This week’s notebook features William Tennent, Souderton and Upper Merion and highlights some of the SOL’s top performances.
By Scott Huff
And the beat goes on…
SOL National Conference ‘Snapshot’
William Tennent Panthers
William Tennent head coach Rick Penecale is beginning his fourth season as the head coach of the Panthers.
“This team easily has the most pitching of any team that I have coached here,” said Penecale in reference to senior Ryan Lucas (Philadelphia University), junior Nick Cataldi (Bucknell), and senior Tristan Kresz (Philly U). “Each of those kids can go out and throw a good game.
“We have played okay, but we are not where we want to be right now,” added Penecale. “We have some kids that have been trying to get healthy, and we should have both of them back against Abington on Thursday.”
One of those missing pieces has been Cataldi who came into the season as the ace of the Panther pitching staff. Cataldi – who has been bothered by a bad back – will make his first pitching appearance of the season against the Ghosts this week.
The other missing piece has been Paul McElroy, who is still not 100 percent after shoulder surgery. McElroy has been swinging a good bat as the No. 3 hitter and designated hitter in the Tennent lineup, and he will be back in the outfield this week against Abington.
“The game on Thursday is a huge game for us,” said Penecale. “We have been inconsistent this year, but we have won our last two games (10-0 against Truman and 5-1 against Council Rock South), and winning another game against a good Abington team would give us some momentum.
“You take a look at the standings and see both Council Rock North and Bensalem as the teams to beat right now,” added Penecale. “The teams that are able to string some wins together are the teams that are going be contending. And right now that could really be any one of a number of teams.”
In the Rear View Mirror in the SOL National Conference
Shawn Puskar and Rick Massott of Bensalem each had two RBI as the Owls soared to a 14-3 victory over Pennsbury. In Bensalem’s 8-5 victory over Council Rock South, Kenny O’Connell had three hits, while Brian Swentkowsi and Stephen Aldrich each had two RBI.
Jared Schram of Council Rock North had five RBI and Matt Hand blasted a three run homerun as the Indians captured a 14-5 victory over Truman. In Rock North’s 2-0 victory over Pennsbury, Hand was the winning pitcher throwing six innings with 10 strikeouts; while Tyler Nowmos delivered a game winning two-run single.
Jerry Scavone and Josh Lehman of Neshaminy combined for five hits, three RBI, and three runs scored as the Redskins captured an 8-3 win over William Tennent. In Neshaminy’s 4-2 victory over Abington – Billy Meyer struck out 14 Ghost hitters in his complete game win, while Brian Nicolas collected an RBI.
Paul McElroy of William Tennent was 3-3 with two triples, three RBI, and three runs scored to spark the Panthers to a 10-0 victory over Truman. In the win over the Tigers, Greg Delgado had a double and three RBI, Christian Mendez had three hits, and Ryan Lucas threw a complete game shutout.
Zach Conley of Pennsbury was a tough luck loser as the Falcons were edged by CR North 2-0. Kyle Dear collected two RBI, but it wasn’t enough as Pennsbury lost a 14-3 contest to Bensalem.
John Crane of Council Rock South had three hits and two RBI as the Golden Hawks lost an 8-5 contest against Bensalem.
Matt Olsen of Truman had three hits and three RBI as the Tigers were caged 14-5 by Council Rock North.
Josh Persing and Chris Clevell of Abington each had RBI singles as the Ghosts were defeated 4-2 by Neshaminy.
SOL National Conference Standings
1. Council Rock North 4 0
2. Bensalem Owls 3 0
3. Neshaminy Redskins 2 2
William Tennent 2 2
4. Truman Tigers 1 2
Pennsbury Falcons 1 2
7. Abington Ghosts 0 2
8. Council Rock South 0 3
‘On Deck’ in the SOL National Conference
Tuesday – April 12, 2016
Harry S Truman Tigers @ Pennsbury Falcons
Bensalem Owls @ Abington Ghosts
Thursday – April 14, 2016
Harry S Truman Tigers @ Bensalem Owls
William Tennent Panthers @ Abington Ghosts
Pennsbury Falcons @ Neshaminy Redskins
SOL American Conference ‘Spotlight’
Upper Merion Vikings
Upper Merion head coach Matt Mitchellmight have the highest ace in the SOL American Conference deck in senior Jarrett Quinn.
