New Hope-Solebury rallied for the come-from-behind win in Tuesday’s District One 4A semifinal contest. Photos provided courtesy of Karla Donohoe. Check back for a gallery of photos.
Class 4A
#2 NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 6, #3 POPE JOHN PAUL II 5 (8 innings)
Improbable, unlikely.
Take your pick, either could have accurately described the Lions’ chances late in Tuesday’s District One 4A semifinal game.
“We were down 5-3 in the fifth, and Pope John was going crazy,” New Hope-Solebury coach Tony Vlahovic said. “A kid hit a home run that I think landed in Lambertville someplace. It was a rocket.”
That’s when it was time to draw on a story the Lions’ coach shared with his players prior to Tuesday’s game about a close friend from college who went on to become an Army Ranger and is a retired colonel.
“I looked at them and said – ‘Hey, we’ve got that ranger mentality, never give up,’” Vlahovic said. “My friend sent me a wristband that I wore today. It was all about an Army Ranger never gives up. They always have each other’s backs. That’s the kind of thing that seems to stick with them.
“We came out and we scored a run that inning and the next inning came out and tied it in the seventh. I walked into the dugout and said, ‘We’re going to have a dogpile in the eighth,’ and they’re like ‘Come on, coach.’”
Vlahovic turned out to be prophetic. In the sixth, Josh (Shiller) capped a tough at-bat with a single that was followed by three walks, which helped New Hope-Solebury climb within a run, 5-4.
“In the seventh, the bottom of our order came through again with a Justin Lehman single, a walk to Saul Carmenini, and Matt Rickert playing fundamental baseball by hitting behind the runners and advancing both, scoring Lehman to tie the game,” Vlahovic said.
That set up the dramatic eighth inning and the Lions’ walk-off win.
“Josh Shiller had a great day at the plate with three hits, and he started the eighth with his third single of the day,” Vlahovic said. “That was followed by a Brooks Saft single, and with two outs, Justin Lehman came to the plate and hit a line drive to left center to drive in Shiller to win the game. Justin’s every at-bat was excellent today with multiple pitches after two strikes, and he hit a shot.
“He’d been playing well all game, and here’s a kid – I really feel for him. He’s such a great kid. He played basketball, and they had a rough, rough year. He comes out and he wants to finish out his high school career playing with this level of energy.”
The Lions’ coach credited the efforts of his pitching staff.
“Our pitcher Matt Jermyn, this is really the first time he’s thrown on a varsity level as a senior,” Vlahovic said. “He did not have his ‘A’ stuff, but we played flawless defense up the middle with Nate Wiseman and Justin Lehman turning two double plays, stopping two separate rallies by PJP.
“Jermyn pitched five solid innings and hit his pitch count limit in the fifth, allowing seven hits and striking out four. Saul Carmenini came in the sixth and only surrendered one hit through the eighth inning. Saul’s fastball had some great late movement, and his breaking was dynamic today. He got the win in relief. I walked off the field and just shook my head like –‘Wow.’ I was just very, very happy with these guys.”
According to the Lions’ coach, Tuesday’s game was the program’s first home district game in five years.
“The place was packed,” Vlahovic said. “Again, we don’t get that many of those. We ended up second in districts, and we earned this home game. It was just a great game.
“Pope John played well. Their team is well coached. They’re solid, but they made a couple of mistakes later on in the game, and we didn’t. We capitalized on those mistakes. It was just the difference of a couple of pitches, and it usually is in a game like this. I tell the kids all the time – this time of year it comes down to one play, and that could change everything.”
The Lions’ coach acknowledged that his team was a long shot to win on Tuesday.
“I think they are finally starting to believe in themselves and that they can play with anybody right now if they play fundamental baseball,” Vlohovic said. “When we do that, we can. When we don’t, it’s ugly. To be honest, there’s no way people would have bet on us winning today.
“You talk about being the dog on the block – we’re the puppy, but our kids don’t believe that, which is great. I love it. We have two outfielders who didn’t even start the beginning of the season. If you would have told us they would be starting at this point, I would have told you there’s no way.
“Every kid – it’s like next man up, that kind of mentality. They know their roles. We played beautifully. We turned two double plays today, and we hadn’t done that in all our regular season games. Today, they just did it. I’m still in a dream world, I’m pinching myself.”
New Hope-Solebury (11-7-1, 8-7-1 SOL) will face top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep in the District One 4A title game at Methacton High School on Thursday at 4 p.m.
“I told the kids – enjoy it tonight,” Vlahovic said. “We’re going back to practice tomorrow and then we head up against Ghost. We’ll go up there, play our game and see what happens.
“I tell them – as long as they go out and compete, I don’t care if we win or lose, but if they go out and compete and can walk off the field and say they did that – that’s the game of baseball, and hopefully, it sets them up for later on in life.”
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