Jarrad Saffren recaps all of Tuesday’s SOL baseball action. Pennsbury/Neshaminy photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson, and NP/CR South photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. Check back for galleries of action photos…CLICK HERE to go directly to the SOS Baseball gallery.
By Jarrad Saffren
Central Bucks East baseball coach Kyle Dennis did something pretty interesting Tuesday night: Introduced a new baseball saying, one that is sure to become a cliche if it goes viral from this hyper-local article.
Dennis was discussing CB East’s 9-0 win over Central Bucks West Tuesday. Specifically, he was talking about how the Patriots did everything well in the Suburban One League Continental Conference baseball game.
“It goes back to the old saying: Strong pitching, good defense and timely hitting,” Dennis said. “You need two to win. Three makes you unbeatable. We had all three today.”
I have heard, ‘Good pitching beats good hitting.’ I have also heard, ‘Pitching and defense wins championships.’ I have heard every baseball cliche that is derogatory toward the part of the game—hitting—that actually creates the difference in the score.
But I have never heard all three phases of the game in one cliche. Maybe you have. Maybe I’m just not paying close enough attention.
But I think Dennis is onto something here. Strong pitching, good defense and timely hitting. You need two to win. And nothing beats all three. If this has not caught on already, it surely will. Baseball coaches must have been waiting for a cliche that respects hitting.
Kyle Dennis finally gave us one, fittingly, on the day when his team turned in the best performance of any Suburban One League team. Most of the other SOL teams that won Tuesday won with pitching and defense.
Twenty SOL teams played league games Tuesday. Two—North Penn and Council Rock South—played a non-league game that counted toward the power rankings. The results and recaps are below.
SOL Continental
Central Bucks East 9, Central Bucks West 0
Based on his quote above, Dennis, unlike most baseball purists, respects hitting. But, like a true purist, he still gave his pitcher the most props after Tuesday’s win.
“(Starter) Tyler Quinlan was the best of the three phases. He was throwing strong and great, commanding strike zone,” Dennis said. “He pitched out of a bases-loaded jam. And he regrouped when he didn’t get a pitch he wanted.”
Quinlan pitched 5.2 scoreless innings, struck out six and allowed one hit. He took a no-hitter into the sixth. He did walk five and throw 103 pitches.
“We had to take him out because he hit 100 pitches. That was the only reason,” Dennis said, referring to the PIAA’s 100-pitch limit, which allows a pitcher to finish a hitter if he reaches 100 mid at-bat.
Jared Thompson replaced Quinlan, gave up no runs in 1.1 innings and fanned two. He threw 14 of his 15 pitches in the strike zone. Quinlan earned the win, improving to 2-1 in 2017, lowering his earned run average to 2.50.
Offensively, nine CB East players combined for 11 hits. The Patriots scored all nine of their runs in the first three innings, including five in the second.
Cameron Komonchak, CJ Gillmer and Matt Ernst had the biggest games. Komonchak had two hits, two RBIs and a run. Gillmer had two RBIs, a hit, a walk and a run. And Ernst added two runs and two hits.
All three of those guys—Komonchak, Gillmer and Ernst—batted in new spots in the order Tuesday. Komonchak moved from second to leadoff, Gillmer from third to second and Ernst from leadoff to eighth.
“We’ve only been getting 2-3 runs a game. I wanted to switch things up a bit,” Dennis said. “I moved Matt Ernst down so he could see some more fastballs. Cam is a switch hitter and he possesses all the tools of the leadoff hitter. He has hit there in the past. But Ernst has been because he’s got wheels.”
Grant Meiers and Jimmy Parrish drove in one run each for the Patriots. Meiers, Collin Sheehan, Daniel Schick, Will Masterson and PJ Harris all scored one.
“All of our guys did a great job today,” Dennis said.
They did a great job defensively, too, making no errors as a team.
Stephen Brady (No relation to Tom or the Bunch) got CB West’s only hit. He was also the only West pitcher to not allow a run. Brady finished two innings and struck out two.
CB East (2-3, 1-2 SOL) plays Hatboro-Horsham Wednesday at 3:45. CB West (2-3, 1-2 SOL) hosts Pennridge Thursday at 3:30.
