Jarred Saffren recaps all of Tuesday’s SOL baseball action.
By Jarrad Saffren
William Tennent coach Rick Penecale was talking about the Suburban One League National Conference. But he unwittingly summed up all three SOL baseball conferences right now: “Everybody’s knocking everybody off,” the Panthers’ coach said. “It’s going to be an interesting couple of weeks.”
Almost halfway way through the league schedule, the SOL National is the only league with a clear favorite. Council Rock North is undefeated, a game and a half up on Bensalem and Neshaminy, and winning league games by an average of 7.2 runs. “We’ve never had a start like this,” CR North coach Matt Schram said.
The next five teams in the SOL National are separated by a game and a half. The first six teams in the Continental are separated by two games. The first three in the American are separated by the same margin.
Let the pennant races begin.
One goofy note from Tuesday: Two different coaches—Central Bucks South’s Brian Klumpp and Neshaminy’s Chris Tenaglia—referred to their pitchers as “bulldogs.” Klumpp said Dan Klepchick “is a real bulldog on the mound.” Tenaglia said Billy Meyer is a “bulldog” because “he battles.”
Sounds like a compliment guys. Keep slobbering.
SOL National
Council Rock North 12, Abington 2
Abington had won two straight league games and appeared to present a formidable challenge to Council Rock North.
Not so. Not so at all.
The Ghosts took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first because Matt Hand was rusty after six days off for CR North’s senior class trip.
“The ball wasn’t exploding out of his hand like it usually does,” Schram said.
Hand threw 40 pitches in the first but settled down the rest of the way. He went all five innings, struck out nine, and allowed only those two runs. The senior improved to 4-0, all league wins, with a 0.39 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 23 innings pitched.
Schram chose to throw Hand against Abington instead of against second-place Bensalem.
“This was the next league game and it was his spot in the rotation,” the Indians’ coach said. “We had to stop playing for six days. We didn’t want to wait.”
The Indians answered with four runs in the bottom of the first. Tyler Nowmos hit a bases-clearing double to punctuate the rally. Nowmos has gotten key RBIs all year for North.
He knocked in both runs in a 2-0 win over Pennsbury and one in a 2-0 win over Neshaminy. He had a season-high four RBIs against the Ghosts, as well as two runs scored. Nowmos, a three-sport athlete, is one of his coach’s favorite players.
“I love kids like that,” Schram said. “He’s just a competitor. He doesn’t get offseason hitting like the rest of the guys do. He doesn’t play fall ball like the rest of the guys do. He’s just a competitor. He’s such a great athlete, reads pitchers, and sees what’s going on.”
Schram did not want to stop talking about Nowmos, for the record.
The Indians scored one run in the second, three in the third, and four in the fourth. Their six through nine batters—Nowmos, James Closser, Juliano Kovalcik, and Chase D’Arcangelo—had nine RBIs. Closser and D’Arcangelo had two each and Kovalcik had one.
“The offense picked up right where it left off before the trip,” Schram said. “Guys are barreling the baseball. Line drives, even ground balls were coming out hard today. There was nothing off the hands or the ends of bats.”
“Guys are not chasing pitches. Every at-bat is a battle. There are no one-pitch pop-outs,” Schram said. “These guys make pitchers throw a lot of pitches. They know they don’t have to jump out right away. They love to hit with two strikes.”
Leadoff man Cavan Tully added two hits and two runs scored. Four Indians players—Nowmos, Tully, Seth Leuz, Jared Schram, and Matt Hand—are batting over .400.
With a huge lead, Hand was back to normal by the fifth.
“That was his best inning,” Schram said. “That was what you saw before he went to Disney. The ball was coming out real fast.”
The 9-0 Indians have outscored opponents 93-22.
“Now the key is to keep these guys grounded,” Schram said.
CR North (9-0, 5-0 SOL) plays Bensalem Thursday at 3:30 p.m. Schram will either throw CJ Kilgarriff or Gavin Ferrandino.
“It’s a toss up,” he said. “We’ll see how they look tomorrow in the bullpen. Who throws better, who has that look in their eyes. It’s a big game.”
Abington (5-3, 2-3 SOL) plays Harry S. Truman Thursday at 3:45.
Council Rock North 4-1-3-4-X 12
Abington 2-0-0-0-0 2
William Tennent 5, Bensalem 0
In league play, William Tennent has been an every other game kind of team.
