Bensalem and Council Rock North were both winners and advanced to Monday’s PIAA 6A semifinals. Check out the recaps for Thursday’s quarterfinal games.
CLASS 3A
#1-1 BENSALEM 6, #4-1 WILLIAMSPORT 0
Nicholas Dean and Stephen Aldrich.
Stephen Aldrich and Nicholas Dean.
Any way you spin it, the Owls’ aces have been close to untouchable in the first two PIAA 6A contests, and thanks in no small part to their efforts on the mound, Bensalem will be playing in Monday’s state semifinal game.
Three days after Aldrich worked his magic in a three-hit shutout and a 1-0 win over District 11 runner-up Parkland, Dean was doing a number on the Millionaires.
The University of Maryland recruit’s numbers were dazzling. Dean needed just 81 pitches and allowed only two hits in the complete game shutout. He struck out nine and walked one. He faced 26 batters and threw first pitch strikes to 22 of them.
“He threw a lot of changeups today, which he hasn’t thrown a lot of all year,” coach Harry Daut said. “We mixed it up with a lot of fastballs, a lot of changeups.
“The changeups were all low. He probably threw 20-30 changeups early and then the last two innings we went basically with the fastball. It was just a phenomenal game for him today.”
The Millionaires put their first two runners on board in the second. Dean calmly retired the next three batters he faced – the first two on strikeouts – to kill that threat. The Owls stranded a pair in the bottom of the inning.
In the fourth, the Owls once again had a pair of base runners with one out – thanks to a pair of walks – but couldn’t push a run across. All that changed in the fifth inning.
Brian Swentkowski singled, and then Keith Parrish legged out a bunt single. A double play erased both base runners, and it looked as though the Millionaires might escape unscathed. Stephen Aldrich made sure that didn’t happen, delivering a triple to right field and plating a run that turned out to be the game winner.
“I just tried to get it down and get that run in,” Aldrich said. “We got base runners, but we didn’t come through.”
Jon Revell followed with an RBI single, and the Owls led 2-0.
“We kept on battling,” Daut said. “We kept on working their pitcher.
“Hats off to Tanner Esposito. He’s a top pitcher. He didn’t give anything, but we worked him, got a high pitch count on him early.”
With Dean cruising on the mound, the Owls put the game away with a four-run sixth. The inning included bunt singles by Nick Fossile and Parrish (RBI), a sacrifice fly by Swentkowski and an RBI single by Damon Lavender that put the Owls on top 6-0.
In the seventh, Cam Pardoe led off with a single, but Dean slammed the door on any potential rally, striking out the next three batters he faced to close out the game.
“We did a really good job this game,” Dean said. “Scott (Rooney) did a really good job of calling pitches behind the plate.
“I felt good today. We came prepared.”
The Owls pounded out 11 hits off a trio of Millionaire hurlers. Contributing multi-hit games were Swentkowski (2-for-3, RBI), Parrish (2-for-4, RBI, 2 runs) and Aldrich (2-for-4, 2B, 3B, RBI run).
Bensalem (22-3, 10-2 SOL) will face La Salle in Monday’s state semifinal.
(Jarrad Saffren also contributed to this report.)
Williamsport 000 000 0 0-2-1
Bensalem 000 024 x 6-11-2
Williamsport (0) – Quentin Brown 3-0-0-0, Tanner Esposito 3-0-0-0, Brayton Rowello 3-0-0-0, Ethen Stryker 3-0-0-0, Cam Pardoe 2-0-1-0, Joe Fagnano 3-0-1-0, Cody Shimp 3-0-0-0, Ryan Jolin 3-0-0-0, Caleb Joy 2-0-0-0, Isac Snyder 0-0-0-0, TOTALS 25-0-2-0
Bensalem (6) – Brian Swentkowski 3-0-2-1, Keith Parrish 4-2-2-1, Nicholas Dean 4-0-1-0, Stephen Aldrich 4-1-2-1, Jon Revell 3-0-1-1, Damon Lavender 2-0-1-1, Nickolas Kiesling 0-0-0-0, Scott Rooney 2-0-0-0, Dominic Grady 2-1-1-0, Nick Fossile 3-0-1-0, Austin Shay 0-1-0-0, Greg Sanowski 0-1-0-0, Matt Silano 0-0-0-0, TOTALS 27-6-11-5.
2B: Bensalem – Stephan Aldrich, 3B: Bensalem – Stephen Aldrich.
WP: Nicholas Dean (7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 9 K, 1 BB)
LP: Tanner Esposito (4.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 K, 4 BB)
#1-2 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 10, #3-1 CUMBERLAND VALLEY 1
Road trips are welcomed by the Indians these days, and listening to coach Matt Schram tell it, the steady diet of road trips has bound the team together in ways that might not have happened if they’d been playing at home.
“Our guys love being together,” the Indians’ coach said. “We’ve logged in more miles than any team in the playoffs, and these guys love it. They love being together.
“They wouldn’t want to play at home, they wouldn’t want to walk out the back door and play right now. We’d have to get on the bus and drive around the field a few times.”
