Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Tuesday. North Penn/CB South photos provided courtesy of Cindy Manero.
SOL Continental Conference
NORTH PENN 6, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 1
While there’s still plenty of regular season left, every game undoubtedly feels like something pretty close to a must-win for a Knight squad that opened its season with an 0-3 record in conference play.
On Tuesday, Joe Valenti once again showed why he’s the ace of the Knights’ pitching staff, allowing just two hits while striking out nine and walking only one.
“Joe Valenti was outstanding again today on the mound,” coach Kevin Manero said. “He’s really pitching like a senior and giving us a chance to win every time out.”
Jake Drelick gave Valenti and the Knights an immediate lift when he homered to lead off the first inning. The Knights tacked on a single run in the second, and after the Titans plated a run in the fourth to make it a 2-1 game, the Knights answered with a four-run fifth. That was more than enough for Valenti, who retired nine straight to close out the game.
“We have a big hole to climb out of, so we can’t afford to not take every game like it’s our last,” Manero said. “I’m impressed with the way our guys are going about things right now.”
Drelick was 2-for-4 with a home run, RBI and run scored out of the leadoff spot. Kolby Barrow and Connor Ertel were both 2-for-3 with a run scored in a contest that saw the Knights collect 10 hits off a pair of South pitchers.
“We’ve had our share of the injury bug, but getting our offensive lineup back in tact today was a nice boost,” Manero said. “Jake Drelick really set the tone at the top of the order.
“Our guys continue to put together some very tough at bats one through nine. They’re seeing the strike zone well.”
Bryan Rossi had South’s lone RBI. Jake Trachtenberg’s double in the fourth inning was one of South’s two hits. Connor McKeown had the other.
North Penn (4-5, 2-3 SOL) will travel to Pennridge on Wednesday, and Central Bucks South (4-3, 3-2 SOL) will be on the road at Central Bucks West on Wednesday.
Central Bucks South 000 100 0 1-2-6
North Penn 110 040 x 6-10-0
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 10, PENNRIDGE 0
Aidan Weaver had himself a day to remember. The freshman hurler notched his first varsity win, and he did it in impressive fashion, allowing just three hits in five shutout innings while striking out six and walking none.
“I can’t say enough about Aidan Weaver,” coach Kyle Dennis said. “It was his third varsity experience, his second varsity start.
“We threw him last week against Council Rock South, and he pitched tremendous, but we couldn’t hold on for a win in that game after he was out. This is the second time he’s thrown five innings for us and the second time he’s done a tremendous job. We couldn’t be prouder of him.”
Weaver retired the first six batters he faced before Paul Croyle led off the third with a double. He moved up to third on a fly ball to right field, but a huge strikeout and groundout ended that threat.
“He just really didn’t get fazed, even by a leadoff double,” said Dennis, noting that Weaver never faced more than four batters an inning. “It was awesome. Especially out of a freshman to show that kind of composure, it was really cool.”
Colin Weber’s RBI double in the top of the first was the only run the freshman hurler would need, but the Patriots erupted for eight runs in the third to put the game out of reach. David Bloom singled to lead off the inning, and Tyler Young followed with a double. Jack Nugent tripled to plate a pair, and the Patriots led 3-0. Weber and Andrew Whinney both contributed RBI singles, and Young delivered his second double of the inning – this one drove in a pair. James Pello also had an RBI in the frame.
Weber led the Patriots with a 3-for-3 effort that included a pair of doubles, three RBIs and a run. Young was 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, two RBIs and a run scored. Nick Bitsko was 1-for-2 with a double, walk, three runs scored and a stolen base, and Jack Nugent was 1-for-3 with a triple, two RBIs and a run.
Croyle accounted for two of the Rams’ three hits.
“Every win’s a big win, especially when you’re in the position we are,” Dennis said. “We’re hoping to turn the corner.”
Central Bucks East (4-5, 2-4 SOL) will be on the road at Bensalem on Wednesday, and Pennridge will host North Penn on Wednesday.
