Neshaminy & CB South were winners and will meet in Friday’s District 1 6A title game. Souderton kept its season alive with a win. PW/Neshaminy photos provided courtesy of Geanine Jamison and Cindy Manero. CLICK HERE for a gallery of photos.
Class 6A Semifinals
#1-7 Neshaminy 3, #1-6 Plymouth Whitemarsh 1
If there is one word that can describe two really good playoff performances for Neshaminy junior pitcher Dan Errigo it’s probably confident.
Last week in the first round of the District One Class 6A Tournament, Errigo was very good in a win over Hatboro-Horsham. Tuesday, he was brilliant against Plymouth Whitemarsh, as the right-hander threw a complete-game four hitter and helped Neshaminy earn a spot in Thursday’s district championship game with a 3-1 win over the Colonials.
“Dan’s been incredible throughout these playoffs,” said coach Dan Toner. “He stepped up big again today.
“Early on, he had this attitude that you can’t hit him. He’d step in there and you could see that he had that look on the mound, and he just battled the entire time.”
Against PW, Errigo allowed just one earned run, and while he walked three batters and hit another, for the most part he had good control, and aside from a couple solid hits, he kept the PW lineup off balance on a day the ball seemed to be traveling well in the air.
“I just tried to do what I was doing the whole game – throw strikes and let my fielders do the work for me,” Errigo said.
The Neshaminy offense also gave their pitcher some run support to work with, scoring two in the second and one in the fourth. Dalton Turner – who played a leading role in both innings – led off the second with a double to center, and he scored when Tyler Jones followed with a double to center. Jones moved up to third on Gus Natelli’s sacrifice and was still on third with two outs when – after a walk to Tommy Pease – Jones stole home on a double steal.
Turner led off the top of the fourth with a solo home run to center, giving the Redskins a 3-0 lead.
Matched up against tough PW left-hander Ben Mascio, Errigo and the entire Neshaminy team seemed to get more confident as the game went on.
“I think we’ve had some experiences as recently as Friday, coming back from being behind, but yeah, I think it definitely helped (Neshaminy),” said PW coach Chris Manero of the Redskins taking an early lead. “Any team that gets the lead feels confident, especially if you get the lead against one of the best pitchers around.”
PW had chances late, scoring a run in the fifth, as Joe Jaconski doubled and would score on a wild pitch. But with runners on second and third, Errigo induced a ground ball to first to end the threat.
Then in the bottom of the seventh, Mike Orensky led off with a single in the hole, and he went to second on an error on the throw to first. Errigo struck the next batter out, bringing up Jaconski and the top of the lineup. The easy call from the dugout would have been to intentionally walk Jaconski.
“We talked right before he went out that inning,” Toner said. “We said, ‘Hey, this is big. Can you step up?’
“He said, ‘I got this coach’ and he did.”
Errigo induced a pair of pop ups to end the game.
“We knew they had Jaconski and a couple of guys at the top of the lineup that could hit the ball,” he said. “I just had to execute and throw strikes … and let my fielders do the work.”
With the win, Errigo improved to 6-1 on the season and lowered his ERA to 2.75.
“This year, he’s been completely dominant on the mound and in control,” Toner said. “He has that ‘I’m going to attack you, you’ve got to try to hit me’ attitude.”
Turner’s 2-for-2 effort at the plate with a double, home run, RBI and two runs scored led the Redskins.
Neshaminy (15-6, 7-5 SOL) will play in Thursday’s District One Class 6A championship game against Central Bucks South at Immaculata University (4 p.m.). Errigo isn’t eligible to pitch in that one, but he’ll be appreciating the experience of playing for a title, nonetheless.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “I love these guys. We’re like a family here. I wouldn’t want to be with any other group of guys.”
As for PW (14-8, 11-3), it will play in the third-place game Thursday at No. 5 Downingtown East in its final tune-up before starting the state playoffs on Monday.
“The best thing we can do is learn from this,” Manero said. “Even though it’s the end of May, we can still get better. I hope that some of our guys that didn’t end the way they hoped today learn from that and maybe do some things a little bit different.”