“We seem to take on a different personality when Jarrett is pitching,” said Mitchell. “Jarrett pitches with a great deal of poise – and the best two games we have played this year are the games that he pitched. He throws with both velocity and command.
“The biggest difference in the way he has pitched this year and in previous years is his maturity,” added Mitchell. “There were times when he was a sophomore that he would pitch a good game and be on top of the world – and the next game might not be as good and he would get down.”
There have been no down times for the Mighty Quinn (google it) so far this year – on the pitching mound that is.
“Jarrett plays third or first base when he isn’t pitching,” said Mitchell. “And we have him hitting out of the number three or number four hole in our lineup.
“He has a very good stick, but he hasn’t hit the ball as well as he can,” added Mitchell. “He has really stroked the ball well in the cage and in batting practice – and I’m sure it will come together in the games.
“Right now we want to try and find a number two pitcher behind him,” continued Mitchell. “Both Ryan Foster and Mike Hitchinson have potential – but they are both young and inexperienced and that can be tough on the varsity level.
“We play two good teams this week in Wissahickon and Upper Dublin,” added Mitchell. “Jarrett will probably pitch Thursday against Upper Dublin. We want our guys to show people that we can compete with the best teams – that we are here to stay.”
In the Rear View Mirror in the SOL American Conference
Jarrett Quinn of Upper Merion was masterful with a complete game, nine-strikeout performance in the Vikings 3-1 victory over Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Tom Detwiler of Norristown had a monster week for the Eagles. Detwiler opened the week with a homerun and the game winning hit in a 3-2 win over Springfield and followed with a three-hit, four-RBI game in Norristown’s 12-5 victory over Upper Merion.
Logan Willans of Wissahickon threw a wonderful game as the Trojans edged Upper Moreland 3-0. Willans threw a six-inning two hitter and had five strikeouts to secure the win.
Cole Swiger and Thomas Juelke of Upper Dublin fueled the Cardinal offense in a 7-3 win over Cheltenham. Swiger collected four RBI for the winners, while Juelke blasted a homerun for the Cardinals.
SOL American Conference Standings
1. Upper Dublin Cardinals 3 0
2. Upper Merion Vikings 2 1
Wissahickon Trojans 2 1
Norristown Eagles 2 1
5. Upper Moreland Bears 1 1
6. Cheltenham Panthers 0 2
Springfield Spartans 0 2
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0 2
‘On Deck’ in the SOL American Conference
Tuesday – April 12, 2016
Norristown Eagles @ Cheltenham Panthers
Wissahickon Trojans @ Upper Merion Vikings
Wednesday – April 13, 2016
Springfield Spartans @ Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials
Thursday – April 14, 2016
Upper Moreland Golden Bears @ Cheltenham Panthers
Wissahickon Trojans @ Norristown Eagles
Springfield Spartans @ Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials
Upper Merion Vikings @ Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals
Friday – April 15, 2016
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials @ Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals
SOL Continental Conference ‘Snapshot’
Souderton Indians
Souderton head coach Michael Childs wanted to go back to fundamentals as the 2016 season began
“We talked as a coaching staff about improving some things this year that we didn’t do too well last year,” said Childs. “We talked about pitchers throwing strikes, pitchers holding runners on base, working on our team defense, and bunting the ball better.”
The Indians were a fundamentally good team last week picking up conference wins over both Quakertown (4-3) and Central Bucks West. The pair of victories improves their conference record to 2-1, and they trail only Central Bucks South in the conference standings – the Titans are 3-0 in the conference.
“We play both CB South and Pennridge this week, and both are obviously good teams,” said Childs. “I know everyone says that any team can beat any other team in our conference – but it is true.”
