Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Thursday. CB East/Perkiomen School photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko.
SOL Liberty Division
UPPER DUBLIN 7, WISSAHICKON 0
As league openers go, they don’t get much better than this one.
Upper Dublin got a masterpiece on the mound from Austin Dahl, who allowed one hit and struck out 10 in six shutout innings. Chase Greiner closed it out with a scoreless inning in relief.
The Cardinals spotted Dahl a 2-0 lead in the first, and they took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth when they erupted for four runs to put the game out of reach.
By the numbers: Eric Berman (2-for-2, SB, 2B, 2R), Eddie Stoffel (2-for-3, 2R), Matthew Logerstedt (1-1-1, 2 RBI)
Austin Dahl WP (6 IP, 1H 0R, 2BB 10K), Chase Greiner (1.0 IP, 1H 0R, 2K)
By the innings: Bottom of first: Berman drew a leadoff walk, and Oliver Gill followed with a single. Dahl singled to center to plate Berman. Gill stole home on double steal. (2-0)
Bottom of fourth: Stoffel hit a two-out single, Evan Sanders draws a walk. Stoffel scored on Braxton Ganz’s double to center. (3-0)
Bottom of sixth: A four-run inning was highlighted by a two-run single by Logerstedt, who entered the game as a pinch hitter. Stoffel and Berman also singled in the inning, and Sanders lined a double to left. UD benefitted from a passed ball and Trojan miscue. (7-0)
Upper Dublin coach Ed Wall on the league opener: “It was fantastic. There’s a lot of hype, a lot of spotlights out there. One of our goals is to score first, and putting up two runs in the first against a good team like Wiss is always something that we’re trying to do.”
–Dahl delivers: “Obviously, the defensive side starts with Austin Dahl. The six innings that he went – I was super happy with his performance.
“The only thing I didn’t really like was going that long with him. In the sixth inning, it’s still a real ball game. A couple guys in that lineup – he had their number, so we wanted to make sure we got to that one last guy before we pulled him out. That was going to be his last hitter regardless.
“Chase Greiner came in and did a fantastic job – two strikeouts in the inning and just pounded the zone. That’s exactly what you want from a reliever type of guy.”
–Offense comes through: “We hit the ball really well. The bottom half of the lineup came alive. Braxton Gantz had a really big knock that extended our lead a little bit on his RBI double. A double from Evan Sanders didn’t result in an RBI but was a fantastic hit. Berman had another double and was 2-for-2. Eddie Stoffel was 2-for-3. Austin Dahl started it off with an RBI in the first inning.”
Up next: The Cardinals don’t have a whole lot of time to enjoy the win. The two teams will meet again Friday at Wissahickon.”
“Our postgame was really short,” Wall said. “It was like – ‘All right, good job. We got these guys again tomorrow. Let’s do the same thing.”
Wissahickon 000 000 0. 0-2-0
Upper Dublin 200 104 x 7-9-1
Non-league
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 4, PERKIOMEN SCHOOL 1
Jason Abert and Mike Scafidi combined for a gem on the mound in Thursday’s season opener, combining to allow three hits and one run while striking out 11 and walking one.
The Patriots broke a 1-1 tie with a three-run fourth that included a two-run blast by Anthony Niro.
By the numbers: Sean Hill Jr (2-for-3, 2B, 3B, 2RBI), Chase Fulford (2-for-4), Anthony Niro (1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, R)
Jason Abert (4.0 IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 6SO), Mike Scafaldi (3.0 IP, 1H 0r, 1BB, 5SO)
By the innings: Bottom of second: Trailing 1-0, Sean Hill Jr hit a two-out triple to center field that plated Jack Thompson, who was safe on an error to lead off the frame. (1-1)
Bottom of fourth: Thompson drew a leadoff walk, and Niro hit a booming home run to center field. Nick Mutchler was safe on an error and scored on a double by Hill. (4-1)
Central Bucks East coach Kyle Dennis:
–Pitchers perform: “Our pitching was lights out. Jason Abert was our closer last year. He got nine saves in nine opportunities as a sophomore. Now he’s taking on the role of a starter. This was his first extended outing. He went four innings – no walks and six strikeouts. When your starter can do that against a good team in Perkiomen, you’re going to be successful.
“Mike Scafidi, our third-year varsity senior pitcher, came in and threw the last three innings, struck out five. We had 11 strikeouts and one walk today. With the way our guys can defend – as long as our pitchers trust our fielders, we’re going to be okay.”
