Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Thursday. Pennsbury/NP photos courtesy of John Gleeson, and Upper Moreland/Wissahickon photos courtesy of Keith Clemens Photography. Check back for galleries of both games: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f1055694815
SOL Patriot/Colonial crossover
Pennsbury 3, North Penn 0
Keller Bradley pitched 6.2 sparkling innings to propel Pennsbury to a 3-0 victory over North Penn in Thursday’s SOL crossover game. Bradley fanned 8 North Penn batters and allowed just 4 hits.
“Keller Bradley – two outings in a row, he had a complete game against Council Rock South and today went 6.2,” said Pennsbury coach Joe Pesci. “The last batter he faced had a really long at-bat, and he hit his limit. He
was great.”
In support of Bradley’s efforts, the Falcons posted three one-run innings to secure the win. Jordan Czerniak singled and scored on an error in the second inning to put Pennsbury on the board. Colin Kelliher doubled to lead off the third and scored on an Evan Hawkes sacrifice fly, and Dylan Hirsch, who singled, came home on a Ryan Webber double in the sixth to cap off the scoring.
Six batters each contributed one hit to the Pennsbury offense. Czerniak and Eric David each swiped one base.
“I always say you have to score 4 runs to win typically,” Pesci said. “Against a team like North Penn, I’ve always respected Kevin (Manero) and his program. I told the kids, ‘They’re going to make every play, they’re going to be really efficient, they’re going to execute everything.’ We lost to Trevor Lugara 2 years ago when he was a freshman, and he came in and saved the game last year. We kind of knew what he was about. We had our practice plan yesterday to target that.
“Our kids did a really great job. In 18 innings, he had 23 strikeouts and one walk, and today he had four strikeouts. He was really efficient with his pitch count, but our kids just battled. Even our strikeouts were long at-bats. We just had the right approach. We were just trying to put the ball in play hard.
“There was a couple of ground balls they made mistakes on probably because of the wet field, and we were able to take advantage. We manufactured a run early on a first-and-third double steal. We had a sac fly that was foul, and then later in the game Ryan Webber had a big double to bring in the third run. Even with two or three runs and even with the way Keller was pitching, you’re relieved when you win.”
Lugara went the distance for North Penn, striking out 4 while allowing 4 hits and 3 runs (3 earned). Henery Wetzel was responsible for 2 of the Knights’ 4 hits on the day, with Chase Jones and Jeremiah Criger connecting on the other 2 hits.
“Lugara is an incredible pitcher,” Pesci said. “In a high school game, if you give up 3 runs, you should still probably win, but Bradley was masterful today.”
The victory for the Falcons is a hopeful sign after an atypically inconsistent start.
“It’s been a really weird start to the year,” Pesci said. “We came out of Myrtle Beach with a lot of confidence, and then we got beat pretty bad by Neshaminy (14-4), then we beat up on Truman. It’s just been funky. We didn’t play well offensively against Council Rock South (a 3-0 loss), though Keller pitched great – he had 11 strikeouts, 2 walks. Then we play Bensalem, and we win 3-1, but we felt as though offensively we just didn’t produce. Monday, we got Council Rock North (a 2-1 loss) and (Connor) McCloskey has an incredible outing. We left guys on.
“North Penn was 4-1 coming in, so it’s a really big win for us. We’re 2-3 (in the league) and feeling like we should be 3-2 at the minimum. Now we’re rolling into the crossovers, which are never easy.
“With Neshaminy being undefeated, that’s a big hill to climb to try and win the league title. All we can do is try and win as many games as possible to give ourselves the points to make playoffs and hopefully have a chance there at the end. Our hitters have been a little bit off, but with the practice plan yesterday, they came out with the right mindset of just going and competing.”
Pennsbury (5-3, 3-3 SOL) will travel to Hopewell Valley on Saturday for a non-league contest at 10 a.m. North Penn (5-2, 3-2) is scheduled to host Holy Ghost Prep on Friday.
North Penn 0-0-0 0-0-0 0 0-4-2
Pennsbury 0-1-1 0-0-1 x 3-6-0
Neshaminy 4, Central Bucks South 3
Steven Martin pitched 5 strong innings and Evan Krippel picked up a 2-inning save to lead Neshaminy to a 4-3 come-from-behind win over Central Bucks South on Thursday.