Central Bucks East 2-5-2-0-0-0-0 9
Central Bucks West 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0
Central Bucks South 3, William Tennent 1
Dan Klepchick lost his first league start to Pennridge on April 5, a 1-0 decision. Ian Kacergis pitched just a tiny bit better than Klep in that one.
Then, in his last league start against CB West on April 10, Klepchick gave up five earned runs and the three tying runs in the seventh, earning a no-decision in an eventual loss.
So Klepchick entered Tuesday 0-1 in league play. Central Bucks South was 0-2 in his league starts.
The Continental’s most dominant pitcher in 2016 looked more like that guy Tuesday, allowing one run in seven innings, earning his first league win. Klepchick also fanned eight and walked none.
“Today he took the ball and was not going to be satisfied with anything but a win. He was throwing three pitches for strikes. Fastball, slider, changeup were good,” CB South coach Brian Klumpp said. “He got out of big jams by making big pitches. He pitched out of one or two jams. Other than that he was pretty dominant. He pitched well against West. They just gave good at-bats.”
The Titans scored one run in the third, fourth and seventh, taking a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh. Leadoff man Chris Farrell had two hits and a run. Second batter Tyler Watson stroked a hit and an RBI. Cleanup hitter Tommy Dugan did the same. Alex Bendzlowicz added a run and two hits.
Cole Browne led William Tennent with two hits. Tennent reliever Kevin Seddon pitched two scoreless innings.
CB South (5-2, 2-2 SOL) plays Bensalem Thursday at 3:45. Tennent (2-3, 1-2 SOL) takes on CB East on the same day and time.
Central Bucks South 0-0-1-1-0-0-1 3
William Tennent 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 1
Souderton 4, Pennridge 3
Souderton executed a suicide squeeze in an April 12 non-league win over Plymouth Whitemarsh. Coach Michael Childs loves the play. He runs it in practice all the time.
Running it successfully in a game made Childs confident that the Indians could pull it off in a league game. On Tuesday, they did, at the most important time…
Souderton and Pennridge were knotted at three in the bottom of the seventh. Souderton had just tied the game on a fluky error. Pennridge’s catcher threw the ball over the first baseman’s head, allowing Derek Freed to score the tying run.
Now the Indians had men on first and third with nobody out. Leadoff man Jack Despain stepped in. Childs signaled for Despain to squeeze on the second pitch. Despain obliged, showing bunt at the last second, tapping the ball toward the mound.
Pinch-runner Tim Robinson left before the pitch and was sprinting home. He slid in safely as the pitcher fielded the ball.
“It was interesting. The plan was on the second pitch we were going to attempt,” Childs said. “Despain put it down perfectly. Robinson broke perfect on the pitch home.”
Childs was not worried about the play failing.
“I figured if we got thrown out we’d still have a guy at second with our 2-3-4 hitters coming up,” he said.
Souderton’s Brett Moyer also knocked in a run. Luke Barnum had a hit and a run. David Gulibon scored a run. Souderton reliever Jordan Morales tossed a scoreless seventh, striking out two, throwing all 14 pitches for strikes.
Pennridge starter Ian Kacergis struck out nine in six innings. Joe Robinson had a hit, an RBI and a run. Jimmy Petrik and Andrew Mayhew scored one run each.
Souderton (3-4, 1-1 SOL) plays North Penn Thursday at 3:45. Pennridge (4-4, 2-1 SOL) battles CB West Thursday at 3:30.
Pennridge 0-0-0-0-0-3-0 3
Souderton 0-0-0-1-1-0-2 4
SOL American
Upper Dublin 2, Plymouth Whitemarsh 1
Jack Jamison stroked a one-out single to left. JT Breslin followed by scorching the ball to first and reaching on an error. Then Matt Hebling ripped a hard grounder to right, scoring Jamison, the winning run.
Hebling’s walk-off hit gave Upper Dublin a one-run win. It also salvaged another dynamic pitching performance by Ryan Besachio, who lasted 5.2 innings and allowed one unearned run.
“Ryan did a great job getting into the sixth. That was probably the longest outing we had this year,” Flying Cardinals coach Ed Wall said. “He really kept them off balance fairly well. He was in command of two his three pitches, which was a good mix that kept them off balance.”
