By Scott Huff
ABINGTON – Even a driving rainstorm in the bottom of the seventh inning could not dampen the spirit of victory for visiting Council Rock North as the Indians (8-0, 5-0) remained unbeaten with an 11-1 Suburban One National Conference victory over Abington (3-4, 2-4).“We felt that if we improve every game and play the right way, the wins will come,” said Council Rock head coach Dan Kusters. “We have some guys who know how to play the game, and we try and take advantage of those strengths.”
One of those strengths is lanky right-hander Nick Donofry. Donofry threw his first complete game of the season as he limited the Ghosts to just three hits.
“Nick was throwing very well today,” said Kusters. “He had great velocity and location. He did a nice job of getting ahead of the hitters in the count, and then finishing up.”
Donofry is a senior at Rock North and will attend Bloomsburg University next fall.
“I felt that throwing a complete game would help prove something to myself,” said Donofry who registered seven strikeouts. “I was really happy about locating my pitches.
“I know that we have been scoring a whole lot of runs,” added Donofry. “And it makes it easier to go out on the mound if you know your going to get that run support.”
Another CRN strength is senior leadoff hitter Jesse Goldberg. Goldberg was 3-for-4 with a double, a stolen base, two runs scored, and two RBI.“Jesse puts the ball in play and is an excellent leadoff hitter,” said Kusters. “He is very aggressive on the bases – whether it is a stolen base or taking an extra base.”
“I am more of a singles hitter, but I hit the gap with that double today,” said Goldberg in reference to his two-run double that broke open the game in the six-run seventh inning.”
And still another Indian strength is junior clean-up hitter Dan Denton. Denton launched a home run that might have needed radar to pick up its final landing spot.
“It is just ridiculous how far Dan can hit a baseball,” said Goldberg. “When he is at bat, and I’m on third base, I feel very uncomfortable.”
“Every batting practice is a power show,” said Donofry. “His power is amazing.”
Neshaminy (7-1, 5-0) kept pace with CR North in conference play with a 9-4 victory over Bensalem (1-6, 0-5).
The Redskins made the most out of five hits with a six-run first inning and a three-run fifth inning. Sean McGovern blasted a grand slam homer to highlight the first inning outburst.
Corey Jackson threw a complete game for the Skins. He registered seven strikeouts and permitted just two earned runs.
Harry S Truman (6-3, 4-2) took over sole possession of third place in the conference with an 8-2 victory over visiting Pennsbury (4-7, 3-3).
Mike McCloud went the distance for the Tigers to earn the victory. McCloud struck out seven hitters and issued just a pair of walks.
Steve Arthur who went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI, and Brian Beyer - who also collected 2 RBI - handled the offensive load.
Council Rock South (3-3, 3-2) scored 12 runs in the third inning and went on to defeat William Tennent (1-7, 0-6) 14-5.
Justin Thomas was the hitting star for the Golden Hawks as he smoked a double and a homerun and collected six RBI.
Brian Donnelly earned the win for Rock South.
Suburban One League Continental Conference
Central Bucks South (5-3, 3-3) scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning to claim a 5-2 conference victory over host North Penn (5-2, 4-1).
“It was a great game to be a part of,” said Central Bucks South head coach Mike Schaefer. “We hit the ball hard the whole game, and Rich Delgado turned in a great performance.”
Delgado – the 6-foot, 6-inch right-hander – had been the ‘stopper’ for the Titans out of the bullpen this season.
Until yesterday.
“I wasn’t too sure that Rich could give us that many innings in one game,” said Schaefer. “But he sure proved me wrong. His last two pitches might have been the hardest he threw the entire game.”
Delgado held the Knights to just four hits – struck out six – and issued just a pair of walks in an eight-inning, complete game effort.
And the CB bats came alive in the top half of the eighth inning to secure the win.
Tim Thompson drove home what proved to be the game-winning run with an RBI single, and Dan Wasson followed with a mammoth two-run homer to plate the insurance runs.
“That might be one of the longest homeruns that I’ve seen,” said Schaefer. “It was a bomb.”
North Penn rallied to get a pair of base runners on in the bottom of the seventh, but the game ended on a 6-4-3 double play.
“To beat a team that is as well coached as North Penn means you did some things right,” said Schaefer. “After all, they aren’t the defending state champions for no reason.”
Pennridge (8-2, 4-1) received a winning pitching effort from Kyle Myers as the Rams whitewashed Souderton (3-6, 1-4) – 6-0.
The Rams had a pair of players knock home two runs each to lead the offense – seniors Dan Wolfe and Tim Eversole.
Central Bucks East (4-3, 2-3) edged rival Central Bucks West (5-4, 3-3) – 7-5.
Kristopher Davis earned the win for the Patriots as he threw the first 6 and 2/3 innings for East. Davis is 2-0 on the season. Tyler Zeleny came on in relief to earn the save.
Quakertown (3-2, 2-2) edged Hatboro-Horsham (3-4, 2-4) – 5-4 – in SOL Continental Conference play.
Suburban One League American Conference
Upper Moreland (5-1, 4-1) came up with some clutch hitting in both the seventh and tenth innings to defeat Springfield (4-3, 3-3) – 10-7.
“This was a huge win for us,” said Upper Moreland head coach Ernie Rehr. “I made a coaching error at third base, and I told the players that they were going to have to pick up the coach.”
And they did.
Dave McInerney and Mike Janis drove in three runs combinged in the seventh inning to tie the score at 6-6 and send the game into extra frames.
Tim Santry came up the big hit in the tenth inning – a one-out triple – and scored what proved to be the winning run moments later.
“We made errors in the field, errors on the bases, and it didn’t look like things were going our way,” said Rehr. “But the kids kept battling back, and we didn’t give up.”
Wissahickon (3-5, 3-3) won its third game in a row as the Trojans handed Upper Merion (6-2, 5-1) its first conference loss – 12-7.
Wissahickon was down 5-0 but rallied for nine unanswered runs to take a 9-5 lead. The Trojans finished the day with 11 hits.
Brian O’Donnell had three RBI, while JT Crits and Ryan McDonough each had a pair of RBI.
Greg Nedicsin notched the win for the Trojans.
Norristown and Upper Dublin were unable to complete their game due to the rain. The game was tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning when it was suspended.
Cheltenham will host Plymouth Whitemarsh today. The game yesterday was postponed due to the weather.
- Log in to post comments
0
