Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Tuesday. CB West/North Penn photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko, and Abington/Quakertown photos courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for photo galleries of both games: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f12122253
District 1 6A semifinal
#14 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 14, #2 NORTH PENN 1 (5 innings)
The Bucks are in uncharted territory.
Last year, the Bucks – thanks to wins in three of their last four regular season games – snuck into the district tournament 17th in the 20-team field. This year, there was no guesswork. The Bucks were the 12th seed out of 24 teams.
On Tuesday, they surprised even themselves – not that they won because they never doubted they could win, but no one anywhere expected the Bucks to mercy rule the second-seeded Knights, who swept the season series between the two teams.
“It’s crazy,” senior Max McGlone said. “It’s tough to put into words. CB West – we’re not used to this kind of thing. We were all smiles when we sneaked into the playoffs last year because that was our first time in whatever years.
“This year, it was – ‘CB West was just lucky last year. They found a way to get into the playoffs.’ No one, including us, was expecting to get this far. It’s been fun.”
The Bucks wasted no time taking control of Tuesday’s game.
After the Bucks went down in order in the first, Sam Greer led off the second inning and was safe on a two-base error. One out later, he scored when Alex Valdes grounded a single to center. Quinn Illig followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Jack Hogenauer delivered a clutch two-out RBI single, and then senior Kevin Bukowski ripped a three-run blast to left field that put the Bucks on top 5-0.
“I knew I hit it hard, but I was still running out of the box and making sure I was on second base if it did wind up against the fence because the guy was scaling the wall, so I was afraid he was going to bring it back but luckily it did go over,” Bukowski said. “I think we came into the game with so much confidence. We just believed in what we could do. That second inning was an accumulation of a bunch of hits at a good time. It was nice to get a big hit there. It felt really good.”
There was still plenty of time for the Knights to get back in the game, but the Bucks made sure that didn’t happen. They added two runs in the third, using singles by McGlone, Will Hogenauer and Valdes (RBI) as well as a sac fly from Illig.
Sam Greer’s RBI single in the fourth made it an 8-0 game before the Knights scored an unearned run in the bottom of the inning. The Bucks brought an early end to the game with a six-run fifth. Bukowski’s two-run double highlighted the inning.
“Our confidence is incredibly high,” McGlone said. “We were all talking in school. There wasn’t a single thought in my mind that we would lose. It was like – all right, we have another game today, we’re going to win. That’s all that could go through anyone’s mind. No one thought we were going to lose any of the playoff games so far.”
Julio Ermiogiotti was in complete command on the mound, allowing just two hits and one run (unearned) while striking out five and walking one.
“I’ve been catching him for 10 years now,” McGlone said. “When me and him are working together, we know it’s going to be a good day.
“He threw really well, he threw a lot of strikes as he always does. He just did what he usually does, and our defense made the plays when we had to. That’s what it came down to.”
“Julio Ermigiotti was great again,” West coach Brian Weaver said. “The infield played really fast, and we booted a couple of balls, but he was unfazed by it and stayed composed. I was so impressed in the fifth. We had a big top of the inning, so he was down for about a half-hour. But he came right back out and was himself, spotting up and changing speeds. He closed out the game after five and let us save our arms. That’s so important for our team at this stage of the game.”
The Bucks made life easy for their ace, scoring early and often.
“Every single person in our lineup is hitting,” Ermiogiotti said. “I was just confident as a pitcher my hitters are going to do that for me. I was like – I just have to go out there, have a normal day on the mound, a normal game and just do what I do.
“Honestly, I didn’t have any thought – ‘Oh, we’re going to make it this far. We’re going to shut out Methacton and do what we did to get this far,’ but honestly, with our confidence now, we’re like ‘Why not just go and win it all?’ That’s basically how we’ve been playing.”
Tuesday’s win came on the heels of road wins over #6 Coatesville (6-1) and #3 Methacton (10-0).
“Today I was going into it thinking – it’s definitely going to be more of a dogfight,” said McGlone. “All credit to all the pitchers and my coaches – the coaches have helped out a lot, giving me a lot of the old scouting reports and film and stuff like that. We have come up with a game plan, and the pitchers have executed it.”
The Bucks’ veteran catcher calls all the pitches.
“They’ve trusted me with doing that for the past three years, which I’ve been fortunate enough to do,” McGlone said. “I’ve just learned how to call pitches through all the coaches I’ve had through the years, including high school ball- we work a lot in the offseason on how to call pitches.
