Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action. Wissahickon/William Tennent photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f12122253 (PW photos provided courtesy of Cindy Manero/PW baseball)
SOL Colonial/Patriot Division Crossovers
North Penn 9, Pennsbury 6
Two teams off to fast starts and with shares of first place in their respective divisions squared off at North Penn Wednesday.
And the Knights were the ones who got it started early with their bats, scoring nine runs in the first three innings, before holding on late for the 9-6 win over the visiting Falcons.
“I sort of saw it in pregame (batting practice),” said North Penn coach Kevin Manero. “Guys just looked kind of locked in. I thought we had the right mindset coming out of practice yesterday, guys were pumped up.
“We have so many young guys – who are good, smart ballplayers – but they don’t quite know the intensity of a Suburban One game until they play it. We have a lot of guys growing up really fast. And our upper-classed guys are helping with that.
“The guys knew what was at stake today and they came to play.”
Facing one of the SOL’s top pitchers in Pennsbury senior Kayden Faulcon, the Knights brought their bats right from the start.
Leadoff hitter Justin Egner reached on a dropped third strike, Kevin Brace singled and then back-to-back walks plated one run and a Brady Dolger sacrifice fly with one out made it 2-0.
In the second, after Pennsbury had scored to cut the lead to 2-1, North Penn added two more on a two-run home run by Brace.
A five-run third inning broke the game wide open and made it a 9-1 game. James Mangine had a two-run single, Egner an RBI single, and then Jack Picozzi drove in two more with a double.
North Penn starter Nolan Walker was strong through four innings, but the Falcons made their move in the fifth, with an RBI triple by Ryan Zuckerman and an RBI single by Joe Tiroli. And they added three runs as two errors and an RBI double by Tiroly cut it to 9-6.
But Trevor Lugara came in from the bullpen in the seventh and set Pennsbury down 1-2-3 to record the save and give the Knights their biggest win of the season.
“For the second time this year, we were able to build a nice lead, and we had opportunities to put the game away and didn’t,” Manero said. “We gave them some runs back and Pennsbury is a very good team. We were flat with the bats for a few innings, and before you knew it, they were right back in it.
“Fortunately, our bullpen held on – we brought Trevor Lugura in, and he got three outs on less than a dozen (11) pitches.”
Ben Farley was 3-for-4 for North Penn, leading a 10-hit attack. Brace was 2-for-4 with the homer, two runs scored and two RBs. Dolder was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Pennsbury was led by Zuckerman and Tiroly with two hits each. Reliever Aidan Kenney pitched four innings and allowed just one unearned run.
North Penn (7-1, 5-1 SOL) wraps up its three-game week at Neshaminy on Friday.
Pennsbury (7-2, 4-2 SOL) hosts Pennridge on Friday.
Pennsbury 010 023 0 – 6 6 2
North Penn 225 000 x – 9 10 2
Souderton 10, Bensalem 0
Seven runs in the sixth and seventh innings and lights out pitching from Jeremy Fallon gave Souderton a key 10-0 road win at Bensalem on Friday.
“I was impressed how we bounced back after a tough loss on Monday against CB West,” said coach Mike Childs. “Jeremy Fallon looked very good in his first start this year, going the complete game and not letting up any runs.”
Fallon threw just 73 pitches over seven innings, allowing three hits and one walk, while striking out six. He also had help behind him.
“Our defense looked really good today,” Childs said. “We moved some guys around and we did not have an error. That is huge.”
But facing Bensalem’s Dan McShane, runs were hard to come by for the Indians as well.
Tyler Lutz hit a two-out, solo home run to right field to give Souderton a 1-0 lead in the first. Colin McKenna had an RBI single in the third. And one inning later, Joey Nase tripled to score a run and put his team up 3-0.
But the Indians blew it wide open in the sixth. Back-to-back one-out errors plated one run, a single by Liam O’Leary drove in a run and then McKenna followed with a RBI double.
They added four more runs in the seventh, thanks to another error, a two-run double by Austin Kreyenhagen and then a Max Mento RBI single.
“It was good to see our bats come alive and attack the ball, pounding out 12 hits,” Childs said. “Chris McKenna led the offense with two hits and Tyler Lutz had his first varsity home run.”
McKenna was 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Connor Klock was also 2-for-4.
Souderton (5-3, 4-2 SOL) plays at Harry S. Truman in another crossover game on Friday.
