Behind the strong arm of Stephen Aldrich, Bensalem earned the program’s first ever state playoff win on Monday. Wissahickon saw its season come to an end in an opening round contest. Bensalem/Parkland photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. CLICK HERE for a gallery of photos.
#1-1 BENSALEM 1, #11-2 PARKLAND 0
By Scott Huff
Fairview Village – The powerful right arm of pitcher Stephen Aldrich and the fleet legs of centerfielder Keith Parrish combined to give Bensalem its first ever victory in the PIAA state baseball playoffs.
The Owls – winners of both the Suburban One National Conference and District One championships – edged District 11 runner-up Parkland in an old-fashioned pitching duel by a 1-0 score.
Aldrich – a flame-throwing senior on his way to Monmouth University next fall – dominated from the outset of the game until the final inning.
Aldrich – in addition to tossing a complete game shutout – allowed a potent Parkland offense just three hits and did not walk a single hitter.
He also struck out nine frustrated Trojan hitters on the day – including the final two hitters with the tying run on base in the seventh inning.
“I really think that he was throwing just as hard in the last inning as he was in the first inning,” said Bensalem head coach Harry Daut. “Stephen is just a great competitor that is totally fearless.”
“Steve stays cool no matter what is going on,” said catcher Scott Rooney who caught a great game and had a good day at the plate with a pair of doubles. “He competes on every single pitch.”
“This was the program’s first time in states and we wanted it to be a good one,” said Aldrich. “The coaching staff called a great game for me – I just look at Scott and throw what he wants.”
That is the powerful right arm of the story – the mercurial legs of Parrish saved the day.
Parkland had a runner reach base on the only Owl error to lead off the seventh inning. The next hitter for the Trojans was William Algard who had roped a double in his first plate appearance in the second inning.
Algard crushed – and I mean crushed – a rocket to centerfield. The ball was hit directly toward Parrish who retreated at the crack of the bat and made a terrific catch on the dead run. The hit looked for certain to be at least a triple that would have tied the game and put the go-ahead run on third base with no outs.
Instead, Parkland had one out and a runner on first. A runner that Aldrich made sure would never cross the plate to tie the game.
“I always keep myself in the game (mentally),” said Parrish. “It was a line drive and I just went back, jumped, and caught it.”
“The (home plate) umpire told me that was an MVP play,” said Rooney. “It was a phenomenal catch – but we have seen him make plays like that all year.”
“Keith makes plays that a tremendous athlete makes,” said Aldrich. “Some of the plays he makes are just insane – and he’s done it a lot.”
“When the kid hit that ball – I knew Keith would catch it,” said Daut. “We try to hit balls in the gaps during practice to beat him – but he catches every one of them.”
Bensalem needed just a single run to support the superlative efforts of Aldrich on the mound and Parrish in the field.
The Owls managed just four hits off Parkland ace Adam Smith – but put three of those hits together in the second inning to score the only run of the game.
Aldrich led off the inning with a single and was replaced by courtesy runner Austin Shay. One out later, Shay advanced to third base on a double by Rooney. He scored moments later on an RBI single off the bat of Dominic Grady.
“It was nice to come away with our first state playoff win,” said Daut. “Stephen threw well today – and we will give the ball to Nick (Dean) on Thursday.
“It’s been a great year for the team and the community,” added Daut. “We hope to keep things going.”
Bensalem advances to a PIAA 6A quarterfinal game this Thursday (6/7/18) against District Four champion Williamsport. The Millionaires defeated Downingtown East 4-1 in an opening round game to advance to the showdown with the Owls.
Parkland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 * 0 3 0
Bensalem 0 1 0 0 0 0 X * 1 4 1
Parkland: Joe Webber 3 0 0 0, Christian Kinsley 3 0 0 0, Cullan Wadsworth 3 0 2 0; Adam Mellinger 3 0 0 0, William Algard 3 0 1 0, Dylan Miller 2 0 0 0, Ethan Russell 1 0 0 0, Matt Ervolina 3 0 0 0, Jermey Piatkiewicz 2 0 0 0, George Jenkins 1 0 0 0, Alex Oliver 1 0 0 0. Totals 25 0 3 0.
Bensalem: Brian Swetkowski 3 0 0 0, Keith Parrish 3 0 0 0, Nick Dean 3 0 0 0, Stephen Aldrich 2 0 1 0, Austin Shay 0 1 0 0, Jon Revell 2 0 0 0, Scott Rooney 2 0 2 0, Dominic Grady 2 0 1 1, Bryce White 2 0 0 0, Nick Fossile 2 0 0 0. Totals 21 1 4 1.
2B – William Algard, Scott Rooney 2.
CLASS 5A
#2-1 MOUNT POCONO 9, #1-4 WISSAHICKON 1
A young Trojan squad saw its postseason run come to an end on Monday when they fell to the District 2 champions at the University of Scranton.
Despite the disappointing ending, coach Andy Nogo had nothing but good things to say about the season just completed.
“Obviously, it’s a disappointing end – no one wants to end their season with a loss, but when you make it this far in, there’s only going to be one team that goes home with their last game being a ‘W,’” the first-year coach said. “Yes, it’s difficult to swallow, but we accomplished a lot of good things this year.
“While we didn’t win a league championship, we still finished second. We made it to the district semifinal. It was the first baseball team in Wissahickon High School history to make the state tournament. We accomplished a lot of good things this year, and we were really happy to do that with a young team – with only one senior in our starting lineup.”
North Pocono set the tone for the game early, plating four runs in the bottom of the first.
“That was all they needed,” Nogo said. “We knew we were facing a very talented team that was pitching heavy.
“Their pitcher (Cory Wall) did a great job of just pounding the zone with fastballs. He was throwing very hard. Our guys battled with them, but they were an older, experienced team. They’re a very good team, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see them playing another week or so.”
The Trojans scored their only run when Tyler Caso hit a solo home run to center field in the top of the third. North Pocono got that run back in the bottom of the inning, and the Trojans never really threatened.
Nogo bids farewell to three seniors – Michael Steitz, Antonio Bova and Charlie Osterneck, but this year’s postseason run should serve the young returning players well.
“I think it was a great experience, and it’s going to be very beneficial down the line because we’re going to have a bunch of these guys back,” Nogo. “These guys are going to be successful.
“They’re baseball players, they love playing – they play all summer long. They got a little taste of what it’s like, what the atmosphere is like in a state playoff game, and they’re already itching to get back there. They’re going to get to work and we’ll be back.”
Cory Wall earned the complete game win, allowing just three hits and one while striking out 11 and walking none.
Wissahickon (10-3 SOL) closed out it season with a 14-8 record.
Wissahickon001 000 0 1-3-3
Mount Pocono 401 202 x 9-13-0
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