By Scott Huff
Souderton used to be in the conversation as one of the best teams in the Suburban One League Continental Conference. The Big Red hasn’t been in that conversation lately.“We didn’t have a good year last year, and we didn’t begin the year well this year with five straight losses,” said Souderton head coach Mike Childs after the Big Red (2-2) ‘mercy-ruled’ first place Pennridge (3-1), 10-0. “But we talked about what it was going to take to gain respect from the rest of the teams in the league.
“We had to believe that we were a good team, and we had to go out on the field and do it,” added Childs. “We played a very clean game against a very good team. We want to be confident in the way that we play – not cocky – but confident.”
Souderton did not feature any one player that did major damage in the game as the Big Red had nine of its ten players score runs. Souderton broke the game open with a five-run fifth inning and finished the game with 11 hits – nine singles.
“It was a real team effort,” said Childs. “And if we want to continue to win games, we are going to have to do it as a team.
“Jake (Ebersole) did a great job of pitching today,” added Childs as Ebersole threw a complete game shutout and limited the hot Ram bats to just two hits. “Jake isn’t what I would call a power pitcher, but he is a smart pitcher. And he gets the job done.”
“I felt like I had good location today,” said Ebersole. “I tried to mix in my pitches, and I was able to throw strikes.
“We wanted to keep the momentum we got off the (9-5) Hatboro-Horsham win,” added Ebersole. “We wanted to continue to play hard and earn some respect.”
Souderton may not have been in the conversation lately – but the Big Red is the talk of the conference after Friday’s huge win.
Souderton Indians 032 05 - 10 11 0
Pennridge Rams 000 00 - 0 2 2
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Central Bucks East won its first conference game of the season as the Patriots shut out district rival Central Bucks South – 4-0.
Kris Davis hurled a wonderfully pitched game for East in tossing the two-hit whitewash. Davis threw just 85 pitches – 65 percent for strikes – and had a pair of strikeouts.
“Kris is a terrific competitor who challenges hitters by throwing strikes,” said Central Bucks East head coach Kyle Dennis. “He makes the other team put the ball in play, and we were able to make the routine plays behind him.”
The Patriots took a 3-0 first inning lead and never looked back. Ben Hauser delivered the key blow in that first frame with a two-run single, while Ryan Gilbert and Tyler Zelaney also collected RBI in the game.
“This was really the first game all season that we had hit the ball square,” said Dennis. “Historically, we have been an excellent hitting team. Hopefully, we are back on the right track.
“We have three big (conference) games next week,” added Dennis as the Pats play Quakertown (Monday), Central Bucks West (Tuesday), and Souderton (Wednesday). “If we can win some games next week, we should be back in the race.”
Central Bucks South Titans 000 000 0 - 0 2 2
Central Bucks East Patriots 300 100 x - 4 9 2
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North Penn (4-1) moved into first place in the SOL Continental Conference with a 3-1 victory over Quakertown (1-3).
The pitching tandem of Reed Shuttle and Bobby Reddick was effective for the Knights and held the Panthers to just a pair of singles. Shuttle earned the win with a six-inning stint that featured zero walks and five strikeouts. Reddick earned the save with a scoreless seventh inning.
Quakertown Panthers 001 000 0 - 1 2 1
North Penn Knights 002 100 0 - 3 4 2
On Thursday, North Penn defeated Central Bucks East – 8-3.
Austin Tarpey earned the win for the Knights. Craig Lepre drove home three runs for the winners, while Ryan King has a pair of RBI for North Penn.
Central Bucks East Patriots 101 000 1 - 3 5 4
North Penn Knights 310 013 x - 8 8 2
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On Thursday, Central Bucks West (3-1) pounded out 11 hits and defeated host Hatboro-Horsham (2-4) – 8-4.
Central Bucks West Bucks 041 300 0 - 8 11 0
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters 102 010 0 - 4 6 0
Suburban One League National Conference
Council Rock North (2-1) won a classic pitching duel against district rival Council Rock South (2-1) as the Indians edged the Golden Hawks – 2-1.
