Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Wednesday. CB East/Souderton photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f899671345
SOL Colonial Division
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 4, SOUDERTON 3
The Patriots won for the fourth time in as many league games, and while this win might not have been a thing of beauty, the Patriots were more than happy to take it.
“This was your classic Suburban One fist fight,” East coach Kyle Dennis said. “Throwing punches back and forth, a classic Suburban One game – well-pitched on both sides.
“The bats for both teams were pretty quiet all day just because of the pitching, but it was nice to get an ugly win. It’s easy to win pretty and hit, and I think today kind of proved we can play solid defense, we can pitch
well, and we can win a game kind of ugly by doing the little things right.”
Souderton struck first when Austin Kreyenhagen led off the second inning with a solo home run. The Patriots took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the fourth.
“This was an interesting one,” Dennis said. “Chase Harlan leads off with a single, and there’s two outs and Chase is still on first base.
“Jack Mislin hits a relatively routine popup behind third base that lands in fair territory and isn’t caught. Chase Harlan’s running hard because there’s two outs, and he scores from first base on a popup to very, very shallow left field.
“Jack ended up on third base on the popup, and that’s a testament to our guys doing things the right way. If they’re not running hard, we don’t score a run, we don’t have a guy on third. They’re running hard on a routine popup, so I give them a lot of credit for playing the game the right way in that sense.”
Mislin scored on a passed ball, and the Patriots led 2-1.
“They’re two of our seniors – they’re captains, they’re four-year guys,” Dennis said of Harlan and Mislin. “They know how to play the game the right way, and I’m proud of them for doing it because if they weren’t – we’re on the opposite side of this game.”
Souderton answered with two runs in the top of the fifth to go back on top 3-2. Joey Nase drew a leadoff walk, and two outs later, Evan Divens – who had two of the Indians’ four hits – grounded an RBI single to right and stole second. Jeremy Fallon lined an RBI single to right field to give the Indians a one-run lead.
Anthony Niro led off the bottom of the fifth with a double, and pinch hitter Zach Oram followed and drew a walk. Mark Sharkey lined a double to left field that plated Niro, and Oram scored a run that turned out to be the game-winner when Reece Moody hit a sacrifice fly to right field.
“Then it was just three outs, three outs,” Dennis said. “In the last inning, we bring in a sophomore pitcher, Jason Abert, to get the save. He gets the first two guys out and then he hits a guy.
“Coach (Mike) Childs from Souderton put a left-handed hitter in, and we have a short right field, but Abert was able to work out of it and get a strikeout to end the game.”
Damian Frayne earned the win on the mound, allowing four hits and three runs while striking out five and walking one in five innings. Mike Scafidi threw a scoreless sixth, and Abert closed it out for the save in the seventh.
Central Bucks East (5-2, 4-0 SOL) will host Council Rock South on Monday, and Souderton (2-4, 1-4) will be on the road at Plymouth Whitemarsh Friday for a non-league game.
Souderton 010 020 0 3-4-1
Central Bucks East 000 220 x 4-4-1
SOL Patriot/Colonial crossover
HARRY S TRUMAN 9, PENNRIDGE 4
The Tigers bounced back from a disappointing outing against Neshaminy 24 hours earlier to defeat a Pennridge squad that brought a 3-1 record into Wednesday’s crossover game.
“This was a really good team win, especially after yesterday’s tough loss to Neshaminy,” Truman coach Brian Sinkiewicz said. “Getting beat by a really good Neshaminy team 10-0 can be demoralizing, and one nice thing was we got to get right back on the field today.
“Our kids really took the challenge. It was awesome to see. I told them I was so proud of all of them, and they should be proud of themselves because it’s not easy to win in our league. Every single win is so precious.”
The Tigers plated an unearned run in the bottom of the first when Aqual Chapman – who hit a leadoff single and stole second – scored on Nathan Gilson’s single to right field.
Pennridge knotted the score 1-1 in the second when Connor Murray drew a two-out walk and scored on Zach Swanson’s double to right field.
A six-run fourth inning gave the Tigers a 7-1 lead and momentum they would not lose. Highlights of the inning included singles by Mikey Metz, Ryan Kerns (RBI), Kevin Prickard (RBI), Gavin Kenworthy (RBI) and Charlie Carney. Marshall Kennedy had a sacrifice fly, and they also benefitted from three walks and a Pennridge miscue.
