Jarrad Saffren recaps games featured SOL teams in the District One Tournament. Hatboro-Horsham/Avon Grove photos provide courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography; North Penn/Boyertown photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos…CLICK HERE to go directly to the Baseball gallery.
By Jarrad Saffren
The District One Class 6A and 5A baseball playoffs continued on Wednesday. There were four second round games in each tournament.
Nine Suburban One League teams played on Wednesday. Eight 6A SOL teams and Upper Moreland in the District One 5A playoffs.
Five 6A SOL teams won and are now one win away from clinching a spot in the PIAA Class 6A Tournament. Upper Moreland won and clinched a spot in the PIAA Class 5A Tournament.
The results and recaps from all seven games involving SOL teams are below.
District One Class 6A Second Round
#8 Neshaminy 4, #9 Souderton 3
Souderton looked ready to run away with this one in the top of the first. The Indians were drilling baseballs to the outfield and laying off of breaking pitches outside the zone.
They took a 1-0 lead on Brett Moyer’s single to right. But Neshaminy starter Zach Boop got the next two batters to fly out, keeping the score at 1-0.
Neshaminy answered with three runs in the bottom of the first and never trailed again. Ed Parry blasted a two-run double over the right fielder’s head. And Ben Raab muscled an RBI single to center.
“Our coach has been drilling it in our head all year long to go to right field,” Parry said. “I just let it get deeper and focused on keeping my hands back and driving it the other way. I got a fastball outer half.”
“We’ve been hitting the ball all season. We’ve just been stuck with guys on base lately and not getting them in,” Neshaminy coach Dan Toner said. “Today we had guys come up clutch.”
Neshaminy stretched its lead to 4-1 in the home third. Raab hit a grounder through the hole into left, scoring Zach Tredway.
Boop rolled through the middle innings, pitching a perfect third and fourth. But Souderton got a run back in the fifth. Luke Barnum stroked a single to center, plating Justin Kullmann.
Greg Gallagher also tried to score on the play. But Parry, the cutoff man, threw him out. Catcher Eric Gale applied the tag.
“(Neshaminy centerfielder) Anthony (Rapposelli) did a great job getting it in quick,” Parry said. “And Eric made a great tag. In the past I would try to throw as hard as I can. But today I just put the ball right where it needed to be for him to make the tag.”
“Our defense has been lights out all season,” Toner said.
Neshaminy left the inning still up by two.
Souderton threatened in the sixth and seventh.
In the sixth, the Indians loaded the bases with two outs. Gallagher stepped in. Reliever Evan Matthews fired a fastball inside.
Gallagher hit a slow roller toward first off the thin part of his bat. Parry fielded the ball and tug the bag to end the inning.
In the seventh, Souderton’s first two batters reached base. Toner brought in his third pitcher of the game, Tredway.
Thylar Summarell—who has eight home runs in 2017—stepped in. But Souderton coach Michael Childs called for a bunt. Summarell bunted foul twice. Then he worked the count full.
Tredway threw a changeup. Summarell swung through it for strike three.
“I know we think of Summarell as a home run hitter. But he’s also a good bunter,” Souderton coach Michael Childs said. “All guys gotta be ready to bunt at all times. He hits into a double play, there goes our chances. You want to give him a shot. But you have to play smart baseball. He gets the bunt down, then Moyer comes up, who’s a very good hitter also, and he singles, then two runs score. It’s smart baseball when we’re down two.”
Moyer came up next and hit a bouncing ball to second. Brian Nicolas charged but did not lower his glove to the dirt. The ball rolled under his glove. Jack Despain scored to make it 4-3.
Souderton had the tying run at third and the go-ahead run at first with one out. Tredway got the next batter to chase a curveball in the dirt for the third strike.
Then he got Jordan Morales to bounce the ball to second. Nicolas charged, lowered his glove to the dirt and fired to first for the final out. Neshaminy held on in a clean, evenly matched game.
“When Tredway’s on, he’s lights out,” Toner said. “We were very confident going to him right there.”
“I just tried to throw strikes,” Tredway said. “They were battling, fouling off pitches. They are good hitters.”
“Games like this all year we’ve gotten the timely hits, or we’ve put balls in play so they’ll make errors,” Childs said. “Today was just one of those days where we didn’t execute when we needed to.”
The Redskins advanced to the district quarterfinals. They will host Council Rock South on Friday. CR South beat Neshaminy at Neshaminy on May 16, in the regular season finale for both teams.
“We want that game,” Toner said. “We really, really want that game.”
Souderton’s 2017 season is over. The Indians lost in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year.
Souderton 1-0-0-0-1-0-1 3
Neshaminy 3-0-1-0-0-0-0 4
#17 Council Rock South 3, #1 Downingtown West 0
Council Rock South pulled off the upset of the District One 6A playoffs.
The Golden Hawks scored a run in the first and two in the second.
In the first, Matt Smith lined an 0-2 pitch to center. Josh Kim got hit by a pitch. Evan Fisher bunted them over. Then John Crane grounded out to short, scoring Smith.