“Club baseball helps a lot. My dad – he knows what he’s doing, so that helps. All the coaches I’ve ever had – it’s all piling up now, and I’m just doing what I can with what the coaches give me, try and call a decent game.”
West pounded out 15 hits in just five innings. Valdes led the way with a 3-for-4 effort that included three RBIs and a run scored. Bukowski was 2-for-3 with a double, home run, four RBIs and three runs scored out of the leadoff spot.
“The guys have been pretty disciplined the last two weeks, selecting the right pitches to swing at,” Weaver said. “I think that’s a testament to our bullpen. In playoffs we haven’t had to go terribly deep into our pen thanks to how the games are spaced and how our starters have thrown.
“That means our bullpen has been giving us live at-bats in practice at least once and often twice a week. That’s hundreds of pitches from six or seven different guys every week just forcing our hitters to see the ball out of the hand, to read spin, to work counts, etc. These are pitchers who might only throw once a week in a bullpen setting and not see competitive innings, but they’ve got a big hand in whatever success we’re having right now.”
Also turning in multi-hit games were Bill Zentmayer (2-for-4, 2RBIs, 1R), Illig (2-for-3, 1RBI, 2R) and Jack Hogenauer (2-for-3, 2RBIs, 2 R)“I think we’ve just really been putting it together at the best time,” Bukowski said. “I knew we were a talented team coming into this year, but I think we’re really coming into our own right now. Up and down the lineup, everyone had a hit in the lineup, everybody is putting together great at-bats and just working hard up there.
“It just feels like we’re on a different level of playing right now. I’m having so much fun out there playing with everybody. We’re all feeding off each other. Everyone is playing well and doing their thing.”North Penn ace Trevor Lugara threw six shutout innings in his team’s 9-0 win over West Chester Henderson last Wednesday. The Bucks had seven hits and seven runs (only two earned) in three innings off Lugara on Tuesday.
“Pitching-wise, this was the matchup you want in a game on this stage: the two best pitchers in our league over the course of the year both rested and facing one another,” Weaver said. “Trevor is a great pitcher and has been incredibly effective for the last two seasons. The first inning was vintage Lugara – three outs on six pitches, all flyouts, weak contact.
“We had emphasized this weekend that we needed to be patient, that we needed to focus on driving the ball, not overswinging. And in the second inning we settled into that groove, just started hitting the ball hard on the ground, hitting more line drives, then finally Kevin caps the inning with a three-run homer to give us a lot of breathing room.
“I think the biggest thing for us was that we continued to score. Each inning we added on from all different parts of our lineup. I think every starter had at least one hit, and several had multi-hit games.”
Central Bucks West (18-6, 10-6 SOL) will face top-seeded Spring-Ford in Thursday’s District 1 6A title game at Plymouth Township Field (4pm).
“Ultimately, we’re in uncharted territory for West baseball,” Weaver said. “I’m not sure West has ever made it to a district final or qualified for states. But our guys have stayed incredibly level. You wouldn’t know by looking or talking to them that any of these playoff games was anything besides just another ballgame. So, while Thursday’s game is obviously pretty special, they’re doing a great job reducing things to one inning at a time, one at-bat at a time, one pitch at a time. To them, I think it’ll be just another game, and that’s exactly how you’d hope they approach it.
North Penn (18-5, 13-3) will take on #5 Plymouth Whitemarsh in Thursday’s third place game.
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#1 SPRING-FORD 6, #5 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 1
The Colonials knew they needed to bring their ‘A’ game if they entertained thoughts of defeating the top-ranked Rams with their ace – Dylan Broderick – on the mound.
That didn’t happen.
“We made five errors today,” PW coach Chris Manero said. “I don’t think we made that many all month. It was uncharacteristic for us, but it also proved that you just can’t make mistakes against good teams if you want to win.
“You have to give Spring Ford credit. They played virtually mistake-free and were able to control the game.”
The Colonials collected a pair of two-out singles by Chase Olszyk and Gavin Rocks in the top of the first. They came up empty and managed just four hits the rest of the way.
The Rams put a run on the board in the first inning and then benefitted from back-to-back miscues to add three runs in the second. Two more errors led to two more Spring-Ford runs in the fifth before the Colonials got on the scoreboard in the seventh when Johnny Giordano, who doubled, scored on Tyler Gartland’s two-out single.
Dylan Robinson absorbed the loss, allowing five hits and six runs – all unearned – in 4 1/3 innings.
“I thought Dylan threw well for us,” Manero said. “As is typical for him, his pitch count was low, and he threw to a lot of contact. That’s his game and he was able to stay within himself against a tough lineup.