Here are the results of Tennent’s six league games so far: 13-0 loss to CR North. 10-0 win over Truman. 8-3 loss to Neshaminy. 5-1 win over Council Rock South. 2-1 loss to Abington. 5-0 win over Bensalem.
“We are trying to find consistency,” Tennent coach Rick Penecale said. “It seems like we play one good game, one bad game.”
He’s on to something.
Tuesday was a good game for the Panthers, and a convincing win. The Owls came in 8-1 overall and 4-1 in league play. They looked like CR North’s toughest competitor for the SOL National title.
But Tennent put itself on the district playoff radar. If, of course, the Panthers can win two games in a row sometime.
“Beating a team like Bensalem, they should feel good about themselves,” Penecale said of his players. “Our confidence is high. The guys believe we can make some noise in the league.”
They made noise Tuesday. Now the question becomes, is that all it was? Or is Tennent for real?
Its pitching certainly is. Ryan Lucas tossed 5.1 shutout innings and struck out seven. He is now 3-0 with a 0.56 ERA. Lucas is not a metaphor for his team.
“He’s been pretty consistent,” Penecale said. “He gives a good effort every time he goes out.”
Penecale said Lucas is no longer a head case.
“He’s always been a really good athlete. He’s naturally athletic,” the Panthers’ coach said. “The biggest change with him is his attitude. Mentally he got tougher. When he was younger, and he’d give up more runs, he’d want to come out of the game. Now he wants the ball.”
Like Kobe, or LeBron, or Steph Curry, or any other NBA player who is better than Michael Jordan (gasp).
Tristian Kresz relieved Lucas and pitched 1.2 scoreless innings. Tennent scored one run in the third, two in the fourth, and two in the sixth. Greg Delgado, Dan McNamee, and Chris Sliwka had one RBI each. Delgado and Cole Browne slapped two hits.
Bensalem has been shut out in two of its last three league games.
William Tennent (4-5, 3-3 SOL) battles Pennsbury Thursday afternoon. Bensalem (8-2, 4-2 SOL) takes on CR North at 3:30.
William Tennent 0-0-1-2-0-2-X 5
Bensalem 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0
Neshaminy 8, Harry S. Truman 1
Neshaminy starter Billy Meyer pitched six innings, struck out six, and allowed one hit.
“Billy was Billy,” Neshaminy coach Chris Tenaglia said. “He went out and got ahead of hitters. He was throwing the ball hard and using multiple pitches and changing speeds.”
Meyer improved to 2-1 with a 1.68 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 25 innings.
“He’s one of, if not the best pitcher in the league,” Tenaglia said. “He was upset with me because I didn’t let him finish. We were up 8-0 but he didn’t want to hear it. He gave me a look. Hats off to him for having that mentality. That’s an ace.”
Tenaglia pulled Meyer to keep his arm fresh.
“If we make districts, the more you save him, the more he’ll have at the end,” Tenaglia said.
Andrew Alvino pitched the seventh and fanned two.
Neshaminy scored one run in the first, six in the fourth, and one in the sixth. Truman plated one in the seventh.
Mike Burns (two) and Bill Ritchey (three) combined for five RBIs for the Redskins. Leadoff man Matt Grudza had four hits, two runs scored, and an RBI. Ninth hitter Corey Joyce had two hits, two runs scored, and one RBI.
“It was only a matter of time before all these guys got into a rhythm,” Tenaglia said. Neshaminy has not played a home game yet. Its home field was renovated in the offseason but might be ready by Thursday.
“We get more time in the batting cage when we play at home,” Tenaglia said. “Hopefully that gets our offense into even more of a rhythm. It was nice for the guys in the middle to start driving runs in. They’ve been hitting balls hard. Bill Ritchey has been hitting balls hard right at people.”
Neshaminy has won four of five league games and is tied for second with Bensalem.
“It’s nice. We really want to try to take league games one at a time. You only play 14, so we don’t want to look ahead to the next couple of games out. It’s still early,” Tenaglia said. “We go out there and expect to win every time we step on the field.”
And Tenaglia wins the award for coach-speak quote of the week.
Neshaminy (5-5, 4-2 SOL) plays struggling Council Rock South Thursday afternoon. Harry S. Truman (2-7, 1-5 SOL) takes on Abington Wednesday at 3:30.
Neshaminy 1-0-0-6-0-1-0 8
Harry S. Truman 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 1
Pennsbury 4, Council Rock South 2
Pennsbury ace Zach Conley tweaked his left hamstring, his drive leg, while running from first to second during a preseason intra-squad scrimmage. 