Martin struck out 6 and allowed 5 hits and 3 runs (0 ER), while Krippel fanned 2 in 2 scoreless innings to lock down the win.
“The main reason we were able to get the win was because of the pitching duo of Martin and Krippel,” said Neshaminy coach Dan Toner. “We didn’t have our best defensive day and let some runs score that we have been cutting down on in previous games.
“I was extremely proud of the team for fighting to get the win. We didn’t have our “A” game today , but still figured out a way to get it done.”
South used a 3-run third inning to take a 3-1 lead over the Skins. Ryan Frey reached on a leadoff single and was brought home on a Colin Flynn line drive single. Braeden Black followed later in the inning with a 2-run single to put the Titans ahead.
Neshaminy responded with 1 run in the fourth and 2 more in the fifth. Riley Triano (running for Jake Plebiani, who drew a 1-out walk) came home on a Danny Nocito single to make it 3-2 in the fourth. The Skins pushed the tying and winning run across in a 1-hit fifth inning that saw the hosts score on a bases loaded hit batter followed by a walk.
Neshaminy – which also got hits from Ryan Fox and Adam Hunter – saw all 4 hits come from the 5- to 9-hole hitters.
“Everyone in the lineup has been contributing this season, which is extremely encouraging,” Toner said. “We have had games where the top of the lineup does well, other games where the whole lineup hits, and today the back end of the lineup was able to get it”
Black led South’s 6-hit effort with 2 hits and 2 RBI. Luke Hillegass was solid on the mound, scattering 4 hits and striking out 4 while allowing 2 runs (1 earned) in 4 innings.
Neshaminy (6-0, 5-0 SOL) will travel to Bensalem on Monday for a crossover game, and Central Bucks South (1-4) will host William Penn Charter in a non-league game Saturday at 11 a.m.
Central Bucks South 0-0-0 3-0-0 0 3-6-3
Neshaminy 0-1-0 1-2-0 x 4-4-2
SOL Liberty/Freedom crossover
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10, Cheltenham 0
Tossing a no-hitter is among the most celebrated and elusive accomplishments in all of sports.
Throwing two no-hitters is the stuff of dreams for a pitcher.
Back-to-back no-hitters? Well, that’s practically unheard of.
Just don’t tell that to Chase Fisher.
The Plymouth Whitemarsh senior tossed his second consecutive no-no on Thursday, striking out 11 Cheltenham batters as the Colonials rolled to a 10-0 victory over the Panthers.
“It is, of course, a tremendous feeling to see one of your players go out there and accomplish what Chase did,” said PW coach Chris Manero. “We said after his last game how rare and special these moments are … so I guess to do it twice is beyond rare and extremely special.
“Chase’s dad is a longtime member of our coaching staff, and I am almost as excited for the opportunity he has had to witness these games as I am for Chase himself.”
After walking the first batter he faced, Fisher fanned the next four to set the tone for the game.
It took the Colonials until the fourth inning to break open the game, plating four runs. Christian Strunk walked to lead off the inning, then Gabe Caucci drew a one-out walk. Strunk scored on Johnny Giordano’s single to right field, then Caucci came in after tagging up on Chase Olszyk’s fly out to center. With two men on base and two outs in the inning, Gavin Moore doubled to left, scoring Giordano and Colin Brady and giving the visitors a 4-0 lead.
“The game started in some very difficult elements,” Manero said. “The wind was brutal and was blowing straight in for the first 3 or 4 innings. In the bottom of the first we had a rain delay. So persevering through all of that was challenging.
“Our defense also played flawlessly in tough conditions and that can’t be overlooked in a no-hitter. It was a full team effort. When the wind was at its worst, we were hitting some balls hard. And credit to Cheltenham’s defense because they made some really good plays against us. Our hitters stayed focused and really zoned in as the game went on. That also likely made things more comfortable for Chase.”
Kevin Hegarty made it 5-0 in the fifth, scoring on a wild pitch. PW tacked on 4 more runs in the seventh.
PW picked up 8 hits from the first four batters in the lineup, with five Colonials finishing with 2 hits on the day (Caucci, Giordano, Olszyk, Brady, and Hegarty). Giordano, Olszyk and Moore each posted 2 RBI.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (5-2, 5-0 SOL) will host Souderton in a non-league game Friday, and Cheltenham (1-4, 1-3) will host Upper Moreland on Friday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-0-0-4-1-1-4 10-12-0
Cheltenham 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0-0-4
Upper Moreland 5, Abington 1
It may not have been perfect baseball weather on Thursday, but that didn’t stop Nick Simons from being perfect on the mound.