Bensalem (3-6, 2-5 SOL) has a nonleague game on Thursday against Archbishop Ryan.
Souderton 101 103 4 – 10 12 0
Bensalem 000 000 0 – 0 3 6
Council Rock South 2, Central Bucks East 1
Chase Ennis was close to perfect on the mound Wednesday, and he needed to be as CB East’s Sam Bliss was nearly as strong.
In the end, two runs in the third for the host Golden Hawks held up as Ennis went the distance, allowing just one run in the top of the seventh before closing the game out, allowing his team to move back into a first-place tie in the Patriot Division.
“Today was a great win for our guys in response to some adversity we faced earlier in this week,” said CR South coach Greg Paprocki. “We had three of our starters out today, one of whom suffered a concussion in a scary moment on Monday.
“We needed guys to step up and that’s exactly what we got. Joey Pirone, Zach Rementer and Reed Curtier have been chomping at the bit to get their opportunity and they delivered.”
In all, Ennis allowed just four hits and one walk, while striking out 11.
The bottom of the third started innocently enough for CB East, as Bliss struck out the first two batters. Pirone followed with a single and then stole second. He scored on a Trey Sajeski double. Ennis, who was 2-for-3 at the plate, helped himself with an RBI single to make it 2-0.
That’s where the game stood until the seventh.
CB East’s Matt Rowland roped a one-out triple to center field and scored on an RBI groundout by Jack Mislan. Ennis then recorded his 11th strikeout for the final out of the game.
Mislan was 2-for-3 for the Patriots, while Bliss allowed just the two runs on five hits and two walks, while striking out nine.
CR South (5-3, 4-2 SOL) has a key game Friday at 7-1 CB West.
CB East (2-7, 2-4 SOL) has a nonleague game Friday at Father Judge.
CB East 000 000 1 – 1 4 0
CR South 002 000 x – 2 5 2
Neshaminy 3, Central Bucks South 2
Robert Harrison had the big hit of the game, a two-out RBI double to center field with the score tied at 2 in the top of the sixth, as Neshaminy emerged with the much-needed and well-earned road win at CB South Wednesday.
“Today was a very important game for us,” said coach Dan Toner. “We are coming off two games where we could not get anything going on offense. We’ve had runners in scoring position and simply couldn’t push any runs across.
“We have focused on coming through in big situations at practice and it was nice to see some guys step up.”
This one was a pitchers’ duel from the start between Neshaminy starter Ryan Fox and CB South’s Logan Hinds. Both starters allowed just one earned run through five before turning it over to the bullpen.
The Titans jumped up with a run in the bottom of the first as a pair of singles and a sac fly by Owen Wheeler plated one.
Neshaminy tied it in the top of the fifth, thanks to a Harrison double, an error and then a squeeze bunt RBI by Jaymie Sariano.
CB South bounced right back as Wheeler scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the fifth.
That set the stage for the sixth inning, which started with a single by Chase Bonner and a one-out single by Rob Del Buono that put runners on first and third for Neshaminy.
A Luke Hardnock sac bunt scored Bonner and tied the game at 2, setting the stage for Harrison’s second double of the game.
“We did a nice job executing situational baseball today and finally we got that big hit we have been waiting on, which was delivered by Robert Harrison,” Toner said.
Neshaminy reliever Steven Martin allowed just one hit in the last two innings to pick up the save for Fox.
“Ryan Fox had a good day on the mound and sophomore Steve Martin did a fantastic job closing the door and getting the save,” Toner said. “Martin is incredibly poised for a sophomore and has been fantastic for us all year. He has been put in some high-pressure situations and has been very impressive in all of them.”
Neshaminy (6-3, 4-3 SOL) hosts North Penn on Friday.
CB South (3-5, 2-4 SOL) hosts Council Rock North on Thursday.
Neshaminy 000 012 0 – 3 8 1
CB South 100 010 0 – 2 8 1
Central Bucks West 3, Council Rock North 1
Sam Greer pitched a complete-game, four-hitter, leading CB West to the 3-1 win in a pitchers’ duel with CR North starter Matt Herbert.
“Sam Greer had a phenomenal day today,” said Bucks coach Brian Weaver, whose team maintained its share of the lead in the Colonial Division with the win. “He and Max McGlone have found a pretty good synergy, and they’re working hitters very effectively.
“Sam had 11 strikeouts, but he still kept his pitch count down. Our guys have a lot of confidence knowing that even if we don’t put up a run every inning, Sam can keep us in the game.”