Jason Greene pitched 1.1 scoreless innings to keep UD in position for the walk-off. Greene entered with the bases loaded in the sixth. He got Dillon Famous to fly out to center, keeping UD’s deficit at 1-0.
Upper Dublin tied the game in the bottom of the sixth. Hebling scored on Tommy Reilly’s bunt. Then Greene, with a man on second in the top of the seventh, got Ryan Kane to fly out to right fielder Ryan O’Gara. Then O’Gara threw out the runner at third. The double play ended the threat and kept the score tied, setting up the walk-off.
“Greene was a little loose in the beginning but settled in pretty soundly,” Wall said. “He threw a good inning against Quakertown yesterday as well, so we’ll use him more as the season progresses.”
Luca Amoroso drove in PW’s only run. Kevin Reilly scored it. Colonials starter Jake Kuruc did not allow a run in 6.1 innings. He also struck out six.
Upper Dublin (3-3, 2-2 SOL) hosts Springfield Township Thursday at 3:45. PW (2-7, 1-4 SOL) plays Hatboro-Horsham Thursday at 3:30.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-0-0-0-0-1-0 1
Upper Dublin 0-0-0-0-0-1-1 2
Quakertown 13, Cheltenham 7
Quakertown took a big early lead and held Cheltenham off the rest of the way. The Panthers built a 7-0 lead in the first three innings. Cheltenham answered with five in the bottom of the third. But Quakertown pulled away by scoring six more runs in the last three innings.
“We are coming with a good approach, seeing the ball well, focusing on the small things, the things we can control,” Quakertown coach Jon Pallone said.
Quakertown stole seven bases and forced a balk on Tuesday. The Panthers ran aggressively even when they weren’t stealing.
“A bunch of times guys took the extra base,” Pallone said. “On one ball, Evan Hurst went first to third, saw the left fielder bobble and went home. Jake Reed hit that ball and he didn’t slow down, and ended up on third. That takes a mental toll on fielders.”
Three Quakertown players—Hurst, Chris Manns and Matt Bukavich—all had two RBIs. Lake Friday, Brian Robison, Erik Krisher, Nathan Chabak and Dennis Pierce all drove in one run.
Jake Reed had a huge game for Quakertown, with three runs, two hits and an RBI. He also raised his 2017 statistics to stratospheric highs: .346 batting average, 10 stolen bases, 10 runs and five RBIs, from the leadoff spot.
Jake Wooden also had a big game for Quakertown, with two runs and two hits. Pallone was pleased with all of his players Tuesday.
“Jake Reed just continues to do a good job. We had a lot of guys get in. I have a tough time making up the lineup. We’re really deep. We have a lot of guys who could start,” Pallone said. “Everyone is playing team ball, too. Jake had first and second with no outs and laid down a bunt to move the runners. He’s the best hitter on the team and maybe in the league. That sends a message that he cares more about winning than anything else, which is a huge part of our success right now.”
Alex Haasz led Cheltenham with three RBIs and two hits. Cheltenham’s Kieran Versaw-Barnes and Lukas Nakkula both had two hits, a run and an RBI. Joel White had one hit, one run and one RBI.
Quakertown (6-1, 4-0 SOL) hosts Upper Moreland Thursday at 3:30. Cheltenham (0-7, 0-5 SOL) hosts Wissahickon on the same day and time.
Quakertown 1-4-2-0-2-1-3 13
Cheltenham 0-0-5-0-0-2-0 7
Upper Moreland 5, Springfield Township 0
Upper Moreland’s Dawson Ruggles pitched a complete game shutout. He struck out six, walked none and allowed three hits. He took a no-hitter into the sixth.
“He just did a great job getting ahead in the counts and keeping their batters off balance all day,” Golden Bears coach Dan Heiland said. “He had confidence throwing any pitch in any count. It gives them a tough time when you can do that. They can’t get in any rhythm.”
Ruggles improved to 2-0 in 2017. His ERA is still 0.00. The junior pitched on junior varsity for most of last year, but came up late in the season to pitch in non-league games.
“Against Pennridge he pitched a complete game, toward the end of the year. He was dominating at the JV level. We wanted to give him a chance at varsity,” Heiland said. “He kept them off balanced and gave us a chance to win at the end, just like he did today.”