“We will certainly assess our mistakes from today, and our goal will be to get back into form for the state playoffs next week.
“This group has worked really hard all spring. The level they have gotten to is a credit to their coachability and their work ethic. We know they want more. It will be fun to see how they bounce back Thursday and next week. They are eager to put their stamp on this program and become a part of its rich history.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (16-7, 12-4 SOL) will travel to #2 North Penn for Thursday’s third place game.
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District 1 6A playback game
#4 ABINGTON 8, #23 QUAKERTOWN 4
The Ghosts made history on Tuesday when they clinched a coveted berth in the state tournament.
So, when was Abington last in the state tournament?
“Somewhere between now and never,” coach Bill Degen said. “A couple people have checked, and no one has gone before this.”
Even though they’d never gone before, it was on the team’s list of goals entering the season.
“In January, I laid out goals, and winning the district was one, and obviously, that didn’t happen,” Degen said. “Making states was one also.”
The Ghosts have had their share of adversity over the past year with several of their baseball families experiencing losses. The black ribbon pins on their hats are a reminder of those they loved and lost.
“The players just stayed together,” Degen said. “They’re not all best friends, but they all really like each other, and they just made a decision they were going to be there for each other, and it made it easy for me and my coaches to coach them.”
Tuesday’s game was a battle from the outset and wasn’t decided until the Ghosts – who trailed 4-3 after the Panthers scored three in the top of the frame – erupted for five runs in the bottom of the sixth.
“I told the guys before the game – if they’re not ready for a street fight, they can leave,” Degen said. “That’s a credit to Jon (Pallone) and his program. Those guys are always tough up there. They’re a tough team to play.”
In the bottom of the sixth, LJ Wolff led off with a single, and then Jaden Hernandez was safe on an error. Both runners advanced on Chase Goodson’s sacrifice bunt. Wolff scored the tying run on Mason Kishpaugh’s fielder’s choice, and Matt Worek followed with a double to left that plated a pair. Alex Dardaris lined an RBI single to center, and Logan Moss brought home a run when he doubled to left field.
“If you look through our season, we’ve won a lot of tight games,” Degen said. “I think that really has taught us – we say, ‘Hold the rope, do your job and pass the rope to the next guy.’
“When you play those regular season games, and you have success doing that – you trust that if you do your job, the next guy’s going to do their job. Seniors Matt (Worek) and Alex (Dardaris) are captains, and they played like captains today.”
The team’s third captain – right fielder Jake Kaplan – also contributed.
“He made a play on a ball that took a bad hop and got past our center fielder and threw a guy out at second base in the first inning, and it kept us out of a big inning there,” Degen said. “That’s one of those things that’s not in the box score, but it was a huge play.”
For Moss, his sixth inning double capped another productive day at the plate. He finished the game 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs.
“Logan has been awesome all season for us,” Degen said. “He bats fourth for us, and he’s just been great. He’s filled that role perfectly. He’s not a home run guy, but he just hits the baseball, and he hits it hard. For a left-handed batter, he drove two balls down the left field line, and they were both missiles.”
In the top of the sixth, the Panthers erased a 3-1 deficit with a three-run burst. Cooper Natisin led off with a double to right and Vinny Pellegrini drew a walk. A double steal set the stage for a two-run single by Matt Marsten that knotted the score. A fielder’s choice brought a third run home, but the Ghosts had an answer in the bottom of the inning to earn the hard-fought win.
LJ Wolff gave the Ghosts five strong innings on the mound. Calvin Judge, who notched the win, did not allow a hit in relief of Wolff to close out the sixth inning. Chase Wolfe threw a scoreless seventh, striking out one.
“LJ was awesome on the mound – he had 11 strikeouts,” Degen said. “He’s really come into his own on the mound for us this year.
“Early on in the season, he was getting his pitch count up, and he’s really dialed it in later in the season. He had 14 strikeouts against Truman the other day, and he came back today with 11 strikeouts in five innings.
“He passed the ball over to Calvin (Judge) who’s been our number two all season, for an inning. Chase Wolfe, who’s a sophomore, came in and closed the game – he’s just got ice water in his veins.”
Also collecting multiple hits for the Ghosts were Dardaris (2-for-3, 2RBIs) and Wolff (2-for-3, 1R). Kishpaugh had an RBI and scored a pair of runs.
For the Panthers, Natisin was 2-for-4 with a double and run scored.
Abington (15-7, 12-4 SOL) will host #8 Avon Grove in Thursday’s fifth place game while Quakertown saw its successful postseason run come to an end. The Panthers closed out the season with an 11-13 record overall (8-8 SOL).
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