The sophomore hurler struck out 11 batters en route to a no-hitter as Upper Moreland downed Abington 5-1.
“He was amazing today,” Upper Moreland coach Jim Fasano said. “The kid threw a no-hitter with 11 strikeouts, which is incredible. What more is there to say than he deserved it? This wasn’t the best stuff I’ve seen from
him, but I thought his level of competition, his intensity on the mound was truly impressive. I’m just so happy for him. His fastball and slider were good today. He’s had games where he’s throwing his fastball, slider and curveball. I’m just so proud of him. He’s worked so hard over the last couple of years. I told him after the game, ‘Don’t let this be the best game of your season,’ and he understood.”
Simons isn’t the only promising sophomore on UM’s pitching staff.
“Luke Sword, who pitched for us Tuesday (a 3-1 win over New Hope-Solebury) is also a sophomore, so we have two sophomores at the top of our rotation who throw strikes with multiple pitches, and they pitch deep into games,” Fasano said. “You can win a lot of baseball games with two really good starting pitchers like that.”
Simons entered the seventh inning perilously close to the 100-pitch limit, but put down the Ghosts to earn the complete game victory.
“Pitchers cannot pitch to any batter when they reach 100 pitches,” Fasano said. “He started the last inning at 90 pitches, got a first-pitch out from the first hitter, then a 4-pitch walk, so he was 95. He was at 99 when the last guy stepped up and finished with 102 pitches, so he was facing his last batter.”
The Golden Bears also received timely offense, plating a run in the bottom of the first when Dylan Wood, who doubled, scored on an error. They added two in the third with Jimmy Murray delivering a clutch two-out double to drive in the second of the two. Upper Moreland added one more in the fourth, thanks to a two-out double by Max Abbosh.
“The really cool thing for us is that we’ve been working so much with our hitters on their approaches at the plate and their two-strike approach, specifically,” Fasano said. “We had two strikeouts today. It seemed like we had good at-bats up and down the lineup, especially good at-bats with runners in scoring position.
“We had a two-out hit from Jimmy Murray that was huge for us, a two-out hit from Max Abbosh that was huge for us, and that really lifts the team when you have moments like that.”
The Bears capped off the scoring in dramatic fashion in the fifth with Patrick Kilgus’ home run to center field.
“I’ve said in the past, he really has the ability to be as fine of a high school hitter as there is in the area or anywhere really,” Fasano said. “Good hitters will eventually hit as long as they stick to an approach at the plate, and they don’t try and do too much. The kid worked hard. They all work hard. They come to practice, they listen, they’re good kids.”
Jackson Townsend and Dylan Wood each had 2-hit games for the Bears. Wood added a pair of runs scored.
Abington plated a run in the fifth inning after Brian Murtha walked, advanced on a balk, and scored on an error.
“It was a good win for us,” Fasano said. “Abington was struggling coming in, but that’s a cross-division game, and those are always tough for us. We’re a smaller school, but we have a ton of heart, a great group of kids.
“There’s a long way to go, but it was a nice win today, and I’m just super-proud of them. I’m happy for the community too because so many people come to the games, and it’s really nice to see.”
Upper Moreland (4-3, 4-1 SOL) will travel to Cheltenham on Friday, and Abington (0-5) will host Cheltenham on Tuesday.
Abington 0-0-0 0-1-0 0 1-0-3
Upper Moreland 1-0-2 1-1-0 0 5-8-2
William Tennent 2, Wissahickon 1
Jackson Archibald was not going to be denied.
After pitching 6 stellar innings, Archibald entered the seventh inning just 20 pitches away from hitting the pitch count limit.
No problem. Archibald only needed 19 to secure the complete game victory for William Tennent, which took a thrilling 2-1 victory over Wissahickon in Thursday’s crossover game.
“The sixth inning he came in the dugout, he only had 20 pitches left,” said Tennent coach Lucas Denzi. “The pitch count is always a thing. I said, ‘Dude, the game’s yours. You’ve got 20 pitches left however you’re going to do it,’ and he did it in 19.
“That tells you everything about him in terms of being a gamer. He was upset, he let an infield fly drop right on the mound, but he’s someone who can put it behind him. He takes the ball and goes and does his job.”
