Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action in the District 1 Tournament Friday. PJP/Springfield Twp photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for a gallery of photos.
District 1 4A final
#2 POPE JOHN PAUL II 7, #1 SPRINGFIELD TWP 3
The Spartans led 3-2 after five innings, but PJP erupted for four runs in the sixth and added another in the seventh on its way to the win in Friday’s District 1 4A title game at Villanova Ballpark.
“That’s the game of baseball,” Springfield Twp coach Rob Bond said. “You’re going to have those ups and downs.
“It’s tough. We had 10 seniors that are quite upset. You hate to end on a game like this, but I tip my hat to those guys.”
Although the ending was disappointing, it could not detract from a memorable season that included capturing the SOL Freedom Division crown.
“Our kids really enjoyed themselves, but they did the hard work,” Bond said. “We tried to change some things in our program, and they were the driving force.
“Our 10 seniors really took what the coaching staff wanted and projected it out, and that’s how we were able to have a great season. It’s all on the seniors.”
Senior Max May held the Panthers’ talented lineup in
check for the first five innings. A two-run home run by Luke Terlesky in the fourth accounted for their only runs during that stretch.
“I knew they were a really good hitting team,” May said. “I just tried to not leave the ball up. I did twice.”
The Spartans took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth, capitalizing on singles by Nolan Kidwell and Owen Hastings (RBI) as well as a sac fly by Mike Capoferri.
PJP evened the score with one swing of Terlesky’s bat – a solo home run to lead off the sixth inning. The Panthers went on to score three two-out runs to go on top 6-3, and they added a run in the top of the seventh for the 7-3 final.
“It was a fun season,” May said. “It sucks that we had to lose like this, but it was a lot of fun.
“A lot of us have played together since little league, so we’ve been together for 10 years, and that’s the hardest part.”
Nolan Kidwell (2-for 4) and Owen Hastings (2-for-3, 1RBI) had muti-hit games to lead the Spartans.
Springfield Twp closed out its season with an 18-4 record overall. The Spartans were 14-1 on their way to an SOL Freedom Division title.
Pope John Paul II 000 204 1 7-11-1
Springfield Twp 010 020 0 3-7-1
District 1 6A quarterfinals
#8 NORTH PENN 8, #1 HAVERFORD 1
Jake Nunn made his postseason debut a memorable one, taking the Knights into the sixth inning in a strong outing on the mound. Caleb Price closed it out as the duo combined for the win over the top-seeded Fords.
“I knew I had to go out and throw strikes and be competitive in the zone,” said Nunn, who struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings. “The first time through the order I kind of figured that they weren’t really jumping at the first pitch. They were taking it to feel me out a little bit.
“So, i knew that I had to attack them, and then once I got that first strike I started hitting my spots a little more. The ump was giving me inside and outside today so that helped, for sure.”
The win punched the Knights’ ticket into the state tournament and also gave them a spot in the District 1 6A semifinal.
“This is our third year in a row in states, which I think Coach Manero told us last year – he’s never done that as a head coach, which is pretty cool,” Nunn said. “This is only my second time being here for it on varsity, and this is my first year actually playing, so it’s pretty cool to be a part of it after watching for two years.
“I know districts-wise, Manero’s been talking to us about how we haven’t won a district title since ‘08, which is around when a lot of us were born. I think he wants a district title more than anything this year. He’s making that pretty known. So, getting to the semifinals is a pretty big deal for us.”
Although the final score would suggest otherwise, this was a pitchers’ duel until the Knights broke up the scoreless tie with three runs in the fifth. Nunn took a shutout into the sixth inning.
“I felt pretty confident in myself today,” he said. “After my warm-up in the bullpen, I felt like everything was really working for me. I felt like all my pitches were on today.
“I had a little trouble executing my change-up in the game, but my fastball and curveball were really all there for me. So, I felt confident throughout the whole game.
“(Haverford’s pitcher) was a really good starter, and we went head to head for five innings.”
The Knights took a 3-0 lead in the fourth and added five runs in the seventh. Christian Barnes and Caleb Price were the undisputed hitting stars, combining for nine hits and five RBIs.
By the numbers: North Penn: Jake Nunn (W) (5.2 IP, 7H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 8K), Caleb Price (S) (1.1 IP, 1H 0R, 2K)
Christian Barnes (4-for-4, 2B, 2RBI, 2R), Ben Grattan (3-for-4, 3RBI, 1R)
Key inning: Top of fourth: With one out, Joshua Martinelli was hit by a pitch and replaced by courtesy runner Kyle Bonner. Chase Jones walked, and with two outs, Barnes singled home the game’s first run. Grattan followed with a two-run single that gave the Knights a 3-0 lead.