“We have a really young team this year – we lost a lot of seniors last year,” Sinkiewicz said. “It was a tough loss yesterday, and our kids really responded today. It was a very different feeling 24 hours later. It was great to see them be successful today and really come together as a team.”
Kerns, a junior, notched the win on the mound, allowing six hits and four runs (three earned) in 5.1 innings while striking out five and walking two.
“He had an opportunity a couple of times last year with some injuries to get on the mound, and he really proved himself,” Sinkiewicz said. “He’s one of our guys this year. He went out when we needed him to get five-plus innings, and he got us five-and-a-third today.
“He kept the ball down in the zone and kept Pennridge off balance most of the day. He really kept us in the game.”
Sophomore Gavin Kenworthy was just cleared to play after breaking his nose just before the Tigers left for their spring training trip to Florida. He saw his first game action Tuesday at Neshaminy and gave the Tigers a big lift in relief Wednesday.
“He came in and threw an inning and two-thirds for us today – no hits, no runs, three strikeouts,” Sinkiewicz said. “He played shortstop for us and got his first varsity hit today, his first varsity RBI.
“It was a really great, great day. It gives me chills just talking about it. It’s just so cool. It’s part of the reasons I love coaching, just watching kids have fun and playing the game.”
Eight players contributed one hit each – all eight were singles as the Tigers picked up their first win of the young season.
“We actually hadn’t played a baseball game in two weeks – we played against Pennsbury on the 28th (of March),” Sinkiewicz said. “It was two weeks we hadn’t even been on a field. It was a lot of in the gym practices, at Nation9 getting work and just trying to get back on the field, but the weather really handcuffed us.”
For the Rams, Swanson led the way offensively going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
“We did not do a good job of executing defensively, and credit to Truman for capitalizing on our mistakes,” Pennridge coach Danny Long said. “Six errors and five walks is not a very good recipe for winning a baseball game. Tomorrow presents a good opportunity to get a quality practice in before our next game on Friday. We are eager for a chance to bounce back.”
Harry S Truman (1-3 SOL) will return to action Saturday when the Tigers will host Upper Moreland in a non-league game at 11 a.m. Pennridge (3-2, 2-2) will travel to Dock Mennonite Academy Friday for a non-league game.
Pennridge 010 021 0 4-6-6
Harry S Truman 106 020 x 9-8-2
SOL Liberty/Freedom crossover
UPPER DUBLIN 9, SPRINGFIELD TWP 3
The Cardinals and Spartans were deadlocked at 2-2 after one inning. The rest of the game belonged to the Cardinals, who outscored their visitors 7-1 over the final six innings in Wednesday’s crossover game.
“Today we got little better,” UD coach Ed Wall said. “I was really encouraged to see production throughout the lineup, almost everyone had a piece to contribute.”
In the top of the first, a one-out single by Matt Caruso and a walk to Jake Gibson set the stage for a Brett Smith RBI double. Gibson scored on a groundout, and the Spartans led 2-0 but not for long.
Eric Berman led off the bottom of the inning with a double, and one out later, Oliver Gill drew a walk. Bobby Keck’s single plated a run, and Austin Dahl’s sacrifice fly evened the score 2-2.
The Cardinals took a lead they would not lose in the bottom of the third, plating a pair of runs while collecting just one hit, and they added a run in the fourth to go on top 5-2
A three-run fifth all but put the game out of reach and included singles by Evan Sanders, Ben Wilkins, Nate Cairnes (RBI) and Gill (RBI).
Cairnes led the Cards with a pair of hits.
“Nate Cairnes had one of his best offensive days this season with his two base hits, RBI, run, walk and stolen base,” Wall said.
Jack Brannigan earned the win on the mound, allowing six hits and two runs in four innings. Wes Gill closed out the game.
“Jack Brannigan and Wes Gill worked really hard finding their way out of a jams and situations throughout the game, and in the end only gave up three runs combined,” Wall said. “I’m happy with the toughness they showed and continued to find a way.
“Springfield put the ball in play all game, and our defense came up big with two big double plays and a putout tag play at the plate to cut down a run early. Great defense seems to spark the offense. Can’t wait for next week.”
The Spartans were led at the plate by Caruso (2-for-4, R) and Smith (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs).
Upper Dublin (5-2, 4-1 SOL) will return to action next Thursday when the Flying Cardinals will host Upper Moreland in a crossover game. Springfield Twp (3-2 SOL) will host Quakertown on Tuesday in a crossover contest.
Springfield Twp 200 000 1 3-11-3
Upper Dublin 202 131 x 9-9-0
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