All five SOL baseball teams in action in Monday’s opening round of the PIAA Tournament were winners. Springfield Twp/ Esperanza Nueva photos provided courtesy of Geanine Jamison. CLICK HERE for a gallery of photos. PW/Liberty photos provided courtesy of Cindy Manero.
Five SOL baseball teams were in action in Monday’s opening round of the PIAA State Tournament. All five were victorious and advanced to Thursday’s quarterfinal round.
“The state runner-up in 2018 and the state champ in 2017 – it keeps coming from this league,” Neshaminy coach Dan Toner said. “It is pretty impressive, and I think why we are so successful is that the teams in the SOL are so good.
“Especially in the SOL National, we spend the season just beating each other up, and it really prepares us for the district and it prepares us for the state.”
“It just goes to show the strength of Suburban One,” PW coach Chris Manero said. “It’s so awesome to see all these Suburban One teams succeeding. Inevitably, we have to keep playing each other. We’re one of the best conferences in the state.”
The Colonials’ 6-4 win over Liberty was the program’s first state playoff win since Plymouth Whitemarsh captured the state title in 1994 – that’s 25 years ago if you’re counting.
Class 6A
#1-1 NESHAMINY 3, #3-2 HEMPFIELD 0
Excellent pitching and timely hitting proved to be a winning combination for the Redskins, who stayed red hot and showed no signs of a letdown after capturing the district title.
“Hempfield had a very good pitcher, (Ty) Vaughn,” coach Dan Toner said. “He was able to keep us off balance. He was throwing really hard and did a nice job.”
The Redskins got some standout pitching of their own as the duo of Dan Errigo and Jake Fehrle combined for a four-hit shutout.
“It’s crazy how the year’s been going,” Toner said. “Danny’s been a starter for us pretty much the entire year, and Jake Fehrle was our other starter. Max Temple would come in and close the game.
“With these three guys, it’s like having three number one pitchers. With Danny starting still and Max Temple starting games, now Jake is closing all of our games. It’s who has the hot hand.”
The Redskins scored the only run they would need in the bottom of the first. Matt Yauger and Cory Joyce led off the game with back-to-back singles, and the bases were loaded with none out after Jon Kaleck drew a walk. The ‘Skins managed just one run, however, and that came when Tyler Jones grounded into a fielder’s choice.
“It’s always good to get a run in the state playoffs at any point obviously,” Toner said. “We did expect to get a little bit more there, and moving forward, if you want to win these big games, you have to be able to score more.
“We were getting a lot of guys on. We just didn’t have a ton of clutch hits, but we still had some clutch hits. We had one from Matt Yauger, Cory Joyce, Tyler Jones and Joe Kaleck. A lot of guys were able to come through when they needed to.”
Hempfield left the bases loaded in the top of the fourth, and in the bottom of the inning, the Redskins plated an insurance run. Andrew Mays led off the inning with a single, and two outs later, Yauger delivered an RBI single that put the ‘Skins on top 2-0.
In the sixth, Joyce singled and advanced to second on an error. He scored on Kaleck’s two-out RBI single for the 3-0 final.
“Matt Yauger came through with a big two-out RBI, and Joe Kaleck came up with a huge RBI in the sixth inning, and that gave us an insurance run,” Toner said.
Joyce (3-for-4, run) and Mays (3-for-3) led the Redskins’ 10-hit attack. Yauger was 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored out of the leadoff spot, and Kaleck was 1-for-2 with an RBI. Jones was 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Errigo, who notched the win, started and threw 3.2 innings, allowing two hits while striking out five and walking five. Fehrle earned the save with 3.1 shutout innings in relief. He allowed two hits while striking out two and walking two.
“It’s funny too because they’re not even pitching at full capacity right now – they’re getting behind a little bit in counts, and we’re kind of looking, ‘Oh, he’s not pitching that well today,’” Toner said. “And then we look back on the game and see he gave up one run or he gave up no runs. It’s kind of crazy what the expectations are for them.”
Neshaminy (17-6, 7-5 SOL) will face District 1’s fourth place squad, Downingtown East, in Thursday’s quarterfinal round.