Herbert matched him zero for zero through the first four innings, but in the fifth, the visiting Bucks jumped ahead.
“(Herbert) absolutely pounded the strike zone,” Weaver said. “We made great contact off of him, but (CR North coach Matt Schram) had his guys positioned well and we couldn’t find any real estate to drop the ball into. I’m very impressed with our guys’ ability to stay calm and not get frustrated in that kind of situation, where you just can’t seem to get a break. Instead of pressing, they keep working good at-bats and gave the guy behind them a chance to have the next big moment.”
After a Julio Ermigiotti singled with one out, Matt Carr doubled to score the run and give the Bucks their first lead. Luke Birkhead followed with a sac fly to make it 2-0.
Lukas Mullen singled home a run for the Indians to cut it to 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth.
Carr had his second RBI double for an insurance run for CB West in the seventh, and Greer set the Indians down in order, with back-to-back strikeouts to end the game.
“On a day when the top of our lineup had trouble solving a good pitcher, the bottom of the lineup came through,” Weaver said. “Both of our innings came because guys worked good at-bats and put the ball in play.”
Carr was 2-for-3 with two doubles, two RBIs and one run scored to lead the Bucks. Kevin Bukowski was 2-for-3 out of the leadoff spot.
CB West (7-1, 5-1 SOL) has a nonleague game at Holy Ghost Prep scheduled for Thursday.
CR North (3-5, 2-4 SOL) plays another crossover game Thursday, at CB South.
CB West 000 020 1 – 3 7 2
CR North 000 001 0 – 1 4 0
Harry S Truman 10, Pennridge 7
Truman jumped out to an 8-1 lead after four innings and then found a way to survive a scary last three innings, posting its second big win of the season in a crossover game played at Pennridge’s James Memorial Park in West Rockhill.
The pitching standout from the Tigers’ win over Council Rock South on Monday, Andrew Armstrong delivered at the plate on Wednesday, going 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, two runs scored and three RBIs.
In all, the Indians scored 10 runs on 15 hits. Wyatt Spinks, Ryan Cavanaugh, Caleb Wright and Alex Matlack all had two hits each.
And they started with three runs in the first inning. Cavanaugh reached on a one-out error, Armstrong doubled to put runners on second and third, and then a Gabe Marrero scored both runs. Wright’s RBI single scored Marrero.
It was 4-1 heading in the fourth, when Truman scored four more runs and appeared to blow the game wide open. An RBI single by Cavanaugh was followed by a three-run homer by Armstrong to center field.
Pennridge rallied with three runs in the fifth, starting with a pair of walks. One run scored on an error, while Aidan McCloskey and Joey Gregoire had RBI singles.
Truman led 10-4 going into the bottom of the seventh, but the host Rams had the first five batters reach base thanks to two singles, a walk, an error and a hit-by-pitch. A two-out bases loaded walk cut the lead to 10-7, but Tigers reliever Luke Olivero recorded a flyout to end the game.
Cavanaugh, Truman’s starter, picked up the win, allowing four unearned runs over five innings, striking out seven.
McCloskey had four hits and three RBIs to lead Pennridge. Garret Navitsky was 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
Truman (4-3, 3-3 SOL) hosts Souderton on Friday.
Pennridge (0-10, 0-6 SOL) looks for its first win of the season Friday at Pennsbury.
Truman 310 401 1 – 10 15 2
Pennridge 100 030 3 – 7 9 3
SOL Liberty/Freedom Crossovers
Abington 12, Upper Moreland 10
The Galloping Ghosts scored four two-out runs in the bottom of the sixth to escape with a wild win over visiting Upper Moreland on Friday.
“Back and forth game with a great team,” said Abington assistant coach Trey Guaglionona. “We got out to an early lead, but they slowly chipped away to take the lead from us late.
“Calvin Judge came in and kept us in the game, ultimately getting the win on the back of a bottom of the sixth rally.”
Upper Moreland, which trailed 8-3 after two innings, rallied, grabbing a 10-8 lead with three runs in the top of the sixth. Pat Kilgus had a two-run double and then Jimmy Torpey scored a run with an RBI sac fly.
Matt Worek singled and Chase Goodson walked with one out in the bottom of the sixth, and later with two outs, Logan Moss had an RBI single and then LJ Wolf scored two runs with a double to right field. Brian Murtha then capped the inning with an RBI single.
