Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Thursday.
SOL Patriot/Colonial crossover
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 5, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 4
The Titans were running out of time.
Trailing 2-0 heading into the fifth inning, they erupted for five runs and held on for the 5-4 win.
“We let up two runs in the first inning – hung a breaking ball to (Jadon) Tang, their DH, and he absolutely crushed it over the right field fence,” said South coach Kevin Bray. “Right off the bat we’re in a 2-0 hole, but our guys really did a good job of getting quality at-bats early in the game, and that paid off for us when we were finally able to strike gold in the fifth inning with that five spot.”
In the pivotal fifth, L Hinds picked up a one-out single, and Owen Wheeler drew a walk. With two outs, Jack DiCesare hit a clutch two-run single. Jack Carver followed with an RBI double to left field. Errors allowed two more runs to cross the plate.
“That was a huge at-bat for us, and that was with two outs,” Bray said. “So DiCesare’s two-out, two-RBI base hit was huge.
“Later on, Jack Carver also had a two-out RBI, double, which is something that we’ve been lacking these close games we’ve lost early in the season. We were finally able to execute and guys came up big in big spots. I couldn’t be more happy for Jack DeCesare and Jack Carver in those spots offensively.”
The Indians didn’t go down quietly. Quinn Erlandsen singled to open the top of the sixth, and without the benefit of hit, they put two runs on the board to make it a 5-4 game, but that’s as close as they would get.
Brett Barrett, who notched the win, threw 5.1 innings, allowing three hits and four runs while striking out four and walking three. Eric Hofmeister threw one-and-two-thirds shutout innings in relief to close it out. He did not allow a hit, struck out three and walked none.
“Brett Barrett had a really good day on the mound for us,” Bray said. “He just ran out of gas in the sixth inning, but we had Eric Hofmeister ready to go in that spot.
“He came in in a big spot with runners in scoring position, and we were able to get out of it. Brett did a great job early on. After that first inning, he really bared down, and he was able to keep his off-speed stuff down in the zone and it really paid off for us in the end.”
DiCesare’s 2-for-3 day at the plate with two RBIs and a run scored led the Titans.
Erlandsen had two of Rock North’s three hits.
Central Bucks South (4-5, 3-4 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South on Tuesday, and Council Rock North (3-6, 2-5) will host North Penn on Tuesday.
Council Rock North 200 002 0 4-3-2
Central Bucks South 000 050 x 5-7-0
SOL Liberty/Freedom crossover
UPPER DUBLIN 11, WILLIAM TENNENT 0 (5 innings)
A trio of Upper Dublin pitchers combined for the one-hit shutout in the abbreviated contest that was the definition of a team effort.
“We were able to get all 21 players into the game to contribute,” UD coach Ed Wall said. “Our guys all work really hard, and it’s nice to see them all have a piece of the victory.”
Jacob Cornbluth threw two shutout innings, allowing one hit and walking one. Brodie Wedholm did not allow a hit in two shutout innings that saw him walk a pair. Ryan Campbell did not allow a hit in a scoreless fifth, striking out one and walking two.
The Cardinals scored five runs in the top of the first. Jared Levis led off with a single. It was UD’s lone hit of an inning that saw the Cardinals capitalize on two walks, two hit batters and three Tennent miscues.
Aidan McCarthy’s RBI double pushed a sixth run across in the second, and a four-run third put the game out of reach. Bobby Keck led off with a double, and Brendan O’Brien followed with a single. Bryce Greiner (RBI) and Cornbluth also singled.
For the Cardinals, Jared Levis led the way with a 2-for-3 effort that included a triple, three RBIs and three runs scored. Nate Cairnes scored three runs.
Upper Dublin (7-3, 7-1 SOL) will host Cheltenham on Thursday, and William Tennent (3-6, 2-5) will host Dock Mennonite Academy in a non-league game Monday.