Archibald finished with 7 strikeouts while allowing 6 hits and 1 run (1 earned).
“Jackson has been unbelievable,” Denzi said. “Coming into the season, we knew he was going to be one of our top pitchers, and he has not disappointed. We’ve given him the ball a couple of times. He threw against Springfield the first game of the season and went 6.2 (in a 1-0 loss) and tonight had the complete game.
“He kept the hitters off-balance. He’s a kid that has three pitches in his arsenal and can throw them at any time and any count. Wissahickon is a good team. They have a good program. Andy (Noga) does a really good job with them. To work the hitters for 7 strikeouts, he was really effective moving the ball in/out up/down.
“He really put the team on his back, and we are so pleased with what he’s been doing and couldn’t be happier for him. As a junior especially, we’re really excited for where he’s headed because I think there’s a promising future for him.”
Denzi also credited Archibald’s battery-mate, who went 1-for-3 at the plate in addition to calling Archibald’s dazzling display on the mound.
“Give credit as well to Connor Servis, our catcher,” Denzi said. “We turned the reins over to him. He calls the whole game, and he did a tremendous job. We’re really proud of both of them.”
Tennent scored both of their runs in the fourth inning, with Aidan Wilkowski opening the scoring on an RBI single that plated Cody Devor, who singled to lead off the inning. Dom Ferrera – courtesy runner for Servis, who singled – later scored as part of a double-play.
“That’s kind of been our MO all year,” Denzi said. “We’ve been struggling offensively. We have a couple of guys that are banged up hurt, which never is easy, but I couldn’t be prouder of the group that we have. This is by far the hardest working group. Every day at practice they’re taking extra swings, they’re doing whatever they can to get better, and we’re really coming together as a group, and one through nine, they’re doing what’s asked of them and don’t ask any questions.”
Wissahickon responded with 1 run in the bottom of the inning. Jarret Federer scored on a Brayden Ryan grounder to shortstop with 2 outs. Six different batters each had 1 hit for the Trojans. Gavin Malloy took the loss on the mound for the Trojans despite a strong effort. Malloy struck out 3, allowing 5 hits and 2 runs (2 ER) in 6 innings.
Nate Scotese went 2-for-3 for Tennent, which picked up its first crossover win in at least 4 years.
“We’ve always used the crossovers as a measuring stick, but we pulled one out tonight, which was unbelievable,” Denzi said.
William Tennent (3-3, 2-2 SOL) will host Archbishop Ryan in a non-league game Friday, and Wissahickon (5-3, 2-3 SOL) will be on the road at Quakertown on Monday.
William Tennent 0-0-0 2-0-0 0 2-5-1
Wissahickon 0-0-0 1-0-0 0 1-6-1
Hatboro-Horsham 10, New Hope-Solebury 8
A spectacular catch dashed Hatboro-Horsham’s attempted rally in the sixth inning.
So the Hatters made it count in the seventh.
After being robbed of a grand slam the previous inning, the Hatters exploded for 4 runs in the top of the seventh to pull out a 10-8 come-from-behind victory over New Hope-Solebury in Thursday’s game.
“In the top of the sixth, we loaded up the bases,” said H-H coach Bill DeBoer. “Chase Canney hit a ball that the leftfielder robbed him of a home run – it would have been a grand slam. The kid made a tremendous play on it, he was just gliding toward the fence, reached up and caught it over the top of the fence, smashed his face into the fence. He was laying on the ground and he held the ball up.
“I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? That’s when the wind decided to die?’ Earlier in the game, that would have been 20 feet out. He wouldn’t have had a chance, but the wind died down. But they came back, and they battled.”
Trailing 8-6, Jaxson Bumpus knotted the score at 8-8 with a 2-run double with the bases loaded. Jamie O’Neill then followed Bumpus with a double of his own that plated Brendan Craven and Bumpus to give the Hatters the 10-8 lead.
“I did the Griddy (dance) through the dugout, and they got a kick out of that and had a big roar after the game,” DeBoer said. “I told them, ‘You guys showed some grit finally this season. You came back, you didn’t quit. You could have easily folded up the tent when the rain started coming and you were down two runs, but you hung in there, you had good at-bats, and you battled. That’s what I’ve been trying to get you to do all year.’ They came back.”