North Penn coach Kevin Manero: “The tale of the game is very different than what it looks like in the score. This was a 0-0 game into the fifth inning. We struck out a ton early in the game, and we left a lot of guys on base, ran ourselves out of a couple innings. It was very frustrating, but we were running a lot of deep counts, and it looked like their pitcher was probably going to be sitting on an elevated pitch count pretty early, so what we were able to do is when we got into the bullpen, we were able to break things open a little bit.”
–Nunn in charge: “He’s really become a very competitive pitcher for us this year. He’s a low pitch count guy. He throws strikes. Today he had eight strikeouts, one walk. He took us into the sixth inning. If your second game starter in the playoffs is going to give you a shutout into the sixth inning, things are clicking. So, he’s been super competitive, and we were extremely happy with his performance today.
“We brought Caleb Price to finish off the sixth. We were going to bring (Trevor) Lugara in to finish, so we had him warmed up and ready to go for the seventh inning, but as we got a little deeper into their bullpen, they had a little trouble with their strike zone, we got some free passes and tacked on some big runs. The final score is really not indicative of what this game was like most of the night.”
–Getting offensive: “Christian Barnes and Ben Grattan combined for seven hits in the five and six spot of our order, which was real big. Obviously, if you have guys in the middle of the order that are getting the ball in play that many times, you can create some runs. Ben Grattan had the big two-run double that put us up 3-0, and then Nunn was real good from there.”
–Back in states: “Last year, when we came into the season, we told the guys that coming off of a trip to the state semifinal the year before, it’s easy to think – okay, we’re going to get right back there, but you don’t start there. You start in the weight room, and you have a long, long road to get back to where you ended the year before. And, last year we got to states and we lost, but we needed to at least get back to where we got last year. And that was not an easy road. It’s a grind in our conference. The District 1 Tournament is very challenging. So it’s really good to know that, at the very least, we’re going to get back to where we finished last year with a chance to take this thing further.
“It is not an easy task to get to States three years in a row, no matter who you are. The district tournament is tough. The league is tough. So, it’s a real credit to these guys, many of whom were starters as sophomores three years ago, that they’ve made it their mission to keep getting back there.”
–Unfinished business: “That elusive district title is sitting out there, and our guys are real hungry for that. This is a difficult district, and I think there’s a lot of really good teams out there in the state this year. So, you want to play for everything you can that’s in front of you, and we put ourselves in a position to do that.”
Up next: North Penn (17-5, 10-5 SOL) will travel to #2 Coatesville for Tuesday’s District 1 semifinal.
North Penn 000 030 5 8-9-1
Haverford 000 001 0 1-8-2
#6 NESHAMINY 4, #3 PERKIOMEN VALLEY 2
Timely hitting is a key to the success for any team, and few hits were more timely than Jake Plebani’s two-out, two-run double in the top of the fourth inning that gave the visiting ‘Skins a 4-2 lead and turned out to be the game-winner.
“We get the timely hits, and our pitching just dominates for us,” Plebani said. “We don’t have many power bats, so the singles, timely hitting gets it done for us really well.
”Our pitching’s been so good all year that we don’t need to score seven-eight runs. We only need four because we don’t give up many runs.”
Once again, the Redskins got standout efforts on the mound. Jared Kligerman started and earned the win, throwing three innings and allowing four hits and two runs while fanning five and walking two. Matthew Gryn closed it out with four shutout innings. He allowed just two hits and struck out three.
With the win, the Redskins not only advanced to Tuesday’s semifinals but punched their ticket to the state tournament for the fifth time in coach Dan Toner’s eight years at the helm.
“That’s always a big goal for us – this is two years in a row,” Plebani said. “Coming into the year, we didn’t have the expectations. We were pretty young, pretty unproven, but to come back two years in a row and make the state tournament, it’s pretty big.”
Before states, there’s the not-so-little-matter of playing for a district crown.
“That’s super big for us,” Plebani said. “Last year, I thought we were going to go all the way, but we couldn’t do it. But this year, we have the opportunity. I think it’s pretty clear that we can get it done. We got our ace (Chase Bonner) going for us. We’re all pretty pumped. We’re going to practice hard and get it done.”
By the numbers: Neshaminy: Jake Plebani (1-for-3, 2B, 2RBI)
Jared Kligerman (W) (3.0 IP, 4R, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 5K), M Gryn (S) 4.0 IP, 2H, 0R, 2BB, 8K)
Key inning: Top of fourth: Mike Sassano was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. He advanced to second on Noah Wallace’s sacrifice bunt and moved up to third on Anthony Kurley’s line single to center. Sassano scored the tying run on Danny Nocito’s sacrifice fly to center. Nick Sassano was safe on an error, and Plebani’s line double to center plated a pair for a 4-2 Neshaminy advantage.
