Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Thursday. Neshaminy/Pennsbury photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson, and CB East/CB West photos courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for galleries of both games: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f12122253
SOL Patriot Division
Council Rock South 5, Bensalem 1
Chase Ennis was in midseason form and then some on Tuesday afternoon, as the CR South senior threw a no-hitter in his team’s impressive 5-1 win on the road against Bensalem.
Ennis allowed just one run (unearned) and one walk, while striking out nine in the complete-game effort, throwing just 85 pitches over seven innings.
“Chase Ennis was dominant, throwing his first career no-hitter,” said Golden Hawks coach Greg Paprocki. “He stepped up in a big way for us.”
And ironically, Ennis and the Hawks found themselves trailing for the early part of the game.
Back-to-back, one-out errors in the bottom of the first allowed Bensalem to jump up 1-0, but from that point on, the Owls didn’t have much luck against Ennis, who struck out the final two batters to avoid further damage in the first and allowed just two base runners the rest of the way – on a walk and then another error in the seventh.
Offensively, it took CR South a while to get going against Bensalem starter Trevor Morris, but in the fourth finally found its footing. Back-to-back one-out singles by Johnny Mendola and Ennis put runners on base, and later Reed Curtier scored both with a two-out double to left field.
In the sixth, Mendola (2-for-3, two runs scored) doubled and scored on a Mason Curtier RBI single. After an error, Sam Serpiello picked up an RBI single to make it 4-1. Ennis (2-for-4) helped himself with an RBI single in the top of the seventh.
“Today was a great team win against a well-coached Bensalem team,” Paprocki said. “We started off poorly, but we’re able to gather our emotions and string together some runs.
“We’re looking forward to preparing for a really talented Neshaminy team.”
CR South (2-1, 1-0 SOL) hosts Neshaminy on Tuesday.
Bensalem (0-3, 0-1) host Pennsbury on Wednesday.
CR South 000 202 1 – 5 8 3
Bensalem 100 000 0 – 1 0 1
Neshaminy 14, Pennsbury 4
Talk about a statement game to open the Patriot Division season.
Against the defending champs, its archrival, on the road and facing one of the SOL’s top pitchers, Neshaminy brought the bats Thursday to the tune of 14 runs on 17 hits, pounding out a 14-4 win against Pennsbury.
“We played a complete game in all aspects today,” said coach Dan Toner. “Ryan Fox and Evan Krippel did a very nice job on the mound. Our defense, baserunning and offensive approach was on point as well.
“It was a big rivalry game right out of the gate this year, and our players were extremely excited to get out there.”
First baseman Stone Powell had a huge game, going 3-for-4 with a double, three runs scored and four RBIs.
But he wasn’t alone. Joel Bonner was 3-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI, Brandon Lall was 3-for-3 with four runs scored, Chase Bonner 3-for-4 with three RBIs and Jake Plebani 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
It had the makings of a slugfest right from the start, as Neshaminy scored three times in the first against Pennsbury starter Keller Bradley. Joel Bonner and Powell had back-to-back RBI doubles, and Plebani had an RBI single.
The Falcons countered with three of their own in the bottom of the first, including an RBI single by Dylan Hirsh and a two-out two run double by Eric David.
Neshaminy took the lead for good with a run in the third and added one with one in the fourth, two in the fifth, five in the sixth and two in the seventh.
On the mound, Ryan Fox started for Neshaminy and picked up the win, allowing three runs in four innings. Evan Krippel allowed one run in three innings of relief.
Neshaminy (2-0, 1-0 SOL) plays at CR South on Tuesday.
Pennsbury (2-1, 0-1 SOL) looks to bounce back Tuesday at home against Harry S. Truman.
Neshaminy 301 125 2 – 14 17 0
Pennsbury 300 010 0 – 4 7 0
SOL Colonial Division
Central Bucks East 12, Central Bucks West 4
It took a while, but starting with the bottom of its lineup, CB East picked it up offensively in the top of the fifth, added four more in the sixth and ended up routing rival CB West in the SOL opener for both teams on
Thursday.
The middle of East lineup did a lot of damage, led by Nolan Behm, Jack Mislan and Chase Fulford with two hits and two RBIs each, but with the game tied at 1 going into the fifth, it took a little spark from the bottom of the batting order to get things going.
“What was really nice was that it all started with the bottom of our order, our 8 and 9 hitters,” said Patriots coach Kyle Dennis. “Jack Thompson led off with a single. Our catcher, Matt Sharkey, went down 0-2 in the count, but battled back to get a walk.
“Reece Moody, our shortstop, got the job done and sacrificed them over to second and third, and then on the first pitch, Nolan Behm doubled into the left center field gap that kind of got the wheels turning a little bit.”
Up 3-1, Chase Harlan was intentionally walked, Colin Lynch reached on an error and Mislan followed with a two-run single. A bases-loaded walk to Anthony Niro made it 6-1, and the final run of the inning scored on an RBI groundout by Thompson.
