth and final state playoff slot.
“I told the players to enjoy the experience,” said Gunby. “We have a ton of underclassmen, and they are getting a good taste of playoff baseball.”
Neshaminy [N-2] dropped into the same ‘playback’ bracket as Wissahickon as the Redskins lost to visiting Great Valley (S-3] – 7-5 – in nine innings.
“It was a hell of a high school baseball game,” said Neshaminy head coach Dennis Cox. “It was a hard fought game, back and forth, and both teams had opportunities to win the game.
“We left 13 runners on base, and most of them were in scoring position,” added Cox. “We just didn’t seem to come up with the big hit when we needed it most.”
The one exception for the Skins was a home run off the bat of John Burns in the seventh inning. It helped Neshaminy rally back from a 5-3 deficit to force the game into extra innings.
“John has just continued to hit the ball,” said Cox of his gifted catcher. “But he really has been doing that every single game.
“Ray Hyjurick might have given up seven runs, but he threw a great game,” added Cox of his senior right-hander. “Only four of those runs were earned, and he threw eight and two-thirds innings.
“We still have a shot at states,” continued Cox if the Skins can beat Avon Grove [S-5] and the winner of the Wissahickon-Downingtown East game. “If we can win two more games – we’re there.”
PIAA District One Quad-A – On Deck – Tuesday
Sites To Be Determined
Owen J Roberts [S-2] versus Council Rock North [N-1]
Great Valley [S-3] versus West Chester Henderson [S-1]
** All four teams are in state tournament**
Playback for Fifth Place
Wissahickon [N-3] versus Downingtown East [S-4]
Neshaminy [N-2] versus Avon Grove [S-5]
** Only one of these four teams will make the state playoffs**
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