Pennridge 000 00 0-3-1
Central Bucks East 108 1x 10-9-0
SOL American Conference
HATBORO-HORSHAM 7, ABINGTON 2
The Hatters scored in four different innings to help earn a 7-2 win over visiting Abington on Tuesday afternoon. Jackson Treski kept the Ghosts off the bases for most of the day. The junior left handed pitcher tossed six innings, allowing just two runs (unearned) on three hits and two walks, while striking out seven.
Treski finds himself in a prominent role with the loss of Eric Thron to a fractured ulna in his throwing arm.
“Jackson Treski has stepped right in and hasn’t missed a beat,” coach Pete Moore said. “He threw a one-hitter the last time out last week.
“Jackson, as a sophomore last year, was one of our league starters. This year, the way the schedule panned out we had been using Benny Wilson and Erin Thron as two of our starters. Jackson had only had one start, and it was down in Florida. I think he only allowed one or two hits in that start. He had thrown very well, but Eric and Benny had been so dominant in their starts.
“We were looking for ways to get Jackson the ball more than we had. After the injury to Eric, Jackson stepped up and taken that other starter spot and ran with it so far.”
Thron entered the season as one of the Hatters’ two aces along with Benny Wilson and also was hitting out of the five hole and playing second base when he wasn’t on the mound.
“He’s going to be okay, but he’s a competitor and extremely disappointed,” Moore said. “I feel terrible that he’s missing out on the experience of playing this year with us. It changes the dynamic of our team. We’re very fortunate to have the pitching depth we have.”
Junior Ram Krishnamoorthy tossed a scoreless seventh inning.
The Hatters got on the scoreboard in the first inning when sophomore centerfielder Jimmy Tooley and junior shortstop Jake Bianchini led off the game with back-to-back singles to set up second and third. After a stolen base by Bianchini, junior catcher Anthony Bruno singled in Tooley to give the Hatters a 1-0 lead. Junior first baseman Benny Wilson followed with an RBI groundout to score Bianchini and put the Hatters up 2-0.
After the Ghosts scored one in the top of the second, the Hatters answered back with a run of their own. Treski reached on an error and senior courtesy runner Ethan Ridgway advanced to third on a passed ball and a groundout. Ridgway scored when Tooley hit a line drive that was misplayed, which gave the Hatters a 3-1 lead.
The Hatters extended the lead in the bottom of the third inning. Bianchini reached base on a dropped third strike and scored on a Wilson RBI single. Wilson and Krishnamoorthy, who was the courtesy runner for Bruno, later scored on a ball that was misplayed off the bat of Treski.
In the fifth, Krishnamoorthy scored again when he was the courtesy runner for Bruno, who had doubled. Krishnamoorthy stole third and scored when the throw went into left field.
“Today I was most happy that we continued to tack runs on,” Moore said. “We talked before the game about the fact that it was going to be important today to come out and score first, and once we got a lead – we wanted to extend it.
“We scored in each of the first three innings, which was very big for us.”
Bruno led the offense going 2-for-2 with a walk, a double and an RBI. Bianchini was 2-for 3 with two runs and three stolen bases. The Hatters stole six total bases on the day.
For the Ghosts, Stephen Vogl and Connor Hall each had a double.
With the win, the Hatters improved to 8-2 Overall and 5-1 in the SOL American Conference. The Hatters will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh for a league game on Wednesday. Abington (2-8, 1-6) will host Cheltenham on Wednesday.
Abington 010 001 0 2-4-5
Hatboro-Horsham 213 010 x 7-6-2
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 6, UPPER MORELAND 0
Ben Mascio has been the undisputed ace of the Colonials’ staff this season. The junior hurler notched his third win of the league season without a loss, allowing just four hits in six shutout innings. He struck out nine and walked only one in another stellar outing.
“He really has been firing on all cylinders this season,” coach Chris Manero said. “In the bottom of the first, he was having a little bit of an issue commanding the strike zone. The leadoff guy got on and ended up on third with one out.
“There was a ground ball to second base that the runner did not score on, a little bit of a base-running mistake. That kind of opened it up for Ben because he came back and got the next couple of guys out.”