A two-run double by Fulford blew things wide open an inning later, and that’s all of the offense the Patriots needed.
“Whenever you hit balls hard early in the season, good things are going to happen,” Dennis said. “Pitchers are usually a little ahead of the hitters. Sam
Greer is a very good pitcher for CB West, and he kept us off balance the first couple innings. He went three innings and only allowed two hits, but we got to their bullpen. If you can do that in this conference, more often than not you’re going to have success.”
Sam Bliss pitched the first five innings to pick up the win on the mound for East, scattering two hits and three walks, one earned run and striking out eight.
“We have a bulldog in Sammy Bliss,” Dennis said. “I don’t know if he got one win last year, but he pitched well enough to get wins every time out. He just didn’t have the offense behind him. Today, he went five innings, gave up two hits, a couple walks – which is not his usual MO, but it was 38 degrees out – he ended up with eight Ks, which is phenomenal for him.”
CB East (2-2, 1-0 SOL) is back in action at home Tuesday against CB South.
CB West (0-1, 0-1 SOL) has a nonleague road game Monday at Upper Dublin.
CB East 001 064 1 -12 8 0
CB West 100 003 0 – 4 3 1
North Penn 5, Pennridge 0
An early run was all North Penn lefty Trevor Lugara needed, as the Knights returned home from a trip to Florida with an impressive 5-0 shutout of rival Pennridge in the SOL opener for both teams.
Lugara needed just 81 pitches to post the complete-game shutout. He allowed just one hit, didn’t walk a batter and struck out eight. Of his 81 pitches, he threw 59 for strikes.
“Trevor was excellent today,” said Knights coach Kevin Manero. “He’s such a craftsman on the mound and he is great at setting the pace of the game.”
After Lugara set the visiting Rams down in order in the top of the first, shortstop Kevin Brace led off the bottom of the first with a double to left. Ben Farley later put North Penn in front with an RBI double to center field.
Brace set things up for the Knights again in the third with a leadoff single. With two outs, Chase Jones made it a 3-0 game with a two-run home run to left.
In the fourth, Brace did the driving in, as his two-run double concluded the scoring.
“We put together a tough approach at the plate,” Manero said. “(Ryder) Olson is a good pitcher with a live arm. He was tough, but I thought we did a good job of grinding out tough at-bats.”
Overall, North Penn had five runs on 10 hits, including three by Brace and two each for Jones and Mason Coyne.
“We had some clutch green-light hitting today from a few of our more experienced guys, which I was happy to see,” Manero said. “Jones, Brace, Farley were tough today especially.
“(First-year Pennridge coach) Danny Long is going to do well at Pennridge, and they’re going to be tough this year. The whole league is tough, so while one win a season does not make, it’s important to get some early.”
North Penn (2-0, 1-0 SOL) has a nonleague game scheduled at home Friday against Hazleton.
Pennridge (1-1, 0-1 SOL) plays at Souderton in a league game on Tuesday.
Pennridge 000 000 0 – 0 1 0
North Penn 102 200 x – 5 10 2
SOL Liberty Division
Wissahickon 5, Hatboro-Horsham 2
Justin Miller went 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, igniting a four-run first inning that gave host Wissahickon the early lead in what would be a 5-2 win in the SOL Liberty opener against Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday.
“I’m really happy with how our guys showed up today,” said Trojans coach Andy Noga. “Obviously, with the wind and the bitterly cold conditions it can be easy for you to lose your focus, but I think our boys did a very good job of getting right after it on both sides of the ball.”
Josh Palutis led off the bottom of the first with a single, Finn Olszewski and Jarrett Federer drew a pair of one-out walks to load the bases, and Miller followed with a double to right to score two runs.
Mark Selverian followed with a sacrifice fly, and two batters later a Brayden Ryan single scored Miller to make it a 4-0 game.
In the fourth, Federer (2-for-3, two runs scored) led off with a double, Miller singled, and then a pop up in foul territory scored Federer from third to make it 5-0.
“Offensively, we saw great production from two key pieces for us today, Jarrett Federer and Justin Miller,” Noga said. “Federer struggled on our spring trip to Florida, but we knew it was a matter of time before his pop made its presence felt, and it showed up today with his double and hard hit single. Throw in a stolen base and a tag up on a foul out from a future Division II offensive lineman, and he was our spark plug today.
“Justin Miller is a veteran, who we have been trusting in big spots for us for multiple years now. We moved him down in the lineup a little bit this year, because we felt like he was putting too much pressure on himself, and, ironically, he found himself in some big spots today and he came through. Whether it’s lacing a double down the line or a perfectly placed bunt, we love to be able to utilize his speed on the bases.
“I thought we could’ve put the game away a little bit better in the later innings, but I was very excited for our boys and for our first win back up North.”
On the mound, Adam Hajdak was strong for the Trojans, throwing five shutout innings, allowing just three hits and two walks, while striking out five in the winning effort.
Jake Fuhrmeister and Cole Rogers pitched one inning each to close the game out.