Falcons coaches decided to shut Conley down for the next week and a half.
“We thought it was better to have him out for a week and a half to two weeks than two months,” Pennsbury coach Joe Pesci said. “He’s the type of kid who would go out and try to do too much.”
Conley started his first game on April 5 against Council Rock North, 12 days after the injury. Pitching at about 70 percent strength, he lost his first two starts and racked up a 5.00 ERA.
He did not look right in the first inning against Council Rock South either. Pitching with a 3-0 lead, Conley gave up three hits and threw the ball away into centerfield, allowing a run to score.
“He was serving the ball up there,” Pesci said. “But in the second he came out (angry) and started lighting people up.”
Conley struck out 10 over the last six innings and looked like his old, First Team All-League self. He struck out two and forced a groundout with the bases loaded and no outs in the third.
Conley also made three plays down the first base line.
“He had trouble coming off the mound last time he pitched,” Pesci said. “He still has a hesitancy in running, but he’s comfortable driving off the mound.”
Pesci said his ace is still not 100 percent, just 99.
“He’s pretty darn close,” the Falcons’ coach said. “He was totally fine after.”
Conley will likely have a week to rest before pitching again. He may throw one inning in a non-league game over the weekend. “That will be like a bullpen session,” Pesci said.
David Murphy had two RBIs for the Falcons. Tyrone Hodges had two hits. Bryen Kimbrough knocked two hits and an RBI.
Evan Fisher had two hits and an RBI for the Hawks. Zach Mayer pitched seven innings and gave up just two earned runs, but was out-dueled by Conley.
Pennsbury is tied with William Tennent for third-place in the SOL National.
CR South has lost four straight and is winless in league play. The Hawks did beat Central Bucks South, the leader of the stacked SOL Continental, oddly enough. Baseball, I guess.
Pennsbury (4-4, 3-3 SOL) (It does not get more .500 than that) hosts William Tennent Thursday at 3:30. CR South (1-4, 0-4 SOL) goes to Neshaminy for a 3:45 start.
Pennsbury 3-0-0-0-1-0-0 4
Council Rock South 2-0-0-0-0-0-0 2
SOL Continental
Central Bucks South 3, Quakertown 0
Dan Klepchick. What else can I say? Nothing really, so I’ll let Klumpp explain.
“He’s a perfectionist. He gets frustrated if he doesn’t hit his spots,” Klumpp said. “He has good off speed pitches and good velocity as well.”
Klepchick pitched a complete game, five-hit, no-sweat shutout against Quakertown. He also fanned nine.
“He pitched very well. Early on, his fastball was up a little. But this was the third or fourth start in a row he’s gotten better as the game has gone on,” Klumpp said. “Once we got an early run for him he bared down and did his job.”
Klepchick’s numbers are 1968 Bob Gibson good. He is 4-0, 3-0 in league play, with a 0.32 ERA, 33 strikeouts, 13 hits, and five walks in 28 innings. He has consistently beaten top starters on other teams, like North Penn’s Matt Stevenson and Quakertown’s Tyler Guidos.
Klumpp dared to do something few coaches ever do: Go out on a limb.
“I would definitely say he’s the best pitcher in the league,” Klumpp said. “The league is filled with good pitching but he’s definitely at the top, or at least in the top tier.”
Well, he went out on a limb at first. We’ll take it.
Klepchick has benefitted from Klumpp’s tutelage. Klumpp, a pitching coach at Archbishop Wood before he took the South job, has focused on one part of Klepchick’s arsenal.
“He has become more consistent throwing off-speed pitches for strikes,” Klumpp said. “He has done a good job adjusting and throwing them early in the count for strikes. That’s something I stress.”
CB South scored one run in the first and did not need any more.
“Guys get comfortable when they score one or two runs,” Klumpp said. “They think, ‘Klep is on the mound for us. We’ll be okay.’”
Kyle Rossi drove in Tyler Rossi in the first. The Titans scored two more in the sixth, because they could. Andrew Dietz and Will Moller knocked those runs in. Moller and Tommy Dugan each had two hits.
Guidos pitched six innings for Quakertown but gave up three runs and nine hits. Matt Bukavich stroked two hits for the Panthers.
CB South won after losing its first league game of 2016 last Thursday.
“The guys did a great job bouncing back,” Klumpp said.
The Titans (7-2, 5-1 SOL) bus to Central Bucks West Thursday for a 3:30 start. Quakertown (3-7, 2-4 SOL) goes to Pennridge on the same day and time.