Hempfield 000 000 0 0-4-1
Neshaminy 100 101 x 3-10-1
#1-2 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 4, #11-2 EMMAUS 3 (8 innings)
Central Bucks South scored just one run in seven innings in its District One championship loss to Neshaminy on Friday. Through the first five innings Monday, it was shut out and managed just three hits. The hot streak that propelled the Titans to four straight district playoff wins appeared to have been over.
Then, the bats came to life again, rallying in the sixth and then winning it with a Connor McKeown RBI double as CB South walked off with a 4-3 win over Emmaus in a PIAA Class 6A first-round game played at Bear Stadium in Boyertown on Monday.
“At some point, it’s like you don’t even know what’s going on,” said Monday’s starting pitcher, Brock Veit. “Connor hits a ball like that, that’s something you’re going to talk about as long as you live. That’s just awesome.”
The Titans ran up against a lights-out pitcher in Emmaus’ left-hander Braden Waller. Through four innings, Waller had allowed just one hit, a bunt single by Jake McKeown in the first inning, as the Hornets held a 1-0 lead.
In the fifth, CB South would threaten for the first time, as Bryan Rossi led off the inning with a single. Connor McKeown then reached with a bunt single and thanks to an error, Rossi moved up to third.
But with first and third and nobody out, Waller struck out the next three batters to keep the Titans scoreless. He would not be so fortunate an inning later.
“Everything that I heard about him and looking at his stats, he was exactly that,” CB South coach Brian Klumpp said about Waller. “He did a great job of keeping us off balance. We hit some balls hard, but the ball wasn’t really traveling in the outfield. Then, their guys played defense behind him. I don’t even think he had that many strikeouts but he just trusts his defense and they did a great job behind him.”
After Jake McKeown reached first on a one-out walk, senior shortstop Joey Loynd tripled over the center fielder’s ahead, scoring the tying run.
Later with two outs, Connor McKeown’s single up the middle scored two more and CB South was in front 3-1.
In the top of the seventh, Emmaus scored twice to send the game to extra innings.
Then, after Joe Martino set the Hornets down in order in the top of the eighth, South had a chance to wrap up the victory and keep its postseason run alive.
Jake Trachtenberg reached on an error, and then after a balk, Rossi was intentionally walked to put runners on first and third. Connor McKeown followed and roped an RBI double to left-center, allowing Trachtenberg to score with the winning run.
Brock Veit pitched the first seven innings for the Titans, scattering 12 hits, allowing three runs and striking out four. He did not walk a batter. Martino earned the win with his scoreless eighth inning.
“Tremendous,” Klumpp said. “He hasn’t really pitched much later in the season, but again him getting that ball, he wants the ball all the time. For a senior to step up in that spot is huge. With runners on, he really bared down. He threw ground balls, he got strikeouts. He did a great job keeping us in that game.”
CB South (17-7) is back in action Thursday when it takes on Wilson-West Lawn in the state quarterfinals at a site and time to be announced.
Emmaus 100 000 20-3 12 2
CB South 000 003 01-4 6 2
#1-3 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 6, LIBERTY 4
The season was coming down to a precious few outs for the Colonials, who trailed 2-1 heading into the sixth inning. But they knotted the score in the sixth and then won it with a two-out rally in the top of the seventh.
“Obviously, as a coach, I knew there were two outs when it was happening, but now when the game’s over and I look back, I’m like ‘Oh my god – we did all that with two outs, and it was just stringing a lot of hits together,” coach Chris Manero said of the seventh inning rally that won it.
The Colonials’ clutch two-out rally began with Joe Jaconski drawing a walk, and Ben Mascio followed with a single. Kevin Reilly’s single plated a run, and then it was Drew Kliesh delivering the big blow – a two-run double. Another run crossed the plate on a single by Jacob Nunez, and the Colonials led 6-2.
“We have guys who believe in themselves, and if they don’t have a great first at-bat, if they don’t have a great second at-bat, they don’t give up,” Manero said. “We didn’t get a lot of hits.
