Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action.
SOL Patriot/Colonial crossover
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 8, SOUDERTON 4
Rock North opened crossover play with a win at Souderton in a battle of division leaders.
“This is a gigantic win,” Rock North coach Matt Schram said. “That’s a really good baseball team. Up and down their lineup, their coaching – they’re a really good team.”
Rock North put a pair of runs on the board in the top of the first without the benefit of the hit. Starter Will McCausland struck out three, but the visiting Indians benefitted from a pair of errors, a dropped third strike and a pair of walks.
“We didn’t even hit the ball out of the infield,” Schram said. “We ran the bases, we made some movements on the bases. You like to think you manufacture runs when you go through an inning like that.
“We knew what we were facing in their number one arm, and he is everything that he’s cracked up to be. He’s really good. We knew if we had an opportunity to take advantage of anything offensively, whether it’s a dropped third strike or an error or whatever, we had to. We were pretty happy scoring those two runs. We didn’t even hit the ball further than 70 feet.”
McCausland had a 1-2-3 second, striking out all three batters he faced and retiring five in a row via strikeouts.
Things didn’t go as smoothly in the third inning. Josh Huddy drew a one-out walk, and with two outs, Quinn Erlandsen and Jadon Tang (2 RBIs) collected back-to-back singles, giving Rock North a 4-0 lead. The duo combined for five of their team’s seven hits with Erlandsen finishing a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Tang was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
“Our five and six hitters had five hits and a bunch of RBIs – they were clutch hits too,” Schram said.
Souderton loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the inning but came up empty.
Rock North upped its lead to 5-0 in the fourth inning. Will Scibona led off with a single to center, and one out later, Leor Kedar singled to left. Scibona scored when Huddy lofted a sacrifice fly to center field.
In the bottom of the inning, Souderton got on the scoreboard when Carter Jagiela drew a leadoff walk and scored when Hunter Weitzel smashed a two-run home run to left field, making it a 5-2 game after four full.
In the fifth inning, Erlandsen and Tang led off with back-to-back singles, and Erlandsen scored on an error to give visiting Indians a 6-2 lead. Souderton made it a 6-4 game in the bottom of the inning, thanks to singles by Shanley Wall (who stole second), Luke Pollock (RBI), Justin Decesare and a bases-loaded walk to Weitzel.
Rock North got a pair of insurance runs in the sixth, capitalizing on a Souderton miscue, a pair of walks as well as a single by Erlandsen (2 RBIs).
“It’s just a great win,” Schram said. “The two guys throwing – we had our ace throwing versus their ace. The conditions were not favorable with the high wind and the cold. That definitely played a part in this as well.
“You walk away from that win feeling – that’s a win that was very important against a really good quality team.”
Collin Williams started the game for the visitors, and in 4.2 innings, he allowed four hits and four runs, striking out eight and walking five. Nick Focella closed it out with 2.1 shutout innings in relief, allowing two hits, striking out three and walking none.
“Nick has been doing great out of the pen,” Schram said. “He’s throwing strikes, the ball is a little tough to pick up out of his hand, and he’s doing exactly what you want someone out of the bullpen to do and that is pound the zone, no freebies and hopefully, he can induce some ground balls, which he has been getting, so it’s been great.”
Council Rock North (8-1, 6-1 SOL) is off until next Monday when the Indians will travel to Central Bucks East. Souderton (5-2, 4-1) will be on the road at Harry S Truman on Wednesday.
Council Rock North 202 112 0 8-7-0
Souderton 000 220 0 4-7-6
HARRY S TRUMAN 4, PENNRIDGE 0
Ryan Cavanaugh and Andrew Armstrong combined for a one-hit shutout and an impressive road win in Monday’s crossover contest. Cavanaugh went 5.2 innings, allowing one hit while striking out eight and walking one. The game represented a change in fortunes for the junior righthander.
“Ryan’s been really good all year,” Truman coach Tim Monaghan said. “He’s had some tough luck. He was lights out for three innings against Council Rock North, and he got a bad migraine, and we had to lift him in a game we wound up playing extra innings. We just didn’t find a way to make enough plays to win.
“Looking back at what Council Rock North has done since then, we were right there with them, toe-to-toe. Unfortunately, we didn’t field a lot of ground balls and help Ryan out in that game either. His next start he threw against Pennsbury, and again, he was kind of the victim of some bad defense.”
Cavanaugh’s luck changed on a cold, damp and windy day on the road.
