Check out the SOL baseball results from Tuesday and Wednesday. To view photos of the Neshaminy/Pennridge game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Scott Huff
Wissahickon won its first game of the season as the Trojans (1-2, 1-1) rallied back three different times during the game to defeat visiting Plymouth Whitemarsh (1-2, 1-1) – 8-5 – in a Suburban One League American Conference game. Wissahickon trailed by scores of 1-0, 3-1, and 5-3 before scoring four times in the fifth inning to secure the victory.
“Our offensive mindset this year is to answer when we are behind and to extend leads when we get them,” said Wissahickon head coach Shannon Gunby. “In order for us to win this game, we were going to have to be resilient and continue to fight back. We were able to do that today, and I was extremely happy that we were able to come back and get a win for Randy Frankenfield.”
Frankenfield – a junior left-hander - suffered through four tough one-run losses last season.
“Randy was one tough luck loser last year - we never seemed to hit in the games that he pitched,” said Gunby. “It was a great win for our team, but it was also a great win for Randy.”
Frankenfield tossed a complete game to earn the victory for the Trojans.
Wissahickon broke the game open on a blistering three-run double off the bat of Joe Gorman in the fifth inning.
“Joe fell behind the count 0-2, but he got a pitch to hit, and it turned into a huge hit for us,” said Gunby as the Trojans finished the game with a season-high 11 hits. “And we were able to build on that lead with a couple more runs, and Randy threw two shutout innings to close the game.”
Gorman, Greg McDonough, and Matt Oruch all doubled for the Trojans, while Peter Bogdon roped a triple for the winners.
“We play Norristown on Friday, and even though they have lost both conference games, it is going to be a battle,” said Gunby. “Every single game in this American Conference is going to be a tough game to win. This is a very competitive conference from top to bottom.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials 102 020 0 - 5 9 1
Wissahickon Trojans 012 041 x - 8 11 2
Cheltenham (1-1) won its first SOL American Conference game of the season as the Panthers clawed winless Norristown (0-3, 0-2) – 8-0.
Panther sophomore lefty Jack O’Grady arrived at the game and was given the ball in his first varsity start when senior Alex Caringi was unable to pitch due to soreness in his shoulder. O’Grady took the ball – threw six innings of shutout baseball – allowed just two hits - and struck out three hitters in his varsity debut.
“Jack was somewhat of a surprise in that we thought at this point of the year he would be a non-league relief guy,” said Cheltenham head coach Frank Decembrino. “But we decided to give him the ball and see what he could do at the varsity level. He was very effective with both his change-up and his curveball and he had good control.”
The Panthers collected nine hits and scored in four of the six innings the Panthers batted in. No huge innings, but a consistent flow of base runners throughout the game.
“Norristown played a good game defensively and kept us from scoring more runs,” said Decembrino. “We might have won 8-0, but I was impressed with the way the Norristown played. Vince Elsier is an excellent coach, and he is going to have them win their share of games in this league.”
Junior catcher Brett Bernstein, junior third baseman Matt Myers, and senior center fielder Harry Rosenberg sparked the Cheltenham offense. Bernstein had two hits and three RBI; Myers had a pair of hits and two RBI; and Rosenberg also had two hits and a couple of RBI.
“So far this year we have been very aggressive at the plate,” said Decembrino. “Today was the best day we had stat-wise at the plate. It was a nice win.”
Norristown Eagles 000 000 0 - 0 2 1
Cheltenham Panthers 021 302 x - 8 9 2
Upper Moreland (2-0) moved to the head of the SOL American Conference standings as the Golden Bears captured a 7-2 victory over Upper Merion (0-1).
Sophomore right-hander Charlie Hooker – the starting quarterback for the Bears last fall – fired a one-hitter for the winners. Hooker hurled a complete game for Upper Moreland – collected four strikeouts – and permitted just a single earned run.
“Charlie is a confident pitcher, and I think being a quarterback on the football team helped to build that confidence,” said Upper Moreland head coach Ernie Rehr. “He can really throw the baseball, and as time goes on, he is going to learn how to be an excellent pitcher. He threw well.”
The Golden Bears trailed the Vikings 2-1 going into the last of the fourth inning, but Upper Moreland broke the game open with a four-run fourth frame. The big hit in the inning was a two-run single off the bat of Tyler Forest.
“Tyler’s hit was key,” said Rehr. “We had a pretty good offensive showing, but we still needed that big hit to take the lead.”
Upper Moreland will play a non-league game with Penn Charter Thursday.
“We only get to play a couple of non-league games, and Penn Charter is going to be a huge challenge,” said Rehr. “Win or lose, it is going to be a great experience for the players.”
Upper Merion Vikings 020 000 0 - 2 1 1
Upper Moreland Bears 100 400 x - 7 8 2
Pennridge (3-0) remained unbeaten for the season as the Rams scored six times in the seventh inning to defeat host Neshaminy (0-2) – 9-4.
Jake Gordon and Mike Kacergis each had doubles and a pair of runs batted in, while Dan Shane collected three singles for the Rams.
Ben Schweitzer earned the win for Pennridge in relief.
Pennridge Rams 100 011 6 - 9 11 1
Neshaminy Redskins 010 011 1 - 4 4 3
In the Rear View Mirror
North Penn (1-0) presented first year head coach Kevin Manero with a victory in his varsity coaching debut as the Knights held off host Parkland – 8-5 – in a non-league played on Tuesday.
North Penn – which made the most of its four hits in the game – scored six runs in the second inning to secure the win.
Junior right-hander Bryce Mengel earned the victory for the Knights. Mengel threw four innings – allowed just two runs – and registered seven strikeouts.
North Penn Knights 060 020 0 - 8 4 1
Parkland Trojans 200 000 3 - 5 7 4
Central Bucks South (3-0) remained unbeaten in non-league play as the Titans routed host Lansdale Catholic – 14-1 – in a non-league contest played on Tuesday.
Junior Bobby Wittemann notched the win for CB South. Brian Happ with two hits and two RBI and Ben Moller with two hits and three runs scored fueled the offense for the Titans.
Central Bucks South Titans 231 003 5 - 14 10 1
Lansdale Catholic Crusaders 000 010 0 - 1 4 11
Hatboro-Horsham (1-1) collected a non-league win as the Hatters defeated visiting Pennsbury (0-1) – 10-0 – in a non-league game played on Tuesday.
Zach Prendergast threw a complete game for the Hatters to register the victory. Prendergast yielded just three hits and collected six strikeouts.
Senior second baseman Chris Hens sparked the Hatboro-Horsham offense with a homerun. The Hatters collected nine hits over the course of the game.
Pennsbury Falcons 000 00 - 0 3 3
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters 311 5x - 10 9 0
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