“I think we only had one hit through the first four or five innings, so most of our guys were not hitting, but they were the same guys who came up in that seventh inning and hit. They didn’t bury themselves because they didn’t have a great at-bat in the second or they didn’t have a great at-bat in the fourth inning. They just believed in it. They got up in that seventh inning and had good at-bats. They attacked and drove balls to the gaps.
“It’s very easy for younger players to get down on themselves when things don’t work well, but I think our guys – they believe in each other, and they’re confident in themselves that if it doesn’t work one time they’ll fix it, and they’ll make the adjustment the next time.”
The Colonials needed just about all of those runs as Liberty scored a pair in their half of the seventh, but it was too little too late.
PW actually trailed for the better part of the game, falling behind 2-0 in the bottom half of the first
“Ben Mascio – who has been outstanding for us – came out and scuffled a little bit in the first inning,” Manero said. “We had bullpen activity in the first inning.
“In the top of the first, Joe Jaconski led off with a walk, and Ben laid down a sacrifice bunt. Joe got a little aggressive on the bases and tried to go first to third – we give him all the credit in the world for trying to set that tone and trying to take the extra base.
“It didn’t work out – he got thrown out and then not scoring the first inning. Ben didn’t quite have his command, but the fact that we were only down 2-0 in what really honestly could have been a first inning that got away from us a little bit – I think Ben put the brakes on a second, took a deep breath and figured it out. We got out of that first inning, and it was still close.”
In the top of the third, Mike Orensky, who had singled, scored on an error to make it a 2-1 game. That score stood until the sixth. Mascio led off the inning with a double, and Kevin Reilly drew a base on balls. One out later, Nunez walked to load the bases. A sacrifice fly in foul territory by Jesse Jaconski plated a run for the Colonials, who trailed 2-1.
“Ben settled in, and he was lights out. I think he retired 15 in a row at one point, and that’s the kind of stuff that gives the offense confidence – ‘You know what, Ben is keeping this game close. We’re going to come up and do what we need to do,’” Manero said. “This is a group of kids – they love being around each other, and they have so much confidence in each other. They’re always looking forward to the next day, and you can just see it.
“You can see it in the way that they practice, you can see it in the way they hang around each other even in the school day, and you obviously see it on game days. There are a lot of teams that have a lot of talent, there are a lot of teams that have a lot of talented players, but to be able to go this long in the baseball season, there has to be more than just talent. You have to have the kind of team that – it’s team first and individual players second, guys that genuinely enjoy being around each other and don’t want to see it end.
“It’s tough. These are high school kids, this is June. Their graduations are coming up, Senior Week is coming up, they’ve got summer baseball seasons. There’s a lot of other things out there. It’s a very difficult season to coach. Unless your players really enjoy being around each other, unless they’re really a tight-knit group and they just want to keep winning, you can’t get to this point.”
Mascio led the Colonials’ six-hit attack with a 2-for-2 effort that included a double. Kliesh doubled, drove in a pair and scored a run. Nunez was 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Mascio earned the win, allowing three hits and four runs while striking out five and walking three.
“This is the most exciting for the guys who have been here the longest, who have seen this whole process through,” Manero said. “The ones who have been here two years ago when we won three games in the league.
“They met their challenges, they faced adversity, but they stuck to the program and what we were giving them, and they believed in it, and they believed in each other. For them to now see this all the way through – there’s no way they can’t be excited. They get the reward of taking a lot of ownership of it, and knowing they were part of it. That’s a great feeling for a kid to say, ‘Not only was I part of this really good team, but I was part of making this team good,’ and that’s important.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (16-8, 11-3 SOL) will face a familiar opponent in Thursday’s second round when the Colonials meet Souderton. The Indians defeated the Colonials 6-5 in a non-league game during the regular season, and PW downed Souderton 6-3 in a district quarterfinal contest.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 001 001 4 6-6-1
Liberty 200 000 2 4-4-2
#1-5 SOUDERTON 7, #12-1 LA SALLE 1
Jordan Morales turned in yet another glittering performance to lead the Indians to Monday’s opening round win. After allowing a first-inning run, the senior standout – who also was 2-for-4 with a home run – shut the Explorers down for the next six innings. He allowed just five hits while striking out 12 and walking one.