“Ryan doesn’t seem to get the 50-50 call – early in the season, it was going against him, and there were even a couple today, but he was more consistent today, a lot of swings and misses, not a lot of hard contact,” Monaghan said. “They only had one hit, and I don’t think they hit a ball to the outfield. On their hit, we had a putout at the plate. They weren’t able to get any momentum against him.”
Armstrong did not allow a hit in 1.2 shutout innings in relief, striking out 1 and walking one.
The Tigers scored all the runs they would need in the fifth. Gabe Marrero led off with a single, and Wyatt Spinks was safe on an error. Both runners moved up a base on Makai Jackson’s bunt, A single by Mike Burns plated Marrero, and Spinks scored on a throw to first on a dropped third strike, spotting the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
In the seventh, Wil Brennan delivered a clutch two-out, two-run single for the 4-0 final. He finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBIs.
“Wil’s been one of our most consistent hitters over the last two years,” Monaghan said. “He doesn’t get too high or low, and he usually makes hard contact. He’s not afraid to hit with two strikes. He had a big double today, and he had a single through the right side of the infield – I think it was with two strikes, and he extended the lead from two to four. Getting those extra runs in tight games is huge, making everyone relax a little bit.”
For the Rams, Connor Flynn threw well enough to win on most days, allowing six hits and two runs (one earned) while striking out eight and walking one in six solid innings. Joey Calabretti closed it out, allowing one hit and two runs (one earned) while striking out three and walking one in an inning of relief.
“All the wins are huge – they’re so hard to come by,” Monaghan said. “Crossover games are tough because there’s a lot of unknowns with some of the other schools you don’t see as much, but for us to put back-to-back wins together for the first time this year – we kind of feel if we play our game, we’re a tough team to beat. I think we’re starting to turn the corner.
“We’ve been preaching to the kids – if they can control what we do, they’ll have more positive results than negative. We’ve been able to do that more recently. There are still things we’ve got to improve on, but to get back-to-back wins and start feeling a little better about ourselves after a little bit of a rough start – we’ll get back in the mix and compete for a playoff spot and all the things we set out as our goals this year.”
Jaden Moran collected Pennridge’s lone hit.
Harry S Truman (3-4, 2-3 SOL) will host Souderton on Wednesday, and Pennridge (3-3, 1-3) will host Neshaminy on Wednesday.
Harry S Truman 000 020 2 4-7-3
Pennridge 000 000 0 0-1-2
SOL Liberty/Freedom crossover
HATBORO-HORSHAM 8, UPPER MORELAND 1
Cole Fisher – unfazed by the inclement weather – tossed a six-inning no-hitter in Monday’s rivalry game against the neighboring Golden Bears. The game was halted after six innings due to the weather.
“He was just tremendous,” HH coach Pete Moore said of Fisher. “It was colder than it had been, making it tough to get a feel for things, but it’s a rivalry game for us against Upper Moreland, and he wanted the ball, for sure, and he pitched like it.”
The Golden Bears actually got on the board first without the benefit of a hit in the bottom of the first. Shawn Townsend drew a leadoff walk and stole second. Jared McCellan not only advanced Townsend to third but also was safe at first on an error. Townsend scored his team’s only run on a passed ball.
“We’re looking at first and third coming off a game last year where we committed 10 errors and lost 9-4,” Moore said. “Some teams could let that get in their heads, but Cole didn’t do that.
“From there on, he was unrelenting. He didn’t let much happen.”
The Hatters took a lead they would not lose with two runs in the top of the third. Trey Porter led off with a double to left, and he scored when Jack Elwell ripped a triple to the fence. Fisher’s sacrifice fly to center plated Elwell with the go-ahead run.
That 2-1 score stood until the top of the fifth. Elwell led off the inning with a grounder to right and then – displaying his remarkable speed – proceeded to steal second and third. He beat the throw to the plate on a grounder to short by Fisher. A second run crossed the plate on Nick Katherine’s groundout to first, and with two outs, Logan Fischer and Adriel Tiburcio collected back-to-back RBI singles, putting the Hatters on top 6-1.
In the sixth, Porter drew a leadoff walk and stole second. He scored on Fisher’s groundout to second, and Will Bruner, who singled, scored on a bases-loaded walk to Fischer for the 9-1 final.
Fisher struck out the side in the bottom of the inning, and the game was halted due to weather.
“We got lucky – Upper Moreland reached out this morning offering to move the game up a half hour because of the weather we knew was coming,” Moore said. “I think both sides would agree that was a good decision.
“It started to rain while we were hitting at our school before we went over and then it cleared up. We played the first four-and-a-half innings or so without rain, and the last inning-and-a- half, it started to come down and they called it after six innings because of the weather.”
