Neshaminy was the lone SOL baseball team to earn a win in Monday’s opening round of the PIAA Tournament. PW/La Salle photos provided courtesy of Richard Vernick. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f899671345 (Neshaminy/Liberty photos courtesy of Jesse Garber)
Class 6A opening round
Neshaminy 4, Liberty 0
Luke Schweiker and Steven Martin teamed up on the mound for a no-hitter and helped keep Neshaminy’s season alive with the 4-0 win over District 11 champ Liberty in the first round of the Class 6A state playoffs on
Monday night at DeSales University.
“We can’t ask for anything more – they’re just amazing pitchers, amazing people,” senior Joel Bonner said. “Our starter (Schweiker) didn’t pitch a lot this year, but he came in in big situations and has been amazing. I’m really proud of him.”
Schweiker, who improved to 3-0 in the postseason, has allowed just three earned runs in three appearances, and on Monday, he pitched the first four innings against Liberty. He walked six, but also struck out six, avoiding any damage before giving way to Martin out of the bullpen. Martin walked one and struck out three, in an impressive long relief outing to earn the save.
“I didn’t think there was any more I could say about how successful Luke Schweiker and Steven Martin have been, and then they step up on the biggest stage and throw a combined no-hitter,” said coach Dan Toner. “Both pitchers were incredible today.”
Facing Liberty ace Noah Gyauch-Quirk, a Lehigh commit, Neshaminy took advantage of the chances it had. 
“We just tried to put the ball in play, find holes, find ways to score, and that’s what we did,” Bonner said. “We just shortened our approach up, put the ball in play and good things happen.”
Stone Powell scored the game’s first run with a two-out, RBI single in the third, and one inning later, Mike Sassano had an RBI single to make it 2-0.
“At the beginning of the game, it was tight, and we just put our heads down and kept working, kept grinding at-bats, and we got some runs on the board,” Bonner said.
Two key insurance runs in the seventh made it 4-0, as Brandon Lall had a two-run single.
Lall and Joel Bonner led the Neshaminy hitting attack with two hits each.
“Our hitters answered the call today as well against one of the best pitchers in District 11,” Toner said. “We were able to pound out 9 hits, and we had a lot of hard outs as well. We had players step up in big moments and just play an overall great game.
”We have needed a lot of different players to step up because of injuries and other issues and it’s been a different player each time.
“Today we had four sophomores in our starting lineup, one that played JV most of the season, and they played like veterans. Mike Sassano and Brandon Lall had fantastic days. One of the big reasons they were able to play loose is because of how our seniors stepped up today. Our big three – Anthony Trommer, Joel Bonner and Stone Powell – put together very good at-bats.
“I’m proud they get another couple days to prepare for the next round.”
Neshaminy (21-3) will play District Two champ Hazleton, a 1-0 win over CB East in its first round game, in the quarterfinal round on Thursday.
“This is my last week of school, and I’m just soaking it in right now,” Bonner said. “I’ve never played in the (PIAA) state tournament. It’s been six years – I played in states when I was 12. I’m just grateful and enjoying it.
“I’ve known these guys forever – we have a good bond, great chemistry. We’ve had some stuff that’s happened, but everybody’s got to deal with adversity. We’re making a run for states – we just have to put our heads down and work and don’t worry about the past.”
Neshaminy 001 100 2 – 4 9 0
Liberty 000 000 0 – 0 0 2
Hazleton 1, Central Bucks East 0
Offense hasn’t been a problem for CB East for much of this season, but on Monday, the Patriots ran into a red-hot pitcher in Hazleton’s Jason Aponick and the season came to an end with a 1-0 loss in the opening round of the PIAA Class 6A Tournament.
Aponick allowed just three hits against CB East’s outstanding offensive lineup, and struck out six in the complete-game effort.
All three of the Patriots hits came in the first two innings, including back-to-back singles by Colin Lynch and Anthony Niro in the second.
“Their pitcher was very good,” said East coach Kyle Dennis. “We hit about eight or nine balls on the screws but just right at guys. Their center fielder made a great catch on a ball – a sinking line drive in center field. He laid out for it and made a catch. If that gets past him, (Jack) Mislan is scoring from first and we take the lead. That’s frustrating.
“We had our opportunities and couldn’t cash in, and they cashed in one opportunity, and there’s your ball game. When you have two really good pitchers going at each other, those things happen.”
CB East starter Damien Frayne was just as dominant, allowing just two hits in six shutout innings.
“Damien pitched phenomenally, like Damien has all year, and what a story he’s been,” Dennis said. “We struggled to get him innings last year because he wasn’t effective, and something clicked.
“It’s just great to see a kid figure it out. To have the success that he did this year, it was fun to watch. When kids finally figure it out, it’s pretty cool to see. Damien was awesome.”
The game came down to the bottom of the seventh.
Down to its last out, Hazleton took advantage of a pair of walks, and a costly two-out error to plate the winning and only run of the game.
CB East, the SOL Colonial Division champ and third-place team in District One, finished the season 17-8.
“This really was the most successful season I’ve had in my 17-year tenure, and more so than just the wins, they’re just a phenomenal group of young men,” Dennis said. “They play for each other, which is something that it’s hard to get high school kids to do.
“They love each other, and they want to see each other succeed. There were some tears shed today because a chapter’s closing in the book they’ve been writing together since they were 7 or 8 years old playing together a lot of them.