The 6-1 Golden Bears have three quality pitchers—Ruggles, Brandon Kohn and Tommy Jacob—who can win league games. They also lost just four position players from last year’s 16-5 team.
“And the guys stepping in got varsity reps at some point last year,” Heiland said.
Upper Moreland (6-1, 4-0 SOL) plays Quakertown Thursday at 3:30. Springfield (5-2, 2-2 SOL) battles Upper Dublin on the same day and time.
Springfield Township 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0
Upper Moreland 1-0-0-4-0-0-X 5
Hatboro-Horsham 1, Wissahickon 0
Hatboro-Horsham starter Brian Edgington pitched a complete game shutout, striking out eight, walking none and allowing two hits.
Edgington improved to 3-1 and lowered his ERA to 0.27. He also now has 38 strikeouts and one walk in 26 innings.
“The kid has been unbelievable. He was absolutely lights out today. After the game, their coach, John Bernhardt, said, ‘We’ll see you again in a few weeks, don’t throw him again,’” Hatters coach Peter Moore said. “I’ve been around a lot of really good high school pitchers, and I’ve never seen anything like what Edgington’s doing right now.”
Edgington is dominating by pounding the strike zone and mixing up three pitches.
“He’s spotting up three pitches and he’s been able to dominate the strike zone,” Moore said. “His strike percentage is 68, which is unheard of. You don’t expect a high school kid to throw that many strikes. And he throws in the upper 80s.”
Hatboro-Horsham scored one run on Tuesday, in the first inning. Ryan O’Donnell singled to center, scoring Eddie Schultz.
Wissahickon’s Logan Willans allowed one run in seven innings. He also fanned eight and gave up just two hits.
Hatboro-Horsham (3-4, 3-2 SOL) plays PW Thursday at 3:30. Wissahickon (3-4, 1-2 SOL) battles Cheltenham on the same day and time.
Hatboro-Horsham 1-0-0-0-0-0-0 1
Wissahickon 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0
SOL National
Council Rock North 4, Abington 2
Three Council Rock North pitchers—Joe Preciado, Nolan Hartwell and Eric Hoefer—combined to allow no earned runs.
Preciado struck out four and gave up two hits in four innings.
“Joe’s fastball was his best pitch today,” CR North coach Matt Schram said. “He was hitting spots, doing a great job placing it. He was overpowering guys.”
Preciado gave himself the lead in the top of the third, singling to left, scoring Cole Olshavsky. Cavan Tully later scored on an error, making it 2-0.
Abington tied the game on an error in the bottom of the fifth. Paul Poppert and George Jacob scored the runs.
Hartwell relieved Preciado after that, and, with runners on first and second, he induced a double play to get out of the inning. Hartwell pitched the next four innings and faced just 13 batters, meaning he only allowed one baserunner.
“Nolan is a crafty pitcher. He’s accurate, and has great command. His curveball was really good today,” Schram said. “He kept them off balanced. They had nine fly outs and pop outs. He had them on their front foot the whole time.”
Hoefer entered in the 10th and pitched three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, striking out four.
“Eric overpowered them. He was throwing pretty well,” Schram said. “Mainly fastball and a few off speed pitches. He was throwing hard.”
North scored two runs in the top of the 12th on Tyler Marlow’s single to right. Jason Walter and Lucas Feinstein both scored.
Abington starter JP Nolan gave up one earned run in seven innings. He fanned six.
CR North (5-3, 4-1 SOL) hosts Neshaminy Thursday at 3:45. Abington (2-7, 0-5 SOL) plays Harry S. Truman Thursday at 3:30.
Council Rock North 0-0-2-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-2 4
Abington 0-0-0-0-2-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 2
Neshaminy 1, Pennsbury 0
Neshaminy’s Owen Foraker lined a single to right to lead off the sixth.
“I was just really focused on getting on base. I was just trying to put the ball in play, keep the ball on the ground. We were popping out a lot today,” Foraker said. “I was looking for an early fastball. Being in the bottom of the order, I see a lot of fastballs.” 
Foraker stole second. Then he advanced to third on Anthony Rapposelli’s infield single.