The Ghosts scored 12 runs on 12 hits. Wolf was 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Goodson had two hits, two runs scored and two RBIs. Murtha was also 2-for-4.
Upper Moreland had nine hits on the day, led by Kilgus, who went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and Shawn Townsend, who went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Nate Kelly also had two hits and two RBIs.
Abington (4-5, 3-3 SOL) plays at Cheltenham on Friday.
Upper Moreland (6-4, 5-3 SOL) is off until April 27 when it hosts Quakertown.
Upper Moreland 212 023 0 – 10 9 3
Abington 170 004 x – 12 12 3
Hatboro-Horsham 9, New Hope-Solebury 5
The host Hatters jumped ahead 9-0 with three in the fourth and six in the fifth, and they then held off New Hope over the final two innings for the crossover victory on Friday.
“Sophomore Jamie O’Neill was outstanding again today,” said H-H coach Pete Moore. “He was a bulldog out there for us. I love his demeanor on the mound right now. He is dominating the strike zone and attacking hitters.
“Not only did he earn the win on the mound, but he was terrific at the plate with three hits in four at bats. Since he was pitching, we used senior Tom Shegogue to courtesy run for him. Shegogue had a terrific dirt ball read that allowed him to get to second base and then he scored the game’s first run from there on a single by (Stephen) Plefka. He scored another run later after courtesy running again.”
Scoreless going into the fourth, Hatboro-Horsham broke through with three runs, as Plefka, Kenny Lutz and Dominick Pedone had RBI singles. Trey Porter led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run to left. Jamie O’Neill, Pedone and Aidan Eckley added RBI singles.
O’Neill was dominant on the mound through five.
“We switched the lineup around a little bit, and we really liked what we saw offensively today,” Moore said. “We moved Trey Porter to the 3-hole and out of the leadoff spot, and he responded with two hits and a home run.
“Senior Noah Schlosser was moved up to the leadoff spot, and he reached base twice and scored a run. Senior Dom Pedone gave us a real spark at the bottom of the order going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Junior Stephen Plefka had a couple hits in the 6-hole. Freshman Kenny Lutz started at third base and collected his first varsity hit and RBI to give us a 2-0 lead.
“Seeing eight different players get hits and scoring (nine runs on 13 hits) was a great response by our players to the lineup changes.”
New Hope’s Nate Wiseman and Joe Rickard had a single and double with one out in the top of the sixth. A ground out scored the Lions first run and then one scored on a double by Saul Carmenini and another scored on an error to make it 9-3.
Another error started the seventh for the Lions, who also took advantage of two walks and a hit batter before H-H’s Plefka came in to record the final out and finish off the Hatters win.
“You have to give New Hope-Solebury credit for how hard they play for the full seven innings,” Moore said. “They came back from being down 9-0 to being down 9-5 at the end of five innings, with the tying run at the plate in the seventh inning.
“Tony (Vlahovic) does a great job with his players and his kids play hard.”
H-H (6-3, 3-3 SOL) has another crossover game Friday at Lower Moreland
New Hope (3-5, 2-4 SOL) hosts Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday.
New Hope-Solebury 000 003 2 – 5 5 3
Hatboro-Horsham 000 360 x – 9 13 5
Quakertown 11, Lower Moreland 0 (5 innings)
After a rough go the first time through the Liberty Division portion of its schedule, Quakertown needed a win and picked one up in a big way.
“It was nice to put one in the ‘W’ column,” said coach Jon Pallone. “We’ve been struggling lately, and we needed to make some adjustments as well as a little change in luck as well.”
Senior Vinny Pellegrini pitched a five-inning, no-hitter, and received plenty of run support early and often, as the Panthers blew the game open with five runs in the top of the fifth on the way to the mercy-rule win over Lower Moreland.
Pellegrini faced just 17 batters and threw 50 pitches over five innings. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out 11.
“Vinny threw extremely well,” Pallone said. ”He not only threw a no-hitter, but had an immaculate inning (three strikeouts on nine pitches) along the way. He threw 43 strikes out of 50 pitches in five innings.”
Offensively, the Panthers scored 11 runs on nine hits, led by Cole Reich, who went 3-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored and one RBI. Nate Sheetz had a double and three RBIs. Danny Qualteria scored three runs.
“Cole Reich put a sacrifice bunt down with the ball spinning itself to stay right in the chalk line,” Pallone said. “Seemed like a nice sign of luck changing. Reich had two other nice at bats as well.”