“He had a double to the fence in left center in his first at bat, he tripled to the fence in right center in his next at-bat, and then he had another single later in the game,” Moore said. “In his final at-bat where he made the out, we had a runner on second, and he hit the ball to the right side to move the runner over to third base, and he ended up scoring on a sac fly after that.
“Just up and down the lineup, we had good at-bats, and Jack was outstanding today.”
Bruner was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, Fisher led the Hatters with three RBIs, and Fischer was 1-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs.
There wasn’t a whole lot not to like for Moore, who pointed to his team’s two errors.
“We’d like to clean that up and put a zero up there,” the Hatters’ coach said. “All in all, I said to the kids after the game, ‘None of the errors that we made were taken up to the plate when they went up to hit, and vice versa – none of the at-bats went out in the field with them,’ so we were able to focus and just stay in the moment.
“When you play a rival like Upper Moreland, it can become a factor where you get so excited it’s tough to play the game. We really talked about staying focused on what we could control today.”
Hatboro-Horsham (7-2, 6-0 SOL) will host Lower Moreland on Wednesday, and Upper Moreland (2-2) will travel to Wissahickon on Wednesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 002 042 x 8-9-2
Upper Moreland 100 000 x 1-0-1
WISSAHICKON 3, WILLIAM TENNENT 1
Nate DeVincent was in complete command on the mound, allowing just one hit while striking out nine and walking none in five strong innings. The Panthers’ lone run was unearned. The game was halted in the sixth inning due to inclement weather and reverted back to the score after five full.
“Not ideal baseball conditions, but it was nice for the boys to come together for the much-needed win,” Wissahickon coach Andy Noga said. “Nate showed great composure pitching in the conditions, challenging their hitters to beat his fastball.
“Offensively, we were able to put the ball in play and make some things happen on the base paths to put the pressure on them. We play a lot of baseball in the next few weeks, so we’re expecting our offense to continue to get better.”
The Trojans put a run on the board in the top of the first. Ben Junker singled, stole second and scored when DeVincent helped his own cause with an RBI single. The Panthers got that run back in the bottom of the inning when Kevin Kocher, who singled and stole second, scored on a Trojan error on Josh Nydick’s grounder to the left side.
In the top of the third, Justin Miller drew a leadoff walk, and one out later, Junker doubled to center, plating Miller for the 2-1 lead. Aidan DeFeo’s RBI single in the top of the fifth plated Miller, who drew a walk to lead off the inning.
Junker’s 2-for-3 effort at the plate led the Trojans and included a double, run scored and RBI.
Wissahickon (2-4, 2-3) will host Upper Moreland on Wednesday, and William Tennent (2-2, 2-3) will travel to Quakertown on Thursday.
Wissahickon 101 01 xx 3-5-1
William Tennent 100 00 xx 1-1-0
QUAKERTOWN 2, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 2
Ties aren’t supposed to happen in baseball, but when Monday’s game was halted in the seventh inning due to unplayable conditions, the umpires ruled that the 2-2 score after six innings was the final score. Both coaches were puzzled, and unless they hear otherwise, the tie will stand.
The Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Ty Everitt lined a double to left field, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by Brandon Pierce.
In the top of the second, the Lions knotted the score. Justin Lehman drew a leadoff walk and moved up to second on Matt Spadavechia’s bunt. With two outs, Saul Carmenni delivered an RBI single. The Lions left the bases loaded in the top of the third, and the 1-1 score stood until the bottom of the fifth.
With two outs, Daniel Schwalm drew a walk and moved up to a second on a passed ball. He scored when Everitt singled to left field. The Lions evened the score 2-2 in the top of the sixth. Mason Scali singled to left to open the inning and then stole second and third. He scored on a fielder’s choice by Kyle Campbell.
Then came a seventh inning that was never completed and marked the end of the game.
For the Panthers, Everitt was 3-for-3 with a double, run scored and RBI.
Chris Parrillo and Carl Weiss split time on the mound for the Panthers. Both threw three innings. Parrillo allowed one hit and one run (unearned) while striking out four and walking four. Weiss scattered three hits and allowed one run while striking out three and walking two.
For the Lions, Josh Shiller threw four innings and allowed one run, striking out two and walking one. Matt Jermyn worked the final two innings, allowing one hit and one run while striking out two and walking one.
Quakertown (2-3-1, 2-1-1 SOL) will travel to Springfield Township on Wednesday, and New Hope-Solebury (3-0-1, 0-2-1) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Wednesday.
New Hope-Solebury 010 001 x 2-4-1
Quakertown 100 010 x 2-6-1
UPPER DUBLIN @ SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP (Suspended)
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