Brian Nicolas stepped in and launched a fly ball to center. Foraker tug up and raced home, putting Neshaminy up 1-0.
“I got the job done,” Nicolas said. “So I was happy. Owen’s steal was huge. If he didn’t steal, we probably don’t get that run in.”
That was all the Redskins needed.
Boop (One-name club) was on the mound. He pitched a complete game shutout, striking out six. He also improved to 4-0 and kept his ERA at 0.00. Boop has allowed six hits in 26 innings. Tuesday was his third complete game in four starts.
“He’s doing some things that are very, very impressive,” Neshaminy coach Dan Toner said. “He’s the real deal. He attacks the strike zone, tremendous poise out there. I never feel like he’s panicking.”
“He’s unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable. It’s easy to play defense behind him,” Foraker said. “He doesn’t really need it. He just throws a lot of strikes. He’s big, tall and lanky and throws hard.”
“I just tried to pound the zone,” Boop said. “I got ground balls and fly balls, and the guys in the field were phenomenal behind me.”
“I knew Boop was going to do the job,” Nicolas said. “It’s a huge win.”
Neshaminy is alone in first place in the SOL National after Tuesday’s win.
Pennsbury starter Billy Bethel almost matched Boop for seven innings. Bethel did pitch all seven, but he allowed that one run, which was the difference.
“I kept the hitters off balance, mixing a lot of first-pitch fastballs and first-pitch curveballs,” Bethel said. “I threw first-pitch strikes and let my fielders make plays.”
Bethel made one costly mistake, on Nicolas’s sacrifice fly.
“I left a curveball up,” Bethel said. “I should have buried it.”
Pennsbury fell into second place in the National with the loss, one game behind Neshaminy.
Neshaminy (7-1, 4-0 SOL) plays CR North Thursday at 3:45. Pennsbury (6-3, 3-1 SOL) battles Council Rock South on the same day and time.
Neshaminy 0-0-0-0-0-1-0 1
Pennsbury 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0
Bensalem 9, Harry S. Truman 0
Bensalem starter Stephen Aldrich struck out 12 and lasted all seven innings. The Owls built a 3-0 lead in the first inning and kept pulling away over the next six.
Bensalem’s Scott Rooney stroked two hits and three RBIs. Nick Bagnarelli and Nicholas Dean both drove in a run.
Bensalem’s Anthony Robinson and Trevor McGee scored three and two runs, respectively. Keith Parrish had two hits and a run. Brian Swentkowski had a hit and a run.
Truman’s Cam Culver ripped three hits.
Bensalem (5-3, 2-3 SOL) plays CB South Thursday at 3:45. Truman (1-5, 0-4 SOL) plays Abington on the same day and time.
Bensalem 3-0-1-2-0-1-2 9
Harry S. Truman 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0
Non-League
North Penn 7, Council Rock South 1
Knights starter Danny Kirwin gave up one run in 6.1 innings.
“I didn’t think Kirwin had his best stuff on the mound,” North Penn coach Kevin Manero said. “But he bared down and made good pitches. We made good plays behind him.”
North Penn’s first three batters sparked the lineup Tuesday. Leadoff man Tyler Siddal scored two runs. Second batter Ryan Bealer had three hits, three runs and an RBI. Third batter Zach Miles had three hits, two RBIs and a run.
Dan Drop added an RBI.
“The top three guys in the order swung the bat well today and gave us a lot of baserunners. They were timing the ball well. They stayed inside their swings and didn’t try to do too much,” Manero said. “Dan Drop came up with a big RBI in the first inning. Ryan Bealer moved up to two from seven in the order and hit well. Zach is doing a much better job of staying behind the ball. He got out on his front foot a lot last season.”
Trey Obarowski drove in CR South’s only run. Eric Jeronis scored it. Josh Kim and Evan Fisher both had two hits. Matt O’Neill pitched two scoreless innings for the Golden Hawks.
North Penn (8-0, 2-0 SOL) plays Souderton Thursday at 3:45. CR South (4-3, 2-1 SOL) hosts Pennsbury Thursday at 3:30.
Council Rock South 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 1
North Penn 2-0-2-3-0-0-X 7
About the Author
