North Penn & Hatboro-Horsham picked up conference wins in SOL baseball Wednesday. Check out the recaps.
SOL Continental Conference
NORTH PENN 17, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 6
Joe Picozzi had himself a first inning to remember.
In his first at-bat, the senior outfielder smacked a three-run home run. Later that same inning, the Knights’ cleanup batter hit a grand slam. If you’re counting, that’s seven RBIs in one inning – a season’s worth for some players.
Ignited by Picozzi’s offensive onslaught, the Knights led 11-0 before the Patriots came to bat. They had only five hits in the first inning but benefitted from seven walks.
Although it looked as though the Knights were in for a cakewalk, the Patriots had other ideas, scoring a single run in the first on a two-out triple by Colin Weber. They added five more runs in the second to make it an 11-6 game.
Mason Blankenburg, who replaced Danny Kirwin in the second, brought order to the game for the Knights, throwing 3.1 shutout innings. He allowed just one hit in that span while striking out five. He did not walk a batter.
“Mason was two pitches under the limit to where he needed to have a day off – he had just thrown yesterday, but we managed to keep him under that 25 pitches,” coach Kevin Manero said. “He did not have a good outing yesterday.
“The great thing about baseball is you get to play the next day, and he was just outstanding today. He came in and threw strikes and really took control of the game when it really could have gone either way. It could have gone into one of those back and forth games, but he went out there and just threw a ton of strikes and settled things down.”
If the Knights needed any insurance, they got it in a four-run fourth. The Patriots elected to intentionally walk Picozzi to load the bases. Billy Collins made it hurt when he delivered a grand slam that put the Knights on top 16-6.
Picozzi (2-for-2, 2 HR, 7 RBIs, 3 runs) led the Knights. Atlee Hasson (2-for-3, RBI, run) was the only other Knight with more than one hit. Jake Drelick was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and Robbie Weiss was 1-for-2 with a pair of RBIs and two runs scored. Griffen Juckniewitz also contributed an RBI.
“We did a good job hitting the ball today and being aggressive,” Manero said. “It was just one of those days where I think the hitting was a little contagious.
“We haven’t had everybody hot in the lineup at the same time. Today a couple of guys really stepped up and did a nice job. Sometimes it’s important for us to just have a win where there’s not a lot of back and forth, and I thought we did a good job of that today.”
North Penn (6-1, 3-0 SOL) will travel to Parkland for a non-league game on Saturday, and Central Bucks East (4-3, 1-2) will be on the road at Central Bucks West Thursday.
North Penn 1101 41 17-9-2
Central Bucks East 150 00 6-4-4
SOL American Conference
HATBORO-HORSHAM 6, UPPER MORELAND 2 (9 innings)
Pitching was the story for both teams in a game of limited offensive opportunities, and it was the sophomore duo of Eric Thron and Benny Wilson propelling the Hatters to the win. They allowed just four hits between them and two runs (one earned), combining for 11 strikeouts and two walks.
“We came into the season and everybody knew about Alex Crim – he was our senior ace, but we believe in a lot of the guys we have behind him,” coach Pete Moore said. “We’ve got three sophomores that took the ball the last two days and a freshman that threw yesterday as well.
“In 16 innings the last two days, we’ve given up two earned runs – four runs overall. Our pitching is outstanding.”
Thron threw the first five innings, allowing just one hit and one run (unearned) while striking out four and walking two. In four innings in relief, Wilson gave up three hits and one run while striking out seven and walking none.
“(Thron) was excellent,” Moore said. “We brought another sophomore (Wilson) in the bottom of the sixth inning with first and second nobody out. He got out of the jam without giving up a run.
“Those two guys were just tremendous for us. To be able to do it at their age, the future is very bright for them and for our program.”
Upper Moreland scored first in the second inning. Thron retired the first two hitters with a strikeout and a walk before designated hitter Tyler Arnold reached on an error. After a single by Connor O’Donnell, Thomas Longstreth knocked in Arnold with a single to give UM a 1-0 lead. The single by Longstreth was the only hit that Thron would allow in his five-plus innings of work.
The Hatters got on the board in the top of the sixth inning. Sophomore Anthony Bruno led off the inning with a hard ground ball single into left field. Pinch runner Ryley Robinson advanced to second when Wilson walked. Robinson scored the tying run on an error when Josh Heebner hit into a fielder’s choice and the attempted throw to first for a double play was thrown away.
The Golden Bears threatened in the bottom of the sixth inning when Dawson Ruggles reached on an error and Kevin Davis was hit by a pitch to set up first and second with nobody out. Wilson replaced Thron on the mound, and the first batter was retired when he stepped on the plate while attempting a bunt. Wilson followed that with two strikeouts to keep the score tied at 1-1.
The Hatters broke the game open in the top of the ninth inning. Junior Josh Heebner led off the inning by getting hit by a pitch. Sophomore Jake Bianchini then singled to left field.
“Jake had some very good at-bats for us,” Moore said. “He was our starting shortstop as a freshman last year, and he’s back as a sophomore and expected to take on more of a primary role offensively for us. He swung the bat well today. He was 1-for-4 in the box score, but he had some good productive at-bats.”
With a pair on board, Connor O’Donnell relieved Bates. Senior Jake Mayson laid down a sacrifice bunt that ended up being misplayed and scored Heebner while Bianchini advanced to third base. Bianchini scored on a double steal. After a walk to senior Shane Carpenter , senior Matt Johnson laid down a bunt that was misplayed and loaded the bases for the Hatters. Senior Kevin Waeltz worked a walk to score Mayson and give the Hatters a 4-1 lead. Drew Margerum then knocked in Carpenter with a fielder’s choice error. Bruno plated freshmen courtesy runner Jimmy Tooley with a groundout to second base to give the Hatters a 6-1 lead.
The Golden Bears showed some fight in the bottom of the ninth inning when O’Donnell scored on a triple by Longstreth. However, Wilson closed out the frame to preserve the Hatters 6-2 win.
UM’s Colin Bates was tremendous on the mound all day, allowing just four hits and three walks while striking out five.
“Colin Bates was very impressive just in terms of the way he competed,” Moore said. “He was around the strike zone all day. He kept his pitch count down by attacking us. He only threw 97 pitches and he pitched into the ninth inning.
“With the pitch count rules what they are, you don’t see that very often – a guy being able to go into the ninth inning, but he was tremendous all day for them.”
The Hatters (2-3 Overall, 2-1 SOL American) will host former HH coach Andy Noga and the Wissahickon Trojans on Thursday afternoon at 3:45 PM. This will be the Hatters fourth league game in four days. Upper Moreland (0-2 SOL) will host Springfield Township on Thursday.
Hatboro-Horsham 000 001 005 6-4-4
Upper Moreland 010 000 001 2-4-5
Non-league
MALVERN PREP 6, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 5
The visiting Titans found themselves trailing 4-0 after two innings. They got two of those runs back in the third and – sparked by RBI singles from Zach Steinberg and John McSweeney – scored three more runs in the fifth to go on top 5-4.
Malvern Prep knotted the score with a run in the sixth and then won it with a run in the bottom of the seventh.
Steinberg’s three RBIs led the Titans, who received one hit from seven different players.
Gavin Anderson absorbed the loss, allowing two hits and four runs (two earned) in 5.1 innings in relief.
Central Bucks South (1-3, 1-0 SOL) will host William Tennent on Thursday.
Central Bucks South 002 030 0 5-7-2
Malvern Prep 220 001 1 6-3-3
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