Upper Dublin 514 10 11-7-0
William Tennent 000 00 0-1-6
Non-league
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 4, HOLY GHOST PREP 3
Sparked by five shutout innings from Alex Jenkinson, the Bucks eked out the non-league road win, scoring an unearned run in the seventh to break a 3-3 tie with the game-winner,
“With a four-game week, it’s all hands on deck with pitching,” West coach Brian Weaver said. “Today we needed Alex Jenkinson to step up. On Saturday, he threw the best bullpen we’ve ever seen him throw. And today he was even better than that. The only way you hang with Holy Ghost is if you have a pitcher who can shut down a strong lineup, and Alex worked with (catcher) Julian Kim to keep their hitters at bay.
“On the back end, Jacob Greer came in to close it out. He’s a freshman, and his first assignment was to slam the door on a one-run game against a defending state finalist. No pressure, right?”
After retiring the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the seventh, Freeman issued a two-out walk but struck out the next batter to preserve the win.
In the top of the seventh, Kevin Bukowski led off with a single and moved up to second on an error. With one out, he stole third and then scored the go-ahead run on a Firebird miscue. It was appropriate that Bukowski capped a torrid day at the plate by scoring the game-winner.
“At the plate, Kevin Bukowski was 4-for-4,” Weaver said. “After we gave up three runs in the sixth, it would have been easy to get deflated. But the guys have a deep trust that somebody’s going to get the job done. Kevin led off, and when a single scooted past the outfielder he was running hard and got to second. Then he made a great dirtball read to steal third and scored when the throw got down the line. That run was all hustle.”
Earlier in the game, the Bucks scored three runs in the third. Bukowski was again in the middle of action, collecting a one-out single. Julian Kim drew a walk, and with two outs and a pair on board, Quinn Illg singled to left field to plate a run, and two runs scored on Bill Zentamayer’s double.
“In the third, the guys just had great, patient at-bats,” Weaver said. “Julian Kim went down 1-2 and proceeded to work an 11-pitch walk. Just a phenomenal trip to the plate. That lets Quinn Illig single home a run, and Bill Zentmayer just clobbered a double to center to drive in two more.”
Holy Ghost Prep evened the score in the sixth, but the Bucks refused to go away, winning it in the seventh.
“This was a really big win for our guys,” Weaver said. “We got 18 guys into the game in different capacities, and they cobbled together enough good moments at the right times to grab a road win against a great program.”
Central Bucks West (8-1, 5-1 SOL) will host Council Rock South on Friday.
Central Bucks West 003 000 1 4-7-2
Holy Ghost Prep 000 003 0 3-4-3
BENSALEM 4, ARCHBISHOP RYAN 3
The Owls scored one run in four different innings. Their final run – in the bottom of the fifth – broke a 3-3 tie and turned out to be the game-winner. Mike Kramer’s two-out single plated Yahil Almodovar, who singled to lead off the inning, with the go-ahead run that held until the final out.
“We traded runs early in the game with Ryan, but our guys just put good at-bats together all game long,” Bensalem coach Kurt Sowa said. “Their pitcher threw well also. It was good to see us battle back after getting behind at times throughout the game. It was another game where we had offensive contributions from many up and down the lineup.”
The Owls took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Almodovar, who was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on an error, scored on Kyle Rubin’s sacrifice fly.
The Raiders scored two in the top of the second, but the Owls evened the score in their half when Kaden Lavender, who doubled, scored on a steal of home.
Bensalem took its first lead with a run in the bottom of the fourth when Dan McShane, who doubled to left with one out, scored on Ridge’s two-out RBI single. Ryan got that run back in the top of the fifth only to see the Owls score the game-winner in the bottom half of the inning.
McShane’s 2-for-3 effort at the plate with a double and run scored led the Owls.
Jim Ridge earned the start and allowed four hits and three runs in five innings on the mound, striking out six and walking two. Preston Stracci closed it out with two shutout innings, striking out three and walking one.
“Jim Ridge pitched very well today in his first start of the year,” Sowa said. “He threw strikes and was able to strand a few runners in scoring position. He also had a nice RBI hit to help himself out.”
Bensalem (4-6, 2-5 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks West on Tuesday.
Archbishop Ryan 020 010 0 3-6-3
Bensalem 110 110 x 4-9-2
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