Neshaminy & CB East were winners in Thursday’s District 1 6A Tournament playbacks. Check out the recaps. CB East/PW photos provided courtesy of Michael Rice. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f899671345 (Neshaminy/NP photos courtesy of Jesse Garber: https://jsgarber.zenfolio.com/p794395905)
District 1 6A third place game
#7 Central Bucks East 4, #5 Plymouth Whitemarsh 2
The ending was a dramatic one.
With one out in the seventh inning and the tying runs on base, first baseman Colin Lynch pulled off a highlight reel double play with a diving grab of a ball that had trouble written all over it.
“Colin Lynch made a fantastic defensive play,” East coach Kyle Dennis said. “He was playing behind the runner and just laid out towards the first base line. I think he literally caught the ball maybe a foot away from first
base and then extended out and touched first. It was pretty awesome. If that gets by him, it’s going to the corner, two runs are going to score, and it’s tied up. It was a difference maker and an exciting way to end the game.”
The game was only for seeding purposes, but Dennis approached it the same way he does every game.
“We play to win every game – whether it’s a league game, a non-league game, we’re playing to win,” the Patriots’ coach said. “We made decisions on pitchers based on who’s available. We want to win every game.
“Today is also about setting up your pitching staff for next week. Damian (Frayne) hadn’t thrown since the Neshaminy game (on Monday), so he needed to throw. We put him on a pitch count and said, ‘You’re going to go 30-40 pitches, however far that gets you.’ That let our bullpen guys come in. Timmy Mahony has been a one- or two inning guy for us all year. Mike Scafidi has been a one- of two-inning guy for us all year.
“We brought Chase Fulford in for the last inning because we didn’t have a ton of other arms left that have a lot of experience. Chase filled in for us early in the season and started a couple of games. He’s really a great middle infielder, but he’s a bulldog and competes. We know we can put him out there, and he’ll throw strikes.”
Frayne and Mahony combined for five no-hit innings to open the game. Frayne threw three shutout innings, striking out three and walking one while Mahony threw two scoreless innings, striking out one and walking four.
“We had a no-hitter going for (five) innings,” Dennis said. “Credit to PW – they got to our bullpen a little bit, scratched and clawed.
“Any time you’re playing a game this late in the season, every team’s desperate. Every team is playing to win. They pretty much did the same thing with pitchers, using guys here and there for two-three innings. I think we both had the same plan as far as pitching was concerned. Fortunately, our bats took care of some of our offense.”
The Patriots took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Jack Mislan, who doubled to lead off the inning, scored on Nick Mutchler’s sacrifice fly. They added a run in the fourth and two more runs in the fifth.
Anthony Niro led off the fifth with a single, and with one out, Fulford was hit by a pitch. Chase Harlan ripped a two-out triple to right field, plating both runners and giving the Patriots a 4-0 lead.
Gavin Moore broke up the Patriots’ no-hitter with a leadoff double in the bottom of the sixth, and he scored on a Patriot miscue.
In the bottom of the seventh, Tommy Baron and Sam Stolzer opened the inning with back-to-back singles. Gabe Caucci’s sacrifice fly plated Baron, but the comeback rally ended in a hurry when Lynch pulled off the game-ending double play.
Mislan (2-for-3, 2B, 2R) and Jack Thompson (2-for-3) led the Patriots at the plate.
Central Bucks East (17-7, 12-4 SOL) will face District 2/4 subregional champion Hazleton in Monday’s opening round of the PIAA 6A State Tournament.
“Everyone, at this point, is really good,” Dennis said. “Everyone has an ace, and you’re going to face that ace in the first round, and you have to scratch and claw your way out.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (17-7, 13-3) will face the District 12 champion La Salle in Monday’s opening round.
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District 1 6A fifth place game
#2 Neshaminy 8, #14 North Penn 4
The Redskins exploded for five runs in the third inning, and after the visiting Knights trimmed that lead to one, they added three runs in the sixth to notch the playback win – the team’s 20th of the season.
“Today we were playing for the school record for wins in a season, so we had a little more on the table than just a seeding game,” Neshaminy coach Dan Toner said. “I was glad this team was able to accomplish that goal.”
Neshaminy’s five-run third began with a leadoff walk to Noah Wallace. One out later, he scored on Anthony Trommer’s double to left field. Chase Bonner singled home Trommer, and after Joel Bonner singled, Stone Powell collected his team’s fourth straight hit, a single to right. Chase Bonner scored the ‘Skins’ third run on a balk.
A successful squeeze by Brandon Lall plated Joel Bonner, and Danny Nocito’s double brought Stone home with the Redskins’ fifth run.
North Penn trimmed that lead to 5-2 in the fourth inning, thanks to RBI singles by Ben Farley and Joshua Martinell. The Knights made it a 5-4 game with two runs in the top of the sixth. Chase Jones led off the inning with a single, and Farley slammed his second home run in as many games, this one a two-run shot that made it a one-run game.
Neshaminy put the game all but out of reach with three runs in the sixth.
Steven Martin capped two scoreless innings of relief with a 1-2-3 seventh that included a pair of strikeouts. He did not allow a hit, striking out three. Jared Kligerman started and threw five innings to earn the win.
“Sophomore Jared Kligerman started the game for us and did a fantastic job against a good hitting North Penn team,” Toner said.
Trommer (2-for-3, 2B, RBI, 2R) and Nocito (2-for-3, 2B, RBI) led the Redskins’ eight-hit attack.
For the Knights, AJ Briggs was 2-for-4 with a run scored out of the leadoff spot, and Farley was 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored.
Neshaminy (20-3, 14-2 SOL) will travel to District 11 champion Liberty for Monday’s opening round game of the PIAA 6A State Tournament. North Penn (16-8, 10-6) will be on the road at District 3 champion Hempfield for Monday’s state opener.
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