Neshaminy 020 100 0 3-5-2
Plymouth Whitemarsh 000 010 0 1-4-1
#1-17 Central Bucks South 5, #1-5 Downingtown East 3
A standout pitching performance from sophomore Owen Petrich – who allowed just three hits in the complete game win – and clutch hitting from a pair of veterans proved to be a winning combination for the Titans in Tuesday’s district semifinal.
Jake Trachtenberg’s three-run home run in the top of the fifth – on the heels of a two-run blast by Joey Loynd in the third – turned out to be the game-winner in a district semifinal contest that was halted in the bottom of the sixth for inclement weather.
The Titans are proving that their 17th seed is only a number and a meaningless one at that.
“We’re finally healthy and playing really good baseball, and that’s really all that matters,” South coach Brian Klumpp said. “Before the season started, we had our goals set. One was league, the next was districts and obviously, the following would be states.
“When we went through a rough patch with some injuries during the season, we still kept those goals high because we still played pretty good baseball, but once we got everybody healthy – this group just really is clicking and playing really well and coming together as a team right now, which is just at the right time. You can just see it by the way they’re playing on the field. We really went out and earned this win and earned our spot in the district title game, so I’m really happy for our guys.”
The Titans received a major lift with the return to the lineup of Loynd, who played one game at the start of the season and then was sidelined until the final week of the regular season. A healthy Loynd gave the Titans a 2-0 lead in the third with one swing of the bat when he smashed a two-run home run to center field to plate Jake McKeown, who had doubled.
“We’ve been playing really well all year long,” Klumpp said. “We had a couple of tough losses, but we still thought we played well in those game.
“When you add Joey back in the lineup in the three hole – he’s one of the best players in the area, so to add him back in the week before playoffs and the way the other guys have been playing all year with the confidence they had – I think it was the perfect storm all at once.”
The Cougars took a short-lived 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth, an inning that was highlighted by a two-run home run off the bat of senior Zach Burton. In the top of the fifth, the Titans took a lead they would not lose when Trachtenberg delivered a three-run blast to left field that plated McKeown and Loynd, who had walked.
“He’s been coming up big all year long,” Klumpp said of Trachtenberg. “He actually struggled his first two at-bats, and then it seemed like they pitched around Joey in that previous at-bat, and Jake made them pay – he hit a monster home run.”
Petrich retired the Cougars in order in the bottom of the inning to make it a legal game. In the bottom of the sixth, the game was halted.
“Owen Petrich stepped up again, and being a sophomore, it was huge for him,” Klumpp said. “He got the ball against Coatesville, and he threw really well, and in another big spot today, he stepped up and was tremendous on the mound.
“It’s great to see a sophomore want the ball in that scenario, and he really does. He goes out and just battles every single time.”
Loynd finished the game 2-for-2 with a double, home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Trachtenberg was 1-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs and a run, and McKeown was 1-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.
Central Bucks South (16-6, 7-5 SOL) will face Neshaminy in an all-SOL district title game on Thursday at Immaculata University (4 p.m.).
Central Bucks South 002 03 5-9-1
Downingtown East 000 30 3-3-0
Class 6A Playbacks
#1-3 Souderton 2, #1-4 Methacton 1
With his team’s season hanging in the balance, Jordan Morales delivered in a big way. The La Salle-bound senior allowed six hits and one run (unearned) while striking out 11 and walking two in the complete game win.
“He’s been a senior leader all year on the mound,” coach Mike Childs said. “We had a rough one we had to bounce back from last Friday against PW (a 6-3 loss), and he dominated on the mound with 11 strikeouts versus a very good Methacton team.
“It was two good teams battling. Their number one is a good pitcher also in Ben Christian. We knew it was going to be a pitcher’s duel, and it was. I’m just happy we ended up on the winning side. Jordan took the bull by the horns and went with it, took it to the victory.”
The Indians’ coach had a simple message for his team after Friday’s quarterfinal loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh.
“It’s high school baseball, and I told them – sometimes you have to take a step backwards to take two steps forward,” Childs said. “I said – ‘All the stress is gone now. Just go out, have fun and play. It’s playoff baseball, everybody’s ready and anything can happen. Show me you still want it.’
“They came out and they did it today. We had a couple of mistakes, but luckily, they didn’t capitalize on them, and we capitalized on their mistakes. We’re happy with the 2-1 victory.”