Including Tuesday’s win, Mascio’s earned run average is 1.07 with 39 strikeouts and five walks in 26 innings.
“He’s just been very good,” Manero said. “He’s a junior who had a really good year last year. He’s maturing as a person, and he’s becoming much more aware of what his best pitches are and when to throw them.
“He’s got a veteran catcher – Kevin Reilly – that he’s worked with who’s just been doing a fantastic job. The two of them have something going on right now that everybody wants their pitchers and catchers to have.”
Mascio worked himself out of a bit of one-out trouble in the fourth inning.
“They got a single to center and a single up the middle, so they had first and second,” Manero said. “Their kid hit what was about to be a one-hopper to our second baseman that would have set up a tailor-made double play, and the ball hit the umpire.
“So they basically had three singles in a row in the bottom of the fourth. Ben struck out the next two guys – one swinging, one looking. That’s where he has shown his growth and maturity. When situations get tough, he steps up. We’ve won some games because of him, and our hope now is that maybe our bats can maybe complement him a bit, and we can continue to score runs when he pitches and make his job a little bit easier.”
With Mascio at 92 pitches, Manero went to his bullpen. Steve Gallagher did not allow a hit in a scoreless seventh. He struck out one.
“One of the issues with our starting pitching, which has been great, is our bullpen guys haven’t gotten a lot of work,” Manero said. “Steve Gallagher came in and had a one-two-three inning. Even some guys who haven’t been pitching much lately like Steve, as a senior, he’s ready when called upon.”
The Colonials plated a pair of runs in the second and added four more in the third.
Carrying big bats for the Colonials were Kevin Reilly (2-for-2, 2 BB) and Jacob Nunez (2-for-4, 2B, 3 RBIs).
“After a very slow start, Jacob Nunez has really been playing well lately, and that’s been good for us,” Manero said.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (5-3, 5-1 SOL) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Wednesday, and Upper Moreland (2-4, 1-4) will be on the road at Wissahickon Wednesday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 024 000 0 6-6-0
Upper Moreland 000 000 0 0-4-2
Non-league Crossover game
NESHAMINY 4, SOUDERTON 2
In a marquee matchup of two of the SOL’s hottest squads, it was the Redskins edging the Indians in a cross-over game that counts toward district seeding. After Tuesday’s win, the Redskins owned the top spot in the latest District One 6A rankings while the Indians were fourth.
Pitching, according to coach Dan Toner, was the story of this one.
“Our pitching was very good again with Dan Errigo kind of leading us through, getting the win, and then Max Temple closing out the last two innings of the game to get the save,” Toner said.
Errigo allowed four hits and two runs while striking out three and walking one in five innings while Temple allowed just one hit in two scoreless innings in relief.
The Redskins put a run on the board in the top of the first when John Kalek, who singled and stole second, scored on an error. They added another run in the fourth, but the Indians – thanks to a two-run double from Jordan Morales – knotted the score in the bottom of the fourth.
The Redskins scored single runs in the fifth and sixth and won by that 4-2 margin.
Kalek was 2-for-3 with a double and run scored.
“He is hitting .690-something in the league, and it’s legit – he’s killing the ball,” Toner said.
Matt Yauger was 2-for-3 with a run scored. Dalton Turner, Tommy Pease and Josh Martoccio each contributed one RBI. The Redskins, who collected seven hits, handed Morales his first loss.
“We knew we were going to face some good pitching going into this game from a kid that had 12 Ks the game before and 15 the game before that and hadn’t given up an earned run yet,” Toner said. “We knew it was going to be tough, but we’ve seen everyone’s best pitching. This Morales kid is the real deal, and he’s a big-time competitor.
“Our team – we grind out at-bats. We battle, and our kids feel confident going against literally any pitcher that we see. We’re feeling pretty good going into the game tomorrow.”
Neshaminy (8-0, 5-0 SOL) will host Pennsbury in a key conference battle Wednesday. Souderton (7-2, 5-0) will host Quakertown on Wednesday.
Neshaminy 100 111 0 4-7-0
Souderton 000 200 0 2-5-4
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