“Everyone does his job,” CR South coach Ted Kirner said. “That’s how you win baseball games.”
In the second, Trey Obarowski hit an infield single. Shane Walter reached on an error. Nick Gallo bunted them over.
Then Bryan Rieser grounded out to short, scoring Obarowski. And Smith singled to left, plating Walter.
“We knew (Downingtown West starter Drew) Britt’s a big boy. He throws 83-85 and has a good slider,” Kirner said. “Our approach was to see some pitches and then get aggressive.”
Three runs was enough for South starter Brendon Carter. His line speaks for itself: Seven innings, 82 pitches, two hits, seven strikeouts, no walks.
“It’s his best outing of the year. It’s probably the best outing of his career,” Kirner said. “Brendon was working his fastball, getting ahead, working the outside half. His curveball worked well. It was also the best I’ve ever seen Brendon’s composure. He strived all year to limit free passes. The big thing for him has been to get ahead.”
CR South will play Suburban One League National Conference rival Neshaminy in a district quarterfinal Friday at four.
“This is the greatest matchup ever. Playing teams we know, we’re confident,” Kirner said. “It’s going to be a heavyweight boxing match. They are going to have a chance for redemption.”
Council Rock South 1-2-0-0-0-0-0 3
Downingtown West 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0
#4 Pennsbury 4, #13 Central Bucks East 2
Pennsbury fell behind 2-1 in the top of the fourth. Then it rallied for three runs in the bottom of the inning.
The Falcons are that type of team. They are veterans who know how to win. And they stay confident even when they fall behind.
“You go back to that Neshaminy game a few weeks ago. We give up a run in the first. You have a little moment of panic and then we put up five later. We gave up three in the third against (Council Rock) North and come back and score eight. We’ve been rolling this way,” Pennsbury coach Joe Pesci said. “I said to them before the game, ‘I’m not concerned if we get down because I know we’ll battle and come back and give ourselves a chance to win.’ It’s veteran kids. Six were on roster for the 2015 run where we had a bunch of walk-off wins. They look at it like if we stay close we’re going to win. Us scoring three right away takes wind out of their sails.”
Josh Tesarck hit the two-run single to left that put Pennsbury up 3-2.
“He came up clutch. CB East had a great scouting report on our players. The first at-bat didn’t go so well for Josh. They started him with off-speed pitches. He’s a hacker, an early swinger,” Pesci said. “The second at-bat he worked the count and ended up getting a pitch he could hit.”
Pennsbury starter Billy Bethel allowed no earned runs in seven innings.
“His changeup was working great and his curveball,” Pesci said.
Tyrone Hodges, Justin Massielo, Gary Minnes and Ryan McCarty all scored for Pennsbury. Massielo also knocked in a run.
Daniel Schick and Grant Meiers scored CB East’s runs. Matt Ernst drove them in. Jimmy Wiegers had two hits.
Pennsbury will play 12th seed Downingtown East at home on Friday, in a district quarterfinal. CB East’s season is over.
Central Bucks East 0-0-0-2-0-0-0 2
Pennsbury 1-0-0-3-0-0-X 4
#6 North Penn 6, #3 Spring-Ford 3
North Penn starter Danny Kirwin pitched a complete game. He allowed four hits and one earned run, and struck out seven.
“Kirwin threw great, right from the beginning,” North Penn coach Kevin Manero said. “He kept things under control and never let things get away, even in pressure situations. They had second and third with nobody out in the seventh, and he got out of it.”
Three Knights players—Billy Collins (two), Joe Picozzi (one) and Zack Miles (one)—drove in a run. Four—Miles (two), Corey Stouffer (two), Tyler Siddal (one) and Trace Colter (one)—scored a run.
North Penn took a 5-0 lead in the first two innings.
“We played our best baseball in the first half of the game. They chipped away in the second half. But we did what we needed to do against a good team,” Manero said. “Tyler Siddal ignited things. He tripled to start the game. Billy Collins put the ball in play. Those guys were very productive.”
North Penn will travel to third seed Spring-Ford for a district quarterfinal on Friday.
“They are a very good team, very good pitching,” Manero said. “But you definitely have to beat the best if you want to keep going on. If we play clean baseball and do what it takes to win, we’ll have a chance.”
Boyertown 0-0-0-0-1-1-1 3
North Penn 3-2-0-0-1-0-X 6
#2 Hatboro-Horsham 5, #18 Avon Grove 4
Hatboro-Horsham rallied for four runs in the bottom of the third, turning a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 lead.
Colin Kennedy singled to center, scoring Eddie Schultz. Then Ryan O’Donnell hit a three-run homer to center. Kennedy and Drew Passerini scored.
“We talked yesterday in practice that in playoff baseball, you’re going to face adversity. And if you want to make any type of a serious run, you’re going to have to be able to overcome adversity,” Hatters coach Pete Moore said. “It was big for us to be able to bounce right back and put up a big inning for ourselves in the bottom of the third.”