Neshaminy coach Dan Toner: “After the regular season, all our guys got our all-league awards, and that’s off the plate. Our mindset now is – it doesn’t matter if you go 0-for-4 in a game, whatever it is, we just need somebody to step up. The guys all have each other’s back, and they’re playing for the team.
“It doesn’t matter what an individual guy’s stats are for that game. Our guys just want to win. They’ll do whatever it takes to win, move a runner. However they have to get somebody across the plate, they’re willing to do that.”
–Pitchers deliver: “They’ve been great for us. We split the game between Jared (Kligerman) and Matt (Gryn). Both were locked in, and then we have Chase (Bonner), who’s been absolutely fantastic for us, ready to go for the next game.
“We send our guys out there, and they go as long as we feel comfortable. Jared was losing it just a tad, and we don’t have to risk anything because we know how good Matt is, so we feel comfortable in any situation, and we still have a couple more guys we can bring in if those guys aren’t available.”
–Pleboni a force at the plate and behind the plate: “The second half of the year, he’s been absolutely fantastic. As a senior captain, he took on that leadership role, and he has been coming through for us so many times. And besides him at the plate, his catching has been game-changing for us. He had an opportunity to throw a runner out today, and it was a complete turning point of the game. He got rid of the ball so quick, threw a laser down to second to get the guy in a big pivotal moment of the game.”
–Defense: “We turned a great (5-4-3) double play in the seventh inning to kind of solidify the game for us (Brandon Lall to Mike Sassano to Walace). They were getting some guys on, and then we turned a double play and killed all their momentum.”
Up next: Neshaminy (15-6, 11-4 SOL) will host #7 West Chester Henderson in Tuesday’s District 1 6A semifinal.
Neshaminy 001 300 0 4-6-0
Perkiomen Valley 002 000 0 2-6-1
#4 COATESVILLE 2, #5 PENNSBURY 0
Coatesville put two runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning, and that proved to be enough for Sean Kinzler, who tossed a complete game three-hitter. He struck out only three but did not issue a walk and faced just 26 batters. Kinzler threw 92 pitches – 62 for strikes.
Coatesville managed just five hits but collected three of them in the first inning when they scored the game’s only runs. Two of those hits were doubles – one each by Nuge Williard and Adam Clark (RBI).
Up next: Pennsbury (15-6-1, 11-4 SOL) will travel to top-seeded Haverford for a playback game Tuesday. The four teams that lost in Friday’s quarterfinals are vying for the two final state berths.
Pennsbury 000 000 0 0-3-1
Coatesville 200 000 x 3-5-2
District 1 5A semifinal
#4 UPPER DUBLIN 11, #1 CHICHESTER 0
The Flying Cardinals made the trek to top-seeded Chichester and made it look easy, erupting for seven first-inning runs and rolling to the shutout win. Eric Berman – who led the UD hit parade with four hits – had a pair of hits in the inning. A leadoff bunt single and a two-run double to cap off the seven-run inning.
“it’s always good to put some pressure on the other team, especially when you’re the away team like we were today,” Berman said. “It’s good to put some pressure on the teams. And every single player in the lineup, one through nine, just put some really good at-bats together in that first inning to put up a seven spot.
“And that was just huge. It helped our pitcher relax, and it just helped our team kind of sink into a game where there was a little bit of nerves to begin with for both teams. And it just helped relax our team.”
Luke Caron and Chase Greiner combined for a one-hit shutout with Caron tossing six shutout innings to earn the win. Chichester got its only hit in the first inning.
The win vaulted the Cardinals into Tuesday’s District 1 6A title game and also ensured the team a berth in the state tournament.
“It feels amazing to be back in that spot,” Berman said. “Our team has worked hard all year.
“It started in October, and we just worked super hard in the winter, and this was our goal to make it to this point, and to have the chance to win a district and have a run in states, and it just means so much to the team because all of our hard work has paid off, and it’s shown on the field every game.”
Last year, UD earned a spot in states by winning its third place game against Strath Haven but then lost in the opening round of states to Monsignor Bonner.
“At the end of the season, it’s always good to set goals for the next season, and the three goals we have are to win our league, which we did, to win the district, which we have a chance to do and to win states, but we’re not looking ahead for anything. We just take it one step at a time.”
While Berman’s 4-for-4 effort with a double and two RBIs led the Cards, they received two-hit games from Ben Wilkins and Austin Dahl. Evan Sanders (2 RBIs) and Braxton Ganz each contributed a double off the bench.
“Everyone on the team contributed,” Berman said. “A lot of players contributed. We had 14 hits as a team, and it was just a great team win.”
