CR North & PW notched non-league wins in SOL baseball action Tuesday.
Non-league
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 10, HOLY GHOST PREP 6
As season openers go, it was a good one for Rock North.
The Indians erased a 6-5 deficit with a five-run outburst in the bottom of the sixth to earn the win in Wednesday’s non-league contest.
“My team – we have some experience coming back, but this is a whole new bunch of kids playing the game this year,” Rock North coach Matt Schram said. “I’m excited for them because the sky is the limit, but we don’t know what we have until we get out on the baseball field.
“We had a good scrimmage against Owen J (Roberts) last week, and coming up against Holy Ghost – they were in the state championship last year, and we were pretty excited to see how we would do against them.”
Jadon Tang ignited the Indians’ five-run rally with a line drive double to right field to lead off the sixth inning, but with two outs, he was still only on third base. Back-to-back walks to Nick DiGiacomo and Johnny Mulder loaded the bases. An error on Noah Hoskins grounder kept the inning alive and allowed Tang to score the tying run.
It also opened the floodgates. A bases-loaded walk to Nolan Reisenberger pushed a second run across, and two runs crossed the plate when Leor Kedar grounded a single to left. Reisenberger scored on a wild pitch, and just like that, the Indians led 10-6.
Will Seiler, who notched the win in relief, walked the first batter he faced in the top of the seventh but then struck out the next two and coaxed a fly ball to right for the inning’s final out. In 2.2 innings of relief, Seiler allowed one hit and two runs while striking out four and walking three. Jack Ploppert started and threw four-and-a-third innings, allowing four hits and four runs, striking out seven and walking two.
“I threw two guys who it was the first time they ever thew in a varsity baseball game,” Schram said. “My starter, Jack Ploppert, struck out seven. The kid (Aiden) Robbins for Holy Ghost is phenomenal and he hit a home run.
“Then I brought in Will Seiler, a sophomore, and he was not rattled. He jumped right in and got us out of the inning.”
Early on, the Indians put a pair on the board in the bottom of the first, capitalizing on four walks and a single by Tang. They added a single run in the second, and again, Tang played a prominent role, delivering a sacrifice fly to center.
Rock North took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the third when they added two runs to go on top 5-1. Quinn Erlandsend lined a double to left to open the inning, and he scored one out later when Mulder singled. Hoskins also singled, and the Indians benefitted from a walk and fielder’s choice to add a second run.
Holy Ghost Prep took its only lead with a five-run fifth with Robbins two-run home run the big blow. In the top of the sixth, the Indians came up with the defensive play of the game.
“That inning ended with Robbins hitting a ball which should have been his second home run of the game – he hit it to deep right center field, and my right fielder (DiGiacomo) literally robbed him of a home run. He jumped up and caught a ball over the fence. It’s probably the best catch I’ve seen on our field since I’ve been there. It was pretty amazing.”
That set the stage for Rock North’s five run bottom of the sixth that put the game out of reach.
Kedar (2-for-3, 3 RBIs) and Tang (2-for-3, 2B, RBI, 2R) led the Indians’ eight-hit attack.
“I’m very pleased,” Schram said. “It’s still early, and we’re working out the kinks and trying to get one percent better each day, and the kids are doing that.
“We’re getting some timely hitting. Tang and Leor Kedar both are returning ballplayers and had timely hits. We did a nice job to win the baseball game. It was a good win.”
Council Rock North (1-0) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham for a non-league game Wednesday.
Holy Ghost 001 050 0 6-5-2
Council Rock North 212 005 x 10-8-1
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 10, POPE JOHN PAUL II 2
The visiting Golden Panthers gave the Colonials a bit of a wake-up call, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the first. It was hardly a preview of
things to come as the Colonials scored in five of six innings and reeled off 10 unanswered runs on their way to the convincing win in Tuesday’s non-league opener.
Dylan Robinson – who allowed four singles in the two-run first – allowed just two hits after that in five shutout innings to earn the win. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter.
“We didn’t start the game the way we had hoped, but Dylan Robinson really settled in nicely on the mound and made significant adjustments the rest of the way,” PW coach Chris Manero said. “Dylan’s improvement on the mound came at the same time as our bats came to life, and we got solid contributions up and down the lineup the rest of the way. I think all of our guys found it within themselves to make adjustments from at-bat to at-bat.”
The Colonials wasted little time before erasing that early 2-0 hole. In the bottom of the first, Chase Olszyk drove in a run with a two-out double to right. PW took a lead it would not lose with two runs in the second. Tyler Gartland drew a leadoff walk, and with one swing of the bat, Johnny Giordano gave the Colonials a 3-1 lead, smashing a two-run home run to right field.
The Colonials added a run in the fourth and then scored three in the fifth. Luke Caucci was hit by a pitch to open the inning, and he eventually scored on a wild pitch. Giordano doubled to right, and he scored when Luke Hildebrand singled to left. Gavin Rocks singled, and a third run crossed the plate on a PJP miscue on the
play, putting the Colonials on top 7-2.
They upped that lead to 10-2 in the sixth. Highlights of the inning included a leadoff single by Luke Gartland, who scored when Lincoln Sharpe tripled to center field. Giordano continued his productive day at the plate with an RBI double to right, and he scored when Kevin Hegarty lined a double to right.
Matt Krawitz closed it out with a one-two-three seventh in relief, striking out all three batters he faced.
Giordano finished the day 3-for-4 with two doubles, a home run, three RBIs and three runs scored.
“Johnny Giordano led the offense with a monster opening day,” Manero said. “With a home run and two doubles, he is showing us that he wants to be in that lineup every day.”
Olszyk was 2-for-4 with a double and RBI, and Hildebrand was 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored. The Colonials pounded out 12 hits off a trio of PJP hurlers.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (1-0) – with its seniors on their senior trip – is off until Friday, March 31, when the Colonials will host Abington in its SOL opener.
Pope John Paul II 200 000 0 2-6-2
Plymouth Whitemarsh 120 133 x 10-12-0
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