The biggest reason that Souderton can beat anyone in the league has a lot to do with senior ace Aaron Gulibon.
“I have know Aaron since the seventh grade – and it would be great if we could have 18 players on the team that work as hard as Aaron does,” said Childs. “He doesn’t say a whole lot, but it is obvious that he is a role model for both the younger players and everyone else on the team.
“Aaron is what I would call a control pitcher, but he has thrown around 87 mile per hour this year,” added Childs. “And in the last game he pitched he looked stronger at the end of the game than at the beginning of the game.”
The task ahead for Childs is to find that # 2 starter.
“We keep throwing guys out there,” said Childs. “Dan Knechel was the winning pitcher against Quakertown the other day and looked strong. Right now I would say that he is our # 2 guy.
“We have a big week ahead of us and we need to do our best against two good teams,” added Childs. “Hopefully the weather cooperates and we can pull out a win or two.”
In the Rear View Mirror in the SOL Continental Conference
Tyler Summerall of Souderton delivered the game winning hit as the Indians edged Quakertown 4-3. Dan Knechel was the winning pitcher throwing 3.2 innings of shutout relief. Aaron Gulibon had a masterful 10-strikeout performance in a 5-1 victory over Central Bucks West.
Brian Edgington of Hatboro-Horsham was ‘the man’ as the Hatters edged Central Bucks East 4-0. Edgington fired a complete-game one-hitter with eight strikeouts and also had two hits and two RBI in the win. Colin Kennedy was a tough luck loser allowing just two earned runs in the Hatters 3-2 loss to Central Bucks South.
Kadar Namey of North Penn had three hits that included a double and homerun – and drove home an incredible seven runs as the Knights routed Central Bucks East 14-7. Jared Gorman and Dan Kirwin combined to pitch North Penn to a 4-2 victory over Quakertown. Gorman was the winner throwing the first 5.2 innings, while Kirwin earned the save with 1.2 innings of hitless relief.
Dan Long of Pennridge cranked a game winning triple in the seventh inning as the Rams collected an 8-5 victory over Central Bucks West. Nate Coyle earned the win in relief with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.
Dan McCartin of Central Bucks South pitched a terrific game as the Titans defeated Hatboro-Horsham 3-2. McCartin threw 6.1 innings – allowed just two runs – and had seven strikeouts. Kyle Rossi sparked the CBS offense with three hits and two RBI.
Grant Meirs and Andrew Collins of Central Bucks East combined for five RBI as the Patriots fell to North Penn 14-7.
Jake Reed of Quakertown had two RBI as the Panthers were caged 4-3 by Souderton.
Steven Grebe of Central Bucks West had two RBI as the Bucks were defeated 8-5 by Pennridge. Thomas Phillips had the lone RBI for CBW in a 5-1 loss to Souderton.
SOL Continental Conference Standings
1. Central Bucks South Titans 3 0
2. Pennridge Rams 2 1
Souderton Indians 2 1
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters 2 1
North Penn Knights 2 1
6. Quakertown Panthers 1 2
7. Central Bucks East Patriots 0 3
8. Central Bucks West Bucks 0 3
‘On Deck’ in the SOL Continental Conference
Tuesday – April 12, 2016
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters @ Quakertown Panthers
Souderton Indians @ Pennridge Rams
Central Bucks South Titans @ Central Bucks East Patriots
Central Bucks West Bucks @ North Penn Knights
Thursday – April 14, 2016
Souderton Indians @ Central Bucks South Titans
Quakertown Panthers @ Central Bucks East Patriots
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters @ Central Bucks West Bucks
Pennridge Rams @ North Penn Knights
Suburban One Sports.com
Top Ten
1. Council Rock North Indians
2. Central Bucks South Titans
3. North Penn Knights
4. Bensalem Owls
5. Pennridge Rams
6. Upper Dublin Cardinals
7. Neshaminy Redskins
8. Souderton Indians
9. William Tennent Panthers
10. Upper Merion Vikings
About the Author