The Indians spotted Morales a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Conlan Wall led off the inning with a single to center, and he moved up to second on Luke Taylor’s sacrifice bunt. Jake Horton drew a base on balls, and Frank Pollock’s single to center plated Wall.
“Conlan Wall had two hits again out of the leadoff spot, and whether he scores runs or not, him getting on is just a spark to the whole team,” Childs said. “Especially the first at-bat – two strikes on him, and he hits a line drive single. That just sparks the whole team. Once they see him do it, they’re like, ‘If Conlan can do it, we can do it too.’ It’s definitely a kick-start.
“He sets the tone for our team, without a doubt. With him coming up and doing that today, it was big.”
The Warriors evened the score when they plated an unearned run in the fourth. Chris Douglass, who reached first on an error to lead off the inning, scored when Christian delivered a one-out single.
With one out in the fifth, Jake Horton tripled to center. Christian retired the next batter on a groundout to third, but a costly two-out error allowed pinch runner Brian Reiner to score the go-ahead run. The Warriors put a pair of runners on board with one out in the seventh, but Morales slammed the door on any thoughts of a comeback, retiring the next two batters he faced to close out the game.
Wall (2-for-4, 2B, run) and Hogan Despain (2-for-3) led the Indians’ nine-hit attack. Moses Clemens and Bill Norbeck each hit a double.
“We’ve been DHing for Hogan Despain all year,” Childs said. “I talked to him and Billy Norbeck – we’ve been going back and forth DHing probably the last eight games.
“I said, ‘Listen guys, you’re seniors. I’m putting you both in the lineup. This is your chance to step up.’ Bill had a hit in the eight hole and Hogan Despain had two hits in the nine hole. They knew what had to be done, and they stepped up.
“I think it’s a lot easier when you’re playing relaxed. It didn’t really seem like we were stressed at all, which is good.”
Last year, the Indians lost to eventual district champion Bensalem in the quarterfinals and then fell to Boyertown in their first playback game (7-6).
“I talked to them yesterday and said, ‘It’s all about legacy. What’s your legacy? Do you want to be the team that does the same thing as last year or do you want to take it another step further?’” Childs said. “Yesterday when I said that, they said they wanted to take the next step further. They didn’t want to lose that Friday game and be done. They want to keep on going and get to states.
“We’ll see another good team in Garnet Valley. The kids are excited. We’ll get our scouting report and see where it leads us. We did a good job bouncing back today. The kids were once again as always pulling for each other and having fun.”
Souderton (19-4, 12-0 SOL) will face second-seeded Garnet Valley Thursday (4 p.m.) at Plymouth Township Field in a playback game for fifth place and the final state berth.
Methacton 000 100 0 1-6-1
Souderton 100 010 x 2-9-2
#1-2 Garnet Valley 3, #1-9 Bensalem 2
Garnet Valley broke a scoreless tie with three runs in the bottom of the fifth and then held off a late Bensalem rally.
The Owls had a pair of base runners in the top of the first, thanks to a pair of walks, but came up empty. In the fourth, Ryan Rooney and Rich Bordone collected back-to-back singles, putting runners on the corners with one out. But a pair of strikeouts ended that threat. With two outs in the fifth, Nick Dean and Damon Lavender hit back-to-back singles, but again Dom Picone came up with a big strikeout to end the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Jaguars put three runs on the scoreboard with Reece Malek’s two-run home run the big blow. Picone retired the Owls in order in the sixth, but they generated a rally in the seventh. With one out, Austin Shay and Matt Silano both drew walks, and a single by Dean loaded the bases.
Picone recorded the second out on a caught foul tip with two strikes on the batter. Ryan McLaughlin gave the Owls life with a double to right that plated a pair, but the potential tying run was gunned down at home plate for the game’s final out.
Dean’s 2-for-3 effort led the Owls.
Picone earned the complete game win, allowing seven hits and two runs while striking out 11 and walking three. Dom Grady absorbed the loss, allowing five hits and three runs while striking out five and walking one in 5.1 innings.
The Owls lost back-to-back games for the first time this season on the heels of winning 15 of 16 entering last Friday’s quarterfinal game.
Bensalem (9-3 SOL) closed out another successful season with a 16-5 record.
Bensalem 000 000 2 2-7-0
Garnet Valley 000 030 x 3-6-0
About the Author