“O’Donnell has been white hot right now,” Moore added. “He’s swinging the bat really well for us.”
Brian Edgington also had an RBI for Hatboro-Horsham. The Hatters usually win with pitching. But they won with hitting on Wednesday.
“One of the things that plays to our favor is that we’ve got eight seniors in our batting order. They’re hungry to keep this thing going because when we have eight seniors out there, there are only five of them that are guaranteed to continue their careers after this year,” Moore said. “I think these guys just want to keep playing together as long as they can. That’s kind of what our calling card has been, playing for each other and keeping this thing going. They showed up and they answered the bell when they had to, which is great to see.”
Edgington, who started for the Hatters, got through 6.1 innings. Moore brought in Kennedy after Avon Grove scored a run in the seventh, cutting H-H’s lead to 5-4.
Kennedy retired Avon Grove’s second and third hitters on three pitches. Edgington backed him up at first base.
“He’s the guy that plays first when Colin goes in to pitch. We moved him to first and you wonder where his mindset is at. Before the first hitter comes up that Colin is going to face, Edge is talking to me, asking me exactly where I wanted him. That told me right there that he was still checked in,” Moore said. “It turned out to be a good thing because the two hole hitter hit a line drive to (Edgington) that he caught, and the last hitter of the game hit a ground ball to his right that he fielded and flipped to Colin for the final out. It just kind of shows you that you’ve got to keep your head about you no matter what’s going on. He sure did that for us."
Hatboro-Horsham will play #7 Perkiomen Valley in a district quarterfinal on Friday.
Avon Grove 0-0-3-0-0-0-1 4
Hatboro-Horsham 0-1-4-0-0-0-X 5
#12 Downingtown East 3, #5 Quakertown 1
Downingtown East built a 3-0 lead through four innings. Quakertown could not mount a comeback against East starter Will Peiffer.
Dennis Pierce hit a home run in the seventh. But it was a solo shot.
“I wish we had some guys on base for him,” Panthers coach Jon Pallone said. “Their pitcher was pretty good. He’s had a lot of success. He’s going on to pitch in college. He kept us off-balance. He was living low at the knees.”
Quakertown starter Justin Guidos pitched pretty well himself. He struck out five in five innings.
“Justin Guidos threw well. He’s been shouldering the load. He wanted the ball and went out there and persevered,” Pallone said. “It wasn’t his best work, but giving up three to a quality team is a good appearance.”
Quakertown’s Drew San Angelo had two hits.
Quakertown ended the 2017 season at 15-6.
“It takes time to get over losses. I talked to the guys after. It will take a day or so,” Pallone said. “I’m just extremely proud of our guys. They were freshmen our first year and have done everything we’ve asked. They turned things around and got things going in the right direction.”
Downingtown East 1-0-0-2-0-0-0 3
Quakertown 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 1
District One Class 5A Second Round
#10 Upper Moreland 1, #2 Holy Ghost Prep 0
Upper Moreland clinched a spot in the state tournament. It beat a higher seed for the second straight game, this time riding the strong arm of pitcher Tommy Jacob to defeat the second-seeded Firebirds. The Golden Bears’ senior pitcher tossed a complete game two-hit shutout.
"He did a great job coming out of the gate," coach Dan Heiland said. "He really set the tone early. I don't know if they really expected him to throw that well – you get a team's number two.
"He could be a one, but he's our number two. We've been relying on him heavily all season long to pitch that way. He did a great job of being confident to throw any pitch at any point in the count. He did a great job syncing up with (Ryan) Lowry behind the plate and hitting his spots. He was making timely pitches at critical points in the count. He was getting big strikes or making the guys put the ball in play, and our defense – like all season – did a great job behind him making the plays.
"Tommy pitched unbelievable. To allow two hits and zero runs against Holy Ghost – not too many people get to say they did that. He did a great job."
Holy Ghost's John McCrane was matching Jacob pitch for pitch after allowing a run in the first. Randy Meehl doubled to lead off the game. Lowry followed and drew a walk, and both runners acvanced on Brandon Kohn's saacrifice bunt. One out later, Kevin Walter reached first on a free pass to load the bases, and a two-out walk to Dawson Ruggles plated the game's only run.
"I knew what Tommy had, but I didn't know what to expect from McCrane," Heiland said. "I knew he was good, I knew he threw hard and had a bunch of pitches.
"I knew runs would be hard to come by, so to get one in the first inning and put a little pressure on them – it definitely gave our guys confidence that we can play with these guys and we can win the game too."
The Golden Bears managed just three hits off McCrane.
"After the first inning, he really settled in," Heiland said. "He did a great job too.
"It always seems to be that way – Upper Moreland and Holy Ghost. We're glad we came out on top."
The Golden Bears beat No. 7 seed West Chester Henderson in the first round.
Upper Moreland is now two wins away from a district championship. UM will have to beat another higher seed to get to the district championship.
It plays No. 6 seed Marple Newtown in a district semifinal on Friday.
Upper Moreland 1-0-0-0-0-0-0 1
Holy Ghost Prep 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0
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