By the numbers: Upper Dublin: Luke Caron (W) 6.0 IP, 1H, 0R, 7K), Chase Greiner (1.0 IP, 0H, 0R, 2K)
Eric Berman (4-for-4, 2B, 2RBI, 2R), Austin Dahl (2-for-4, 2B, 2RBI, 1R), Evan Sanders (1-for-1, 2RBI), Ben Wilkins (2-for-4), Wesley Gill (1-for-3, 2RBI, 1R), Braxton Ganz (2B), Eddie Stoffel (2B)
Key inning: Top of the first: Berman legged out a bunt single to open the inning and advanced to third on Eddie Stoffel’s double to center. A walk to Oliver Gil loaded the bases, and a pair of runners scored on Austin Dahl’s double to left field. Gavin Litten drew a walk, and one out later, Conor Dynam walked to load the bases. A strikeout for the inning’s second out was followed by a clutch two-run single by Wesley Gill, and Berman – in his second trip to the plate of the inning – doubled home a pair, giving the Cards a 7-0 lead.
Upper Dublin coach Ed Wall on the game: “Our first inning was explosive. Seven runs in the first inning – we batted around. Eric Berman started it all off, and it just steamrolled from there. It was fantastic. Bottom half inning, Luke Caron gave up the only hit of the day, and we kind of owned it the rest of the game. Caron went six innings, and then Chase (Greiner) came in for an inning, and he struck out two out of the four guys that he faced, so it was a great day. It was a very complete day.”
–A team effort: “It was great because at the end, in that seventh inning, we got a bunch of guys in, and they all just hit the ball hard. So, it was a lot of our older bench guys that got in and produced. It was a lot of fun. It was one of those days, and things were falling, and a lot of things went our way, so we were really fortunate.
“Our Rustin game (a 3-2 win) was pretty stressful. And that first round, we frequently say, is kind of the toughest game. And then once we won that, today we kind of settled in and relaxed and played some pretty good baseball.
“We punched two tickets today, so we’re excited for both, but we have to take care of business on Tuesday.”
Up next: Upper Dublin (16-6, 11-4 SOL) will face #2 Radnor in Tuesday’s District 1 5A title game at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth.
Upper Dublin 700 011 2 11-14-0
Chichester 000 000 0 0-1-1
#2 RADNOR 4, #11 HATBORO-HORSHAM 3 (9 innings)
The Hatters battled second-seeded Radnor for nine innings but came up just short.
They opened up a 3-0 lead in the second inning, benefitting from a Radnor error as well as singles by Ryan Thomas and Kenny Lutz. They managed just two hits the rest of the way.
Cole Reinheimer starter and threw 5.1 innings, allowing six hits and three runs. Chris Herrera gave the Hatters 3.1 innings and allowed just one hit and one run.
Up next: Hatboro-Horsham (9-13, 6-9 SOL) will travel to #1 Chichester in Tuesday’s third place game with the winner earning the final state berth.
Hatboro-Horsham 030 000 000 3-4-0
Radnor 000 030 001 4-8-1
Non-league
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 15, SOLEBURY SCHOOL 5 (6 innings)
New Hope-Solebury finished the season on a high note with a non-league win over Solebury School
Two consecutive wins is a great way to finish our season and create some great momentum for next year,” NHS coach Tony Vlahovic said. “Our goals today were to score runs early and give all our players an opportunity to play and compete today. We were able to accomplish both goals.
“Senior Sam Morrin finished his NHS Lions varsity career with a great day at the plate. He cleared the bases with a double and ended up with three hits on the day. Blake McCagg had another solid day at the plate with two hits. Our leadoff hitter JT Bach did everything we could ask a leadoff hitter to do – get on base and start our offense. He has done that all season.”
JT Rutowski, Nick Correa and Gavin Caponegro combined for the win.
“Gavin was dominant today, striking out seven,” Vlahovic said. “Great confidence booster.
“We are looking for our young team to grow together and be more competitive in SOL Freedom Division next season.”
By the numbers: New Hope-Solebury: Sam Morrin (3-for-4,2B, 3RBI, 2R), JT Bach (2-for-3, 2B, 3R), Blake McCagg (2-for-3, 2RBI, 2R), Charlie Plebani (2 RBIs), Nicholas Correra (1-for-1, 2 RBI)
Gavin Caponegro (W) (3.0 IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 7K)
Key inning: Bottom of first: The Lions scored five runs in an inning that began with a double by Bach and included an RBI single by McCagg and a three-run double by Morrin.
New Hope-Solebury closed out its season with a 7-12 record overall.
Solebury School 410 000 5-3-5
New Hope-Solebury 551 013 15-11-1
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