Abington, Hatboro-Horsham and Cheltenham were winners in SOL baseball action on Wednesday.
National Conference
ABINGTON 1, HARRY S TRUMAN 0
Abington has shown it can hang with the best in conference play, but until Wednesday, the Ghosts had not been able to find a way to win.
“We were talking about the importance of sticking together as a team and trying to fight through,” coach Jon Morrissette said. “We’ve played a lot of close games.
“We played 12 innings against Council Rock North yesterday and lost (4-2) in extra innings. We lost 2-0 to Pennsbury last week – two great teams that we fought tooth and nail, but we continued to fall on the short side in a lot of those close games.”
If the Ghosts were looking for someone to give them a lift, Paul Poppert was more than happy to answer the call. The Ghosts’ senior captain allowed just two hits while striking out eight and walking none in a stellar outing before reaching the 100-pitch mark with two outs in the seventh. George Jacob needed just four pitches to collect the final out.
“Paul’s been fantastic all year,” Morrissette said. “He’s kept us in almost every game we’ve been in, and he just unfortunately hasn’t gotten a win out of it.
“He actually shut out Cheltenham for seven innings and got to the 100-pitch count, and we won in extra innings that game, so he’s been outstanding.”
The Ghosts scored the only run they would need in the third inning. Second baseman Nick McClay – the team’s most consistent hitter this season, according to Morrissette – singled and stole second. Kenny Adkins – the Ghosts’ most clutch hitter – brought McClay home with a two-out RBI single. Poppert and the Ghosts made that one run stand the rest of the way.
Catcher Josh Persing delivered a clutch defensive play for the Ghosts in the fifth inning with runners on first and third and one out.
“It was a designed play,” Morrissette said. “The guy was stealing second, but (Persing) threw to third, and the guy got picked off. That was huge.
“It was a great play, and it kept us up.”
Abington (3-7, 1-5 SOL) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham on Saturday for a non-league game. Harry S Truman (1-6, 0-5) will be on the road at Neshaminy on Monday.
Harry S Truman 000 000 0 0-2-0
Abington 001 000 x 1-4-2
American Conference
CHELTENHAM 5, WISSAHICKON 4
The Panthers rallied from a 4-3 deficit to earn the come-from-behind win, their first victory of the season.
Jack McHugh’s two-run single in the bottom of the sixth put the Panthers on top 5-4, and Alex Haasz tossed a scoreless seventh to earn the save.
The Trojans plated single runs in the first and second, but the Panthers used a three-run second to go on top 3-2. In the inning, Kieran Versaw-Barnes drove in a pair, and Lukas Nakkula also had an RBI single. Wissahickon knotted the scored with a run in the third, and that 3-3 tie stood until the top of the sixth when the Trojans scored to go on top 4-3. Their lead was short-lived as the Panthers had an answer in the bottom of the frame.
Joel White earned the win for the Panthers, allowing nine hits and four runs (three earned) while walking two and fanning two.
For the Panthers, Versaw-Barnes was 2-for-4 with a double two RBIs and two runs scored out of the leadoff spot. White was 2-for-2 with a double, and Haasz was 2-for-3.
The Trojans were led by the three-hit effort of Matt Shilling, who also had an RBI. Mike Schoenleber was 2-for-4 with two runs scored out of the leadoff spot, Ben Maltin was 2-for-4 with a run scored, and Ben Bleefled was 2-for-2 with a run scored.
Bleefed absorbed the loss on the mound.
Cheltenham (1-7, 1-5 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks West on Friday for a non-league game, and Wissahickon (3-5, 1-3) will be on the road at Lansdale Catholic on Friday.
Wissahickon 111 001 0 4-11-0
Cheltenham 030 002 x 5-10-3
Non-league
HATBORO-HORSHAM 8, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 4
The Hatters won a non-league game against the visiting Patriots on Wednesday.
The Hatters scored first in the bottom of the second inning when Ryan O’Donnell reached on an error, advanced to second when Drew Passerini reached on an error, and then scored after walks to junior catcher Matt Johnson and senior second baseman Ryan Long.
The Patriots answered back in the top of the third inning when Cameron Komonchak led off the inning with a walk, and he eventually scored on a sinking line drive to left field that fell out of the outfielder’s glove, knotting the score 1-1.
The Hatters came right back with a big inning in the bottom half of the third and scored seven runs to take an 8-1 lead. Shaun Thomas and Colin Kennedy each had two hits during the inning.
Thomas had a pair of RBIs while Drew Passerini, Kevin Waeltz, Shane Carpenter, Matthew Johnson and Ryan Long each added one RBI.
CJ Gillmer’s 2-for-4 effort with an RBI and run scored led the Patriots. Jimmy Parrish, James Pello and Sean E’Nama each had one RBI.
Senior starting pitcher Kyle Krall gave the Hatters a strong start. He cruised through the first four innings before the Patriots put up a big inning, scoring three in the top of the fifth. Krall went 4.2 innings, allowing four runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks while striking out two.
The Hatters’ bullpen was dominant on Wednesday. Junior RHP Alex Crim entered the game up 8-4 with the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate. He struck out the first hitter he faced to get out of the inning and then struck out the side in the sixth inning to preserve the lead for the Hatters. The Hats then turned the game over to Colin Kennedy who retired the side in order with two strikeouts to close out the game.
The Hatters (4-4 Overall, 3-2 SOL American) will be back in action at Upper Dublin on Friday afternoon before hosting Abington in a non-league game on Saturday at 10:00 AM. Central Bucks East (2-4, 1-2) will host William Tennent on Thursday.
Central Bucks East 001 030 0 4-5-4
Hatboro-Horsham 017 000 x 8-7-2
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