“I have nothing but gratitude to these guys for how they’ve carried themselves over the year. We had our ups and downs, injuries, and they fought through. I’m just unbelievably proud of them. It’s just a great group of guys. I’m going to miss them all.”
CB East 000 000 0 – 0 3 2
Hazleton 000 000 1 – 1 2 0
La Salle 7, Plymouth Whitemarsh 4
Monday was going to be a tough one for Plymouth Whitemarsh, going against one of the best teams in the Philadelphia Catholic League and the greater Philadelphia area in La Salle. And while the Colonials bounced
back after a tough first inning and hung around for a while, in the end they saw their season come to an end with a 7-4 loss to the host Explorers.
“We played tough today and I don’t think anyone in that dugout ever thought we were done,” said PW coach Chris Manero. “The three runs in the bottom of the first hurt but jumping back and scoring twice to start the second was important.
“Colin (Brady) battled on the mound today as he has done all season, and Coop (Jones) and Johnny (Giordano) out of the bullpen kept us within striking distance.
“I can’t say enough about the job our pitching staff did for us this year. It’s a credit to their business-like approach and their ability to throw multiple pitches for strikes. Our assistant coaches who work with them each day also deserve a ton of credit for their development.”
La Salle pounded out 11 hits and also took advantage of four PW errors. It managed three runs on four hits and a steal of home in the first inning and never trailed.
The Colonials made it interesting by countering with two in the second as catcher Chase Olszyk plated a pair with a two-out, two RBI single, momentarily cutting the deficit to 3-2.
“Chase is one of the most mature, level-headed, and focused players I have coached,” Manero said. “He handles those pitchers so well and was a monster for us down the stretch this season with the bat.
“It was obvious from the day he had at the plate today that he did not want to stop playing this season. I hope our younger guys were watching him closely.”
La Salle put it away with one in the third, one in the fourth and two in the sixth.
In the top of the seventh, PW scored two more on a two-run double by Gavin Moore.
Olszyk went 3-for-4 and Moore 2-for-4 on the day.
PW finished its season with a 17-8 record and a district semifinal appearance.
“We are very proud of the season our guys put together this year,” Manero said. “Obviously, we wanted three more wins and that trip to State College, but we will take some time now to reflect on what we achieved and what we need to do to build on it for next year.
“Seventeen wins, two district playoff wins, and a trip to states are a nice list of accomplishments. We hope that they also serve as a reminder of how fun this game is when you have success.
PW 020 000 2 – 4 7 4
La Salle 301 102 – 7 11 1
Hempfield 12, North Penn 2 (6 innings)
A rough start turned into a rough day on the road for North Penn Monday, as the Knights saw their season come to an end with a 12-2 loss to District 3 champ Hempfield.
“This was a team that came a long way from the beginning of the season,” said coach Kevin Manero. “Their goal always was to get one game further than last year. But we knew how long the road was just to get back to that game. While we ran out gas in the end, we showed a lot of fight and made it close.”
Hempfield came out of the blocks fast, with six runs on five hits in the bottom of the first, including two doubles, and also took advantage of a walk and an error.
Ben Farley hit a two-run double to get North Penn to 6-2 in the top of the third, but Hempfield countered with four more runs on four hits and an error in the bottom of the inning to essentially put the game away.
In the sixth, Hempfield ended it with a home run that pushed the lead to 12-2, triggering a 10-run mercy rule ending. The Black Knights had 15 hits on the day.
Offensively, North Penn managed just three hits.
North Penn ends its season with a 15-9 final record.
“Getting to states back-to-back years is no easy feat,” Manero said. “It takes a special mix. While we may have lacked in some areas, the chemistry and the positive energy on this team was pretty special. You need the horses in the race obviously, but you also need the desire, character, and hunger or the talent can only get you so far. We definitely excelled in those latter areas.”
North Penn 002 000 – 2 3 2
Hempfield 604 002 – 12 15 0
Class 5A
Monsignor Bonner 5, Upper Dublin 3
Upper Dublin held leads for most of the early part of the game, but in the end, Monsignor Bonner battled back, eventually scoring twice in the fifth and once in the sixth to post a 5-3 win over the Flying Cardinals in the opening round of the Class 5A state tournament.
“Today, we had a few uncharacteristic miscues defensively,” said coach Ed Wall. “But Nate Cairnes and Ben Wilkins also made some plus plays, and Bobby Keck picked another runner off base.
“We executed a number of things today for the first time that we’ve been working on. We were just missing one or two key hits at the right time, and the way Austin (Dahl) and Evan (Sanders) were pitching, the result could’ve been different.”
Both teams were plagued by errors – Bonner had four and UD three for the game – and the Cardinals took advantage of one to score a run without a hit in the top of the first for the early lead.
That lead held until the bottom of the fourth, while a home run put the Friars up 2-1, only to see UD counter with a pair in the fifth to go up 3-2.
Oliver Gill had an RBI bunt single, and Eddie Stoffel scored the other run with a sac fly.
However, five hits over the next two innings plated three more runs for Bonner and that was the difference in the game.
Upper Dublin wraps up its season with a 16-8 record.
“It was a tough loss,” Wall said. “Our guys have high expectations of themselves and of each other. The seniors set the tone and led the way all season. We appreciate them and will miss them all five much.
“We are so proud of how our guys continued to improve as the season went on and battled to the end. It was a pleasure for us to coach them.”
Upper Dublin 100 020 0 – 3 6 3
Monsignor Bonner 000 221 – 5 7 4
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