“He’s absolutely 100 percent a gamer,” coach Mike Childs said of the La Salle bound senior. “He has the confidence, he fires up the team. We expect him to do it on the mound, but when he does it with the bat as well – he’s playing very well right now. He’s hot on the mound and at the plate.
“The scouting report was they do a lot of small ball, but they didn’t have guys on to do small ball because Jordan struck out 12 guys.”
The Explorers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. It would be their last hurrah as the Indians – beginning with a run in the third – scored in each of the last five innings.
Hogan Despain’s solo home run to lead off the third inning knotted the score 1-1.
“Hogan Despain again,” Childs said. “He had two hits out of the nine hole. It’s awesome.
“Nothing fazes them. They scored one run, and you’re in a state playoff game. I told them – ‘It’s early. Let’s not hang our heads,’ and Hogan Despain hits that home run, and the whole attitude changed for the entire game. We were up, but once he hit that, they went to another level. From there, we had our foot on the gas pedal, and it was non-stop. Just everything fell into place hitting-wise. We had very timely hitting.”
The Indians took a 2-1 lead when Morales helped his own cause with an RBI double that plated Moses Clemens, who had singled. Billy Norbeck’s RBI single put the Indians on top 3-1.
A solo home run by Luke Taylor in the fifth gave the Indians a 4-1 advantage. In the sixth inning, a single by Taylor plated Despain, who had singled. Souderton put the finishing touches on the win with two seventh-inning runs. Morales accounted for the first when he hit a solo home run.
Souderton was led by the two-hit efforts of Taylor (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBIs, one run), Clemens (2-for-3, one run), Morales (2-for-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBIs, one run) and Despain (2-for-4, HR, RBI, two runs).
The Indians handed Gavin Moretski just his second loss of the season. They collected six hits and four runs. Moretski struck out eight and walked two.
It turns out Childs has ties with the PCL’s MVP.
“Gavin Moretski is such a great kid,” Childs said. “I’ve known him since he was young. I played little league with his dad back in Lansdale Little League, so we have ties with the Moretski’s.
“He’s just such a great kid, and once again, it’s another great pitcher on the mound. It’s cool watching him and how he developed. He pitched well, but we hit the ball.”
Souderton (21-4, 12-0 SOL) will meet Plymouth Whitemarsh for the third time this season in Thursday’s District 1 6A quarterfinal round.
“With all the teams that you could play in states, we’re playing teams we’ve already played,” Childs said. “It’s making our scouting report easy, but it’s also making their scouting report easy too. It’s definitely different. Once again it’s number two against number two. We’ll definitely see what comes out of it.”
Souderton 001 211 2 7-9-0
La Salle 100 000 0 1-5-3
Class 4A
#1-1 SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 13, #12-2 ESPERANZA NUEVA 0 (5 innings)
Ethan Hamilton stole the spotlight in Monday’s opening round state game, allowing just one hit in the abbreviated contest.
“Ethan had his fastball tonight, and they were all behind,” coach Dennis Primavera said. “When he throws his fastball and he mixes it in with his other pitches, he’s the best we have.”
The Spartans scored three runs in the first and led 7-0 after two innings. A five-run third put the game completely out of reach.
“The kids have been playing well in the field, and they’re doing the right things at-bat,” Primavera said. “This was not an ideal tune-up for Thursday, but we do what we have to do to get to that game.
“Max Perry, Morgan D’Amico and Mitch McCann are still hitting for us. Max Perry had a triple that scored two runs. D’Amico and McCann both had doubles at opportune times and had multiple RBI hits.”
Springfield Township (10-11, 6-8 SOL) will face District 4 champion Selinsgrove in Thursday’s second round of states. Selinsgrove defeated District 3’s third place team Kennard Dale 6-0.
“They’re a strong team – they have two really good pitchers,” Primavera said. “That’s going to be a tough game for us, and it’s going to be a challenge. If we do what we’ve been doing for the past six weeks, we will have a good shot at competing with them. If we don’t, we won’t.”
Esperanza Nueva 000 00 0-1-0
Springfield Twp 345 1x 13-11-0
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