Quakertown (2-7, 1-5 SOL) hosts Springfield on Friday.
Lower Moreland (3-4, 2-4 SOL) looks to bounce back when it hosts Hatboro-Horsham on Friday
Quakertown 252 02 – 11 9 1
Lower Moreland 000 00 – 0 0 3
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10, Cheltenham 0 (5 innings)
Matt Krawitz faced just 16 batters, allowing just one to reach base on a walk, striking out eight in a five-inning no-hitter for PW, which wrapped up
this one 10-0 in five innings.
“Most wins start on the mound, and Krawitz was in complete command for us today,” said Colonials coach Chris Manero. “He was a walk away from being perfect and pitched with a ton of confidence. It was a performance he needed, and one that certainly helped keep us in the driver’s seat from start to finish.”
This one was still just a 1-0 game through two innings, but PW blew it open with five runs in the third and four in the fourth. It finished with 10 runs on six hits, aided by seven walks and three Cheltenham errors.
Luke Caucci was 2-for-2 with a triple, three RBIs and two runs scored. Lincoln Sharpe walked twice and had a triple and an RBI as well.
“We did a nice job of coming out today and played a real clean game to get the win,” Manero said. “We stayed patient at the plate and took advantage of seven walks, while also getting a few big hits from Caucci and Sharpe.”
PW (6-2, 5-1 SOL) is back at it Friday at New Hope-Solebury.
Cheltenham (2-5, 1-5 SOL) hosts rival Abington on Friday.
Cheltenham 000 00 – 0 0 3
PW 105 4x – 10 6 0
Upper Dublin 12, Springfield Twp 2 (6 innings)
Jared and Joe Levis combined for five hits and eight RBIs, and Upper Dublin scored four runs in the top of the third and never looked back, eventually putting Springfield away by a 12-2 final in a mercy-rule shortened, six-inning game.
“Great team win,” said UD coach Ed Wall. “We had a few guys’ bats wake up today, which leveled up our offense. I’m excited to see where it takes us.”
Jared Levis went 3-for-4 with a double, three runs scored and four RBIs. Joe Levis was 2-for-4 with four RBIs. Six other players had hits for the Flying Cardinals, who also drew 11 bases on balls.
Chase Sunday and Billy Hart combined for the win on the mound. Sunday went four innings, allowed one earned run on three hits and two walks, with three strikeouts to earn the win.
“Our pitchers continue to be tough and resilient competitors,” Wall said.
Upper Dublin (6-3, 6-1 SOL), still tied for first in the loss column atop the Liberty standings, plays at William Tennent on Thursday.
Springfield (4-2, 4-2 SOL) plays at Quakertown on Friday.
Upper Dublin 004 332 – 12 11 1
Springfield 001 100 – 2 4 2
Wissahickon 15, William Tennent 5 (5 innings)
Nine runs on eight hits in the top of the first set the tone in this one, as the Trojans never stopped hitting and put away William Tennent in five innings, 15-5.
Wissahickon scored 15 runs on 13 hits, five walks and four Tennent errors.
“Hitting is contagious, and we really put that on display today,” said coach Andy Noga. “I thought we did a great job of attacking pitches in the zone in the first inning.”
Josh Palutis led off the game with a double and the Trojans were off and running. Jarret Federer had a two-run home run to highlight the inning.
After the host Panthers battled back to pull within 10-5 after three innings, Wissahickon put it away with one in the fourth and four more in the fifth.
Blake McClintic went 3-for-3 with one run scored and three RBIs to lead the Trojans’ offensive explosion. Palutis had two hits – both in the first inning – and two RBIs. Justin Miller was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Shane Henrick had two RBIs and two runs scored.
“I was really proud of Jarret Federer, a guy who has earned his way into his first varsity league start, and he promptly hits a home run in the first inning, really blowing things open,” Noga said. “Josh Palutis and Blake McClintic continue to blister the baseball for us, pacing our offense. As they go, we go.
“We went a little silent there in the middle innings, but it is something we need to work on as we move forward, but Jake Fuhrmeister and Cole Rogers did a great job coming in and closing the game out for us.”
Jordani Tiburcio was 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and a RBI for Tennent.
Wissahickon (7-3, 4-3 SOL) is off until April 25 when it plays at Cheltenham.
Tennent (3-5, 2-4 SOL) hosts Upper Dublin on Thursday.
Wissahickon 910 14 – 15 13 3
Tennent 122 00 – 5 8 4
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