“Anytime we hand the ball to Adam Hajdak we feel like we have a chance to beat anybody in the state, and he showed why today,” Noga said. “He did a great job of attacking them in the zone early in counts with all three of his pitches.”
H-H’s runs came in the top of the sixth. Cole Reinheimer drove in one with an RBI single and one batter later came around to score to cut the lead to 5-2.
Catcher Seamus Hellings went 2-for-3 on the afternoon for the Hatters.
Wissahickon (3-0, 1-0 SOL) is back at it Friday with a nonleague home against Upper Merion.
H-H (0-1, 0-1 SOL) hosts Abingon on Tuesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 000 002 0 – 2 4 0
Wissahickon 401 000 x – 5 8 2
Upper Dublin 3, Quakertown 1
Runs and hits weren’t easy to come by Thursday afternoon, but it was Upper Dublin that did enough to eke out a win, as two runs in the bottom of the fourth was the difference in the 3-1 SOL Liberty victory for the Flying Cardinals.
“Apparently, we’re a cold weather team,” said UD coach Ed Wall, whose team won on back-to-back days in frigid conditions. “Going into this year, it’s probably going to be the team that makes the least mistakes.”
The pitching was phenomenal for both sides.
Austin Dahl went six for UD and allowed just one run (unearned) on one hit, while walking two and striking out 11 in an 86-pitch outing.
Jack Brannigan picked up the save with a shutout seventh inning.
“Thankfully, we had Austin Dahl on the mound today, because he did a heck of a job,” Wall said. “The one they hit they had ricocheted off his leg. He pitched a dynamite game. He was in command the whole way. Even when I took him out, he was begging to go back in, but Jack Brannigan I trust. He pounded the zone, got two strikeouts to close it out. That was the game.”
Quakertown’s Matt Marsten was a tough-luck losing pitch, allowing one earned run over four innings with six strikeouts, and Cooper Natisin pitched two shutout innings out of the bullpen.
Offensively, UD took advantage of its opportunities.
In the first, Nate Cairnes and Eric Berman led off with back-to-back singles, and Cairnes scored on an error to make it 1-0.
Quakertown tied it in the second on an error.
The deciding runs came in the fourth on another error, scoring Conner Dynan and Ben Wilkins, who both reached on singles earlier in the inning.
“It was a defensive game,” Wall said. “We did a little better job. We didn’t have a ton of opportunities, but we made plays behind Austin to help seal the deal there.
“Marsten did a great job. He’s a good pitcher, and he held us to a couple of hits, but we were able to get some guys on and make some things happen.
“It was a well-pitched game. The wind and cold played a little bit of a role, but it was for both teams. I’m just glad we got two wins in the first week of March. We’re on our way to next week.”
UD (2-0, 1-0 SOL) has a nonleague home game scheduled for Monday against CB West.
Quakertown (0-1, 0-1 SOL) hosts Parkland in a nonleague game on Monday.
Quakertown 010 000 0 – 1 1 2
Upper Dublin 100 200 x – 3 4 2
SOL Freedom Division
Cheltenham 13, New Hope-Solebury 7
An early deficit didn’t deter Cheltenham in this one, as the Panthers kept hitting and hitting throughout, finishing with an impressive 13 runs on 13 hits in a 13-7 slugfest win over New Hope-Solebury on the road.
“Overall, we needed this win, especially coming off a tough nonleague game to Norristown the day before,” said Panthers coach Kevin Hite. “We have a team saying this season, and a sign posted on the locker room door (that says) ‘#ExpectToWin’ and that’s all I can ask.”
Ten different Cheltenham players had hits in the game, and the top of the lineup were the table setters. Jack Haugen, Kaedon Carrera and Sam Batiancila had two hits each, along with six runs scored and a pair of RBIs.
Finn Kopp, Xavi Chanione and Emile Chanione had two RBIs each.
“Key hits from James ‘Jimbo’ Smith (with a) triple,” Hite said. “Clutch base running from freshman Emile ‘The Natural’ Chanoine and defense (from) older brother, junior Xavi ‘X’ Chanoine.”
Kopp picked up the win on the mound, going 5 2/3 innings pitched, allowing seven hits, three walks and four earned runs, while striking out nine. Joel Martin did not allow a run over 1 1/3 innings of relief.
“Just a strong performance pitching for sophomore Finn Kopp – nicknamed ‘The Chosen One’ – especially in this weather,” Hite said. “Joel Martin came in and closed the door.”
New Hope actually held leads of 3-0, 5-2 and 6-5 in the first three innings, but Cheltenham broke the game open with one in the fourth, three in the fifth and four in the sixth.
Cheltenham (2-1, 1-0 SOL) has another league game scheduled for Friday, at home against Lower Moreland.
New Hope (1-1, 0-1 SOL) doesn’t play again until March 30 against George School.
Cheltenham 023 134 0 – 13 13 4
New Hope 321 001 0 – 7 8 3
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