–Props: “I’ve got to mention a couple of guys that had breakout days. Anthony NIro was our left fielder last year. He hit a home run to dead center field today. It’s on the list of some of the furthest balls I’ve seen hit at East, and that really opened up the game for us. It was tied 1-1 at the time in the bottom of the fourth. We worked a leadoff walk, and Niro comes in on the first pitch and just hits a ball easily 400 feet to dead center
field which made it 3-1. He’s hitting seventh for us right now. He’s got a great bat, and he’s trying to make a push to move up in the lineup a little bit. Today was an opportunity to really show what he can do.
“Sean Hill Jr, who was our right fielder last year as a sophomore, hit ninth for us all last year and was second team all-conference – he has a huge day. He comes in and hits a double and makes it a 4-1 game. We got a home run, 2 RBIs and another two hits and two RBIs from the bottom of our lineup. You’re going to be okay when you get that.”
–Value of non-league games: “They matter because guys are still competing. We tell them they’re competing for jobs, they’re competing for spots in the batting order, so these games do matter from a team perspective. We’re still trying to figure out what our lineup is, we’re trying to figure out where guys fit, and it’s great when guys step up and show us what they can do. That’s what I love about these non-league games. Later in the year, you can give guys opportunities that have earned them and see what they can do because once you get in league play – it’s tough to make changes.”
Up next: Central Bucks East (1-0) will travel to William Penn Charter for a non-league game Tuesday.
Perkiomen School 100 000 0 1-3-4
Central Bucks East 010 300 x 4-6-0
PENNRIDGE 5, NESHAMINY 3
The Rams broke a 1-1 tie with a four-run fourth, thanks a pair of home runs – a solo home run by Ascher Hamburg and the second a two-run shot by Tommy Ginetti.
Neshaminy trimmed that lead to 5-2 when Jake Plebani hit a two-out RBI double in the fifth.
In the top of the seventh, the Redskins loaded the bases with two outs. Brandon Lall hit an RBI single, and with the bases still loaded, Brayden Robinson coaxed a harmless fly ball to center field to close it out in the seventh.
Ryder Olson notched the win with four strong innings.
By the numbers: Pennridge: Ascher Hamburg (2-for-3, 2B, HR, RBI, R), Tommy Ginetti (1-for-3, HR, 2RBI, R)
Ryder Olson WP (4.0 IP, 3H 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 7K), Brayden Robinson S (1.0 IP, 2H, 1R 0ER, 1BB, 1SO)
Neshaminy: Brandon Lall (3-for-4, RBI, R), Jake Plebani (2-for-4, 2B, RBI),
Key inning: Bottom of fourth: With the score tied 1-1, Ascher Hamburg led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run to center. With two outs, Brayden Robinson singled and scored on a single by Jake Haas. Ginetti followed with a two-run home run to right field. (5-1)
Pennridge coach Danny Long: “We had big swings from Ascher Hamburg and Tommy Ginnetti in the middle of the game to give us some breathing room. Our pitchers continue to pound the zone and limit free 90’s. Some guys are stepping up in big spots and executing when called upon.”
Up next: Pennridge (2-0) will be on the road at Perkiomen Valley for a non-league game Friday.
Neshaminy 010 010 1 3-9-2
Pennridge 100 400 x 5-6-1
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 17, MaST CHARTER 7
The Lions celebrated the first day of spring with a no-doubt-about-it non-league road win.
“We scored in every inning and put up 30 quality at-bats,” NH-S coach Tony Vlahovich said. “Sam Morrin, Charlie Plebani, Joe Rickard, Anthony Whelan and Blake McCagg all hit the ball hard and moved runners
“After jumping out to a big lead, we had an inning where MaST battled, and we made some defensive mistakes. I am very pleased with our competitive attitude after having one of those ugly innings. No one dropped their head. We came out and battled like it was a 0-0 game.
“Another stellar performance by John Whelan and Gavin Caponegro. Both hurlers are learning more about pitching and using all their pitches.”
Up next: New Hope-Solebury (2-0) will travel to Bristol for a non-league game Saturday (11 am).
ARCHBISHOP WOOD 13, UPPER MORELAND 2 (5 innings)
The Golden Bears scored a pair of runs in the top of the first. Patrick Kilgus had the only hit in the inning that included a walk, a sacrifice fly by Jackson Townsend and an error.
That turned out to be UM’s last hurrah as the Vikings answered with nine runs in the bottom of the inning and went on to earn the mercy rule win.
Up next: Upper Moreland (0-2) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham for a non-league game Thursday.
Upper Moreland 200 00 2-2-0
Archbishop Wood 912 1x 13-12-1
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