On Thursday, the road warriors took the 90-minute bus trip to Muhlenberg High School and put a beating on the District 3 champions.
“The score doesn’t show how difficult it was,” Schram said. “They were a good team. They swung the bat.”
The tone for the game might well have been set in the first inning. The Eagles collected back-to-back singles to open the frame and – with two outs – loaded the bases but came up empty.
“We were fortunate to get out of that,” Schram said. “If they would have cashed in on their bases loaded and scored some runs, that would have changed the complexion of the game right then and there. These games are so important, and the team that scores first is usually the one that’s successful.
“Getting out of that inning gave us momentum, and then scoring four runs on them, that was it for us. We took the momentum and never gave it back.”
Cavan Tully led off the bottom of the inning with a single, and Nolan Hartwell drew a walk. Both runners scored on a costly error. A double by Jason Walter pushed another run across, and Griffin Peterson followed with an RBI single that put the Indians on top 4-0.
“Jason Walter’s hit was big – that was a message sender that we were onto their pitcher and we were going to take care of business,” Schram said.
The Eagles scored a run in the top of the second, but the Indians got that back when Matt Shenot delivered an RBI single. Rock North plated two more in the third, a single run in the fourth and two more in the fifth to win going away.
Tully (2-for-3, 2B, RBI, 2 runs), Walter (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs, run), Stalker (2-for-3, 2B, RBI) and CJ Donofry (2-for-3, run) all turned in multi-hit performances. Shenot had a team-high three RBIs. Carson Shane was 1-for-2 with an RBI.
The Indians were aggressive on the base paths and, all told, stole nine bases. Hartwell and Matt Kinney each stole three bases and Tully had a pair of stolen bases.
“We moved the base runners today,” Schram said. “We did a lot of good things, timely steals, delayed steals. We were putting pressure on them the whole time.”
Ryan Stalker earned the win, allowing five hits and one run while striking out six and walking one in five strong innings.
“He was amazing,” Schram said. “He shut down a really good offensive team. He worked the ball in, he worked it out. He threw his off-speed pitches. He didn’t give them a lot to hit, and, of course, when it came time to really bare down and get a key strikeout, he did.”
Eric Hoefer threw two scoreless innings in relief to close it out. He did not allow a hit, struck out five and walked only one.
This is the third time in four years the Indians have reached the state quarterfinals, but it’s the first time they’re advancing to the semifinals.
“This is the furthest any of our teams have ever gone,” Schram said. “We had to get over the hump.
“We were able to really keep them focused on the task at hand, and that’s been incredibly huge. I have a great coaching staff, and keeping their sights on what’s in front of them only and not too far ahead of us is the key not only to this game but the next game.
“Everybody knows where we are in terms of what’s left in the season, but as soon as you take your sights off what’s in front of you, you might not get it back.”
Council Rock North (17-7, 8-4 SOL) will face District 7 champion Canon McMillan in a state semifinal on Monday.
“This really speaks to the amount of work not only the kids that everybody put into this,” Schram said. “Baseball starts in September, and all the work these guys have put into it – now they’re getting the fruits of their labor. Now they’re seeing what hard work produces.
“I said before I think the teams we’ve had in the quarterfinals in years past might have been more talented. We had Brandon McIlwain and Matt Hand and all those big-time names, but this group of guys have learned that when you play together and play selfless baseball and just worry about your teammates and bond together, which is what we do, they’ve learned that nothing can stop them.”
Cumberland Valley 010 000 0 1-5-1
Council Rock North 412 120 x 10-12-0
Cumberland Valley (1) – Jayson Kramer 4-0-1-1, Justin Williams 4-0-1-0, Drew Baughman 2-0-0-0, Jack Negley 1-0-0-0, Brendan Landry 3-0-0-0, Galen Witmer 2-0-1-0, Connor Madison 3-0-0-0, David Mangold 3-1-1-0, Ben Myers 2-0-1-0, Nick Macelko 1-0-0-0, Ty Banach 1-0-0-0, Aaron Smith 0-0-0-0, Hayden Fry 0-0-0-0, Tyler Gehret 0-0-0-0, Ryan Rudrow 0-0-0-0, Tyler Thompson 0-0-0-0, TOTALS 26-1-5-1.
Council Rock North (10) – Cavan Tully 3-2-2-1, Nolan Hartwell 2-2-1-0, Matt Shenot 3-1-1-3, Jason Walter 4-1-2-2, Griffin Peterson 4-1-1-1, Ryan Stalker 3-0-2-1, Pat Kusters 0-1-0-0, Eric Hoefer 1-0-0-0, Carson Shane 2-0-1-1, Matt Kinney 0-1-0-0, Jared Leuz 4-0-0-0, CJ Donofry 3-1-2-0, Kyle Dearie 0-0-0-0, TOTALS 29-10-12-9.
2B: CR North – Ryan Stalker, Cavan Tully, Jason Walter, CV – David Mangold.
WP – Ryan Stalker (5.0 IP, 5 h, 1 R, 1 ER, 6 K, 1 BB)
LP – Ryan Rudrow (2.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 K 3, BB).
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