“In my 12 years of coaching high school baseball, this was one of the best played games that I have seen,” said Council Rock North head coach Matt Schram. “Both teams played the game at a very high level.”
Rock North showcased a pair of flame throwers to register the win. Darren Lauer threw the first five innings – 76 pitches in all – and had five strikeouts. Patrick O’Leary came on the throw the final two innings to earn the win.
Council Rock South had a wonderful game thrown by Bret DeStefano. DeStefano no-hit the Indians for the first four innings of the game.
“DeStefano threw a great game for them,” said Schram. “He had us off balance and we hit a lot of weak pop-ups.”
Benn Parker drove home the winning run for the Indians in the sixth inning.
Rock North was on the rebound after a 9-7 loss to Truman earlier in the week.
“That was bump # 1 in the road,” said Schram. “But we came back to beat a good team today.”
Council Rock South 000 010 0 - 1 3 3
Council Rock North 000 101 x - 2 3 1
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Abington (2-2) remains in the SOL National Conference hunt with a 3-2 victory over host Bensalem (0-3).
Junior Jesse Leary - a transfer from North Catholic – made his first varsity start for the Ghosts and hurled the first four innings and permitted just one earned run and three hits. Junior lefty Dan Landgraf earned the win for the Ghosts throwing the final three innings.
“Jesse did a really nice job in his first start,” said Abington head coach Dave Torresani. “And Dan continues to get by on guile and guts. He had great movement on his fastball and retired all nine hitters that he faced.”
Dale Hoover tied the game for the Ghosts in the sixth inning with an RBI single, while sophomore Eric Tidwell delivered the game winner in the same inning.
“We have two big games next week with William Tennent and Truman,” said Torresani. “We need to keep this going.”
Abington Ghosts 100 002 0 - 3 6 1
Bensalem Owls 101 000 0 - 2 3 2
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Truman (3-0) remained in the conference penthouse with a 4-3 victory over Pennsbury (1-3).
Daulton Lester came up with the win for the Tigers and also delivered a key RBI. Shane Monahan had a double for Truman.
Pennsbury pitcher Brandon Garret was the tough luck loser with a four-hit, 10 strikeout outing.
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Neshaminy (3-1) held off William Tennent (0-2) as the Redskins bested the Panthers – 7-6.
Cole Creighton earned the win for the Skins. Darren Heisse had two hits and an RBI, while Justin Andrews had a double for Neshaminy.
William Tennent Panthers 012 001 2 - 6 11 6
Neshaminy Redskins 222 010 x - 7 5 3
Suburban One League American Conference
Upper Moreland (5-2) had to work overtime to defeat Upper Merion (3-3) – 5-4 in ten innings.
Golden Bear catcher Dave McInerney blasted a walk-off homer in the tenth inning to secure the win. McInerney – who also homered earlier in the game – has now hit four homeruns for the season.
“(Upper Merion) pitcher Ray Gambone is one of the best pitchers in the conference, and Dave is one of the best hitters,” said Upper Moreland head coach Ernie Rehr. “It was a great matchup, and Dave came through with that big hit.”
Robert Knox – who also homered in the game for Upper Moreland – earned the victory with four shutout innings of work. Knox came on in relief of Mike Janis.
“Robert is a power pitcher who is learning control,” said Rehr of his sophomore. “He had a fantastic game, and he has a very bright future.”
Upper Merion Vikings 000 130 000 0 - 4 12 0
Upper Moreland Bears 002 101 000 1 - 5 13 0
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Wissahickon (5-2) erupted for seven runs in the fifth inning to defeat visiting Plymouth Whitemarsh (3-3) – 11-7.
Joe McGinley notched the win for the Trojans. Alec Linebarger blasted a homerun for Wissy, while JT Crits collected a double for the winners.
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials 000 043 0 - 7 9 1
Wissahickon Trojans 300 170 x - 11 13 1
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