Central Bucks South 1-0-0-0-0-2-0 3
Quakertown 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0
Souderton 3, North Penn 1
Gulibon. It’s just fun to say.
And Aaron, Souderton’s ace, is just as fun to watch. He pitched his best game of 2016 Tuesday.
Gulibon struck out 13 and allowed three hits and one run in seven innings. He threw 113 pitches, the second time this season he has thrown 100 or more in a game, in a win. Call him the SOL Continental’s version of Livan Hernandez.
“His arm never gets tired,” Souderton coach Michael Childs said. “He’s going to have a week off now though, and he knows that. This was a big game against North Penn. Do you really want to come out of that game? I leave it up to him to an extent. He’s on a throwing program. He knows when he wants to go.”
North Penn starter Matt Stevenson out-dueled Gulibon until the sixth, when Souderton plated three runs.
“Both pitchers pitched well,” Childs said. “He (Gulibon) ended up pitching better.”
“He was on fire today. He was blowing away some guys but his off-speed stuff was working too. Guys were chasing in the dirt. It was a pitcher’s strike zone today too. They both hit spots where the umpire was calling it.”
Gulibon, Kyle Lennon, and Matt Reinert each drove in one run in the sixth. Zack Miles scored the only run for North Penn.
Souderton is tied in second with Pennridge. North Penn is tied in third with CB West and Hatboro-Horsham.
Souderton (5-3, 4-2 SOL) plays Central Bucks East Thursday at 3:45. North Penn (6-4, 3-3 SOL) hosts Hatboro-Horsham on the same day and time.
Souderton 0-0-0-0-0-3-0 3
North Penn 0-0-1-0-0-0-0 1
Central Bucks West 1, Central Bucks East 0
Central Bucks West won its third straight league game by one run.
“Even though we lost our first three league games, we were a play away from beating Pennridge and Quakertown,” CB West coach Brad Tracy said. “We learned how to win these games. Moving guys over, getting bunts down. We’ve done those things better.”
Nick Evans singled home Luke Irons in the second for the Bucks’ only run. Matt Peralta belted two hits for the Bucks.
Starter Jake Manca hurled 6.1 scoreless innings without striking anyone out. Peralta got the last two outs and did not record a strikeout either. Seven shutout innings, no strikeouts, a stat line straight out of a Tim Kurkjian monologue.
Manca (75) and Peralta (four) threw just 79 pitches.
“We’ve really been stressing throwing strikes,” Tracy said. “Strikeouts pile up the pitch total. We want them to go deep in innings.”
Manca forced three double plays.
“Jake trusted his defense and let them make plays,” Tracy said. “He worked down in the zone and threw three pitches for strikes. His fastball, curveball, and cutter.”
Manca did not want to come out in the seventh.
“He had just taken a line drive off the shin,” Tracy said. “He said, ‘Come on coach.’ He tried to talk me into keeping him out there.”
AJ Curran struck out six and gave up one run in six innings for the Patriots. Aaron Holland and Matt Ernst ripped two hits for CB East.
CB West (3-5, 3-3 SOL) plays CB South Thursday. CB East (4-6, 0-6 SOL) takes on Souderton on the same day.
Central Bucks West 0-1-0-0-0-0-X 1
Central Bucks East 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0
Pennridge 6, Hatboro-Horsham 1
Nate Coyle pitched four innings and gave up one run. Dan Long relieved him and tossed three scoreless frames to preserve the win for Pennridge.
Coyle allowed no earned runs despite walking seven. Long struck out six and surrendered one baserunner.
Pennridge scored two runs in the second and four in the fourth. Mitch McLeod and Jason Souder both had two RBIs for the Rams. Long and Luke Nuneviller each had one. Andrew Fantaskey scored two runs.
Colin Kennedy and Billy Carr knocked in one run for Hatboro-Horsham. Ryan O’Donnell (two) and Nick Arbaugh (one) pitched three scoreless innings in relief.
Pennridge stayed one game back of CB South for first-place. Hatboro-Horsham fell to two games behind.
Pennridge (6-4, 4-2 SOL) takes on Quakertown Thursday at 3:30. Hatboro-Horsham (5-4, 3-3 SOL) travels to North Penn for a 3:45 start.
Pennridge 0-2-0-4-0-0-0 6
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0-1-0-0-0-0 1
SOL American
Upper Moreland 6, Norristown 1
Brandon Kohn improved to 3-1 and Upper Moreland improved to 4-1 in SOL American play.
Kohn pitched a complete game and struck out six, allowing just five hits.