The Hatters were nearly doomed by a disastrous third inning that saw the Lions score 6 runs to take a 7-2 lead. Blake McCagg grounded into a fielder’s choice that plated Brooks Saft on an error. Catcher’s interference with the bases loaded brought in another run, then David Locke crushed a 3-run double to make it 6-2.
“We had one of those innings – it was wet, they’re putting the ball in play, it’s in the grass, and you pick it up to throw it and it’s like trying to throw a rock with a bunch of algae on it,” DeBoer said. “It was not a conducive inning to what we were trying to accomplish. But we were able to come back on them.”
Among a 12-hit performance for the Hatters was a trio of underclassmen who shone the brightest.
“We were pretty much carried by our sophomores today,” DeBoer said.
Cole Incudine went 4-for-4, including a double, one stolen base, 3 runs scored and had 1 RBI. Kenny Lutz went 2-for-4 with a walk, a steal, and scored a run, and Canney had a big double with 1 RBI and 1 run scored as well as 1 stolen base. The Hatters also received 2 hits and 2 RBI from O’Neill.
Conner Cataldi picked up the win on the mound for the Hatters, striking out 6 and allowing 2 hits and 1 run (1 ER) in 4 innings in relief of Cole Reinheimer (3 K, 8 H, 7 R, 6 ER).
“Cole started for us, and he was the recipient of that 6-run inning when nobody could make a play behind him,” DeBoer said. “He threw 59 pitches through 3 innings, and I said, ‘That’s enough dude.’ New Hope is a scrappy team. They don’t have a lot of kids, so he has freshmen on there, but he’s doing a great job of just teaching them how to put the ball in play, and you never know what happens. They were on top of us, they were chattering in the dugout, and Cole was getting a little rattled on the mound. I said, ‘That’s enough.’
“I brought in another sophomore – Conner Cataldi, and he went the rest of the way for us. I call him the Big Cat – he’s about 6-4, and he comes from the left side. I kind of noticed they were getting different swings coming off the lefty, so I was like, I just hope he can throw strikes. I had another guy warming up at the end, but he did well – came out and got a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh. They’re a scrappy team, and we had to show some grit to beat them, that’s for sure. I was really proud of my guys.”
Kieran Patel was 3-for-4 at the plate for NH-S with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. Locke picked up 3 RBI, and Nathan Klossner had 2 RBI on 1-of-3 batting. Saft also stole a pair of bases
Hatboro-Horsham (2-4 SOL) will host Lower Moreland Tuesday, and New Hope-Solebury (2-3, 0-3) will travel to Faith Christian Academy for a non-league game Friday.
Hatboro-Horsham 0-2-0 2-2-0 4 10-12-2
New Hope-Solebury 1-0-6 0-1-0 0 8-10-3
Quakertown 11, Lower Moreland 0
Seven players joined in on the hit parade as Quakertown pounded out 9 hits and swiped 8 bases en route to an 11-0 rout of Lower Moreland on Thursday.
Dan Qualteria got things started for the Panthers, taking first on a leadoff bunt, stealing a pair of bases, then coming home on a Lower Moreland error to kick off the Panthers’ 4-run first inning. Qualteria would make it 5-0 in the second, scoring on Cole Reich’s line drive single. Qualteria finished with 3 runs on the day, while Reich had 2 RBI. Caleb Everitt added 1 hit, 1 RBI, 2 runs scored, and 2 stolen bases.
“We got off to a great start, put the ball in play, and ran the bases well,” said Quakertown coach Jon Pallone. “Our pitchers stayed aggressive in the zone. Danny Qualteria and Cole Reich both had multi-hit days at the plate.”
Quakertown added 6 more runs in the third against a Lower Moreland squad that committed 6 errors on the afternoon and managed just 2 hits.
Macen Probithon (1 K) and Carl Weiss (W, 2 K) each pitched 2 innings with Andrew Klitsch (2 K) closing out the game.
“We feel we have a really deep staff this year and we have 7 games in 11 days,” Pallone said of a stretch that started Tuesday.
Quakertown (4-2, 3-1 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh Saturday for an 11 a.m. contest, and Lower Moreland (4-3, 2-3) will be on the road at New Hope-Solebury on Monday.
Lower Moreland 0-0-0 0-0-x x 0-2-6
Quakertown 4-1-6 0-0-x x 11-9-0
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