“He was throwing strikes and zeroed in,” Upper Moreland coach Ken Irwin said. “He was throwing curveballs for strikes. He threw out of the zone when he didn’t need to throw a strike. This was the best he’s thrown as far as doing the little things. Norristown can hit and he was dominant today.”
Norristown’s big three hitters—Terell Dale, Reggie Collins, and Tom Detwiler—went a combined 1-10. Irwin said the weather helped Kohn.
“The hardest hit balls were outs,” Irwin said. “The wind was blowing in.”
But it also helped Norristown starter Dominic Proietto, who allowed just two hits and two earned runs in five innings. Connor Casey had two RBIs for the Golden Bears and Tom Jacob added one. Nick Whitley hit home the only run for Norristown.
Kohn has 15 strikeouts and a 1.89 ERA in 19 innings this season.
“Last year when he got starts he’d have one bad inning,” Irwin said. “He’d walk a couple, then an error would happen.”
In 2015, Kohn lost to Wissahickon 3-2 after giving up three runs in the first. He lost to Upper Dublin 5-4 after allowing five runs in the first.
“He had trouble getting out of that big inning early,” Irwin said. “But he’s not giving up anything this year. He’s making other teams earn it by throwing all of his pitches for strikes. He’s much more confident with his changeup.”
Upper Moreland (5-1, 4-1 SOL) travels to Upper Merion Thursday for a 3:30 game. Norristown (3-4, 2-3 SOL) buses to Plymouth Whitemarsh for a 3:30 start.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 3, Cheltenham 2
Plymouth Whitemarsh trailed 2-1 going into the bottom of the sixth inning.
Noah Goldstein led off the inning, tapped the ball three feet in front of home plate, and beat the throw to first base. Justin Gelfand bunted the ball to the pitcher and sacrificed Goldstein to second.
“If it was fielded cleanly, it may have been a double play,” PW coach Chris Manero said.
One batter later, pinch-hitter Luca Amoroso doubled down the right field line, scoring Goldstein. Amoroso normally starts.
“I gave someone else a shot today,” Manero said. “But I wanted to get Luca an at-bat. It was good timing.”
Another pinch-hitter, Brian Krepto, stepped in and lined the ball to short. The shortstop threw behind Amoroso to third. But the ball skipped past the third baseman and Amoroso scored the go-ahead run.
Colonials starter Dillon Famous threw five innings of four-hit, two-run ball.
“He kept us in the game,” Manero said. “He throws strikes and makes guys hit the ball.”
John Pecharo pitched the last two innings and struck out three.
“When he struck out the first two in the seventh, after we scored to take the lead, that was big,” Manero said.
He also hurled a scoreless inning Monday against Wissahickon. Pitching well out of the pen is, of course, not enough.
Pecharo is also batting .423 with eight RBIs, leading the Colonials in both categories. He had a hit and an RBI against Cheltenham. The junior has hit safely in six straight games and seven of nine this season.
Freshman Andrew Kliesh smoked two hits for PW. Classmate Anthony Tomassetti “made nice plays at shortstop,” Manero said.
“To see both freshmen have good games is encouraging,” the Colonials’ coach said. “Both guys are going in the right direction.”
Joel White gave up just two earned runs in six innings for Cheltenham. Alex Haasz recorded an RBI.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (3-6, 2-4 SOL) plays Norristown Thursday afternoon. Cheltenham (0-5, 0-4 SOL) welcomes Wissahickon at 3:30.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-0-0-0-1-2-X 3
Cheltenham 1-0-0-1-0-0-0 2
Springfield 5, Upper Merion 4
One Springfield run in the first inning made the difference, as both teams scored four runs in the fourth.
Springfield earned its first win of 2016, league and non-league, while Upper Merion dropped to fourth-place.
In the first, Robert Demerlis tripled to left field, plating Cory Cottone with the winning run. Chris Kelly, Jack Cornely, and Jackson Pauwels also had RBIs for Springfield. Cornely slammed two hits.
Ray Scheier had three hits and three RBIs for Upper Merion. Jarrett Quinn drove in the fourth run.
Nick Pave earned the win for Springfield, striking out 10 in seven innings.
Springfield (1-4, 1-4 SOL) plays Upper Dublin Thursday at 3:30. Upper Merion (3-7, 3-3 SOL) hosts the battle of the Uppers against Upper Moreland.
Springfield 1-0-0-4-0-0-0 5
Upper Merion 0-0-0-4-0-0-0 4
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