Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Monday. (PW/Springfield photos provided courtesy of Cindy Manero/PW Baseball)
SOL Patriot/Colonial Crossovers
Pennsbury 12, Central Bucks East 9
Pitching has carried Pennsbury lately. Monday, after falling behind early against SOL Colonial leading CB East, the Falcons turned to their bats and they came through in a big way with a wild 12-9 victory that saw the teams combine for 21 runs on 24 hits.
“Before today, in our last six games we’ve scored 11 runs and gave up seven,” said Pennsbury coach Joe Pesci. “Today, we scored 12 and gave up 9.
“So, we’ve been telling the kids, winning all these close games under three runs has been huge. We’re having good games, hitting, but not scoring. We know we have really good players. Nobody has broken out of their shells yet. Today, we had 15 hits and everybody in our lineup had a hit, we had four doubles, (Jordan) Czerniak hit a home run. What’s great is the kids rose to the occasion.”
Monday looked like it was going to be a pitchers’ duel, with Pennsbury’s Connor McCloskey squaring off against CB East’s Sam Bliss.
A three-run home run by Chase Harlan gave the Patriots a 3-0 lead, with nobody out, in the bottom of the first.
“Today, we went down 3-0 quick,” Pesci said. “I was talking to my coaches, and we were ready to take our pitcher out after the first, chalk it up and save him for Friday. In the second inning, we scored a run and that changed our thought process. We sent Connor out there and he had a couple of shutdown innings. It’s crazy facing a lineup (like CB East’s) with six straight Division I hitters.”
Pennsbury took the lead with three runs in the third, as Evan Hawkes doubled and scored on an RBI single by Dylan Hirsh. Tyler Boraski then singled home two runs to make it 4-3.
Jack Mislan led off the bottom of the third with a triple and scored on a Chase Fulford RBI single.
Hirsh added a two-run single in the fourth, and Czerniak followed with a two-run home run to right field to put the Falcons up 8-4.
Not to be outdone, the Patriots came right back in the bottom of the fourth, as a hit batter, two walks and an error led to a five-run inning and a 9-8 lead for the home team.
Ben Seidler tied the game for Pennsbury in the fifth with an RBI single, and then it went in front with a bases-loaded walk. The Falcons added one with another bases-loaded walk in the sixth and then a RBI single by Ryan Webber in the seventh made it 12-9.
Boraski led the offensive attack with three hits, while Hirsh, Czerniak, Webber and Colin Kelliher had two hits each.
On the mound, Joe Beitler came out of the bullpen, worked out of trouble and ended up throwing two scoreless innings, before giving way to closer Aiden Kenney.
Pennsbury (8-3, 6-3 SOL) is back home Wednesday when it takes on CB West.
CB East (8-3, 7-1 SOL) hosts SOL Patriot-leading Neshaminy on Wednesday.
Pennsbury 013 421 1 – 12 15 1
CB East 301 500 0 – 9 9 2
Central Bucks West 11, Harry S Truman 0 (6 innings)
Three straight crossover wins, in which it won by a 32-5 combined margin, has CB West back in the thick of things in the SOL Colonial, and Monday they took care of business in convincing fashion with the bats.
Senior pitcher Sam Greer had a huge game at the plate as well as on the mound against Truman. His three-run home run in the bottom of the first set the tone early, and he ended up 2-for-2 with two homers and six RBIs.
“This game literally started and ended with Sam Greer,” said Bucks coach Brian Weaver. “He pitched five scoreless on the mound, hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the first, and then homered to end it in the sixth.
“In a year when our lineup has been finding its footing along the way, he’s been as steady as can be. And whenever he’s on the mound, he’ll give us a chance to win.
“Today, we made the plays behind him and limited the freebies, and that makes a huge difference.
Michael Graban was 3-for-3 with a double and three runs scored. Alex Valdes was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs. Quinn Illig was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
In all, the Bucks had 12 hits, drew four walks and stole eight bases.
“Austin Allen did a tremendous job last year keeping us at bay, so we talked a lot about approach in practice, about trying to stay in at bats and hit the good pitches that he gave us,” Weaver said of Truman’s starting pitcher. “He’ll give Truman a chance to win every single time he’s on the mound.
“Even today, in less than four innings he still struck out nine, but we worked a lot of good at-bats and were able to put up some crooked numbers by being a little more aggressive than we’ve been so far this year.
“Michael Graban had another nice game at the plate, but he also made some key plays at shortstop that helped to keep our pitch count down. He has sparked a lot of our big innings over the last two weeks.”
Greer threw five innings on the mound as well, scattering two hits and three walks, with eight strikeouts. Ernie Sanchez pitched a scoreless sixth.
CB West (5-5, 4-4 SOL) next plays at Pennsbury Wednesday.
Truman (1-7, 1-6 SOL) hosts CB South Wednesday.
Truman 000 000 – 0 2 0
CB West 302 303 – 11 12 0
Neshaminy 4, Souderton 2
It was bounce-back time for Neshaminy, coming off a loss at home to Pennridge on Thursday. And it did just that, rallying from an early deficit and then scoring the winning runs in the bottom of the sixth to take care of visiting Souderton on Monday.
“I was very proud of the team today and how they battled,” said coach Dan Toner. “Souderton has good pitching and has been in every game they played this season. I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be a high scoring game and we were going to need to come through in the few scoring opportunities that would be presented.”
The bottom half of the Neshaminy batting order was a combined 5-for-9, and they delivered in big spots as well.
Trailing 1-0, Neshaminy took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, as Brandon Lall had an RBI single, followed by an Adam Hunter RBI double.
Souderton tied it with a run in the sixth when Tyler Lutz, who doubled, scored on an error, but Neshaminy scored twice in the bottom of the sixth, as Lall had another RBI single and then Jake Plebani made it 4-2 with a two-out, RBI single.
“Brandon Lall put together another multi-hit day and came up big in two opportunities,” Toner said. “He has been working very hard on his approach. I’m glad he has been successful as of late.
“We were able to hit throughout the lineup again today, but it was the back of the order that was able to deliver once again. There isn’t an easy out in our lineup and we have as much confidence in hitters 6-9 as we do 1-5.”
On the mound, Evan Krippel went five and allowed just one run (unearned) on three hits. Steve Martin came in and pitched the last two innings, allowing just one run (also unearned) on one hit, while striking out three and setting the Indians down in order to secure the victory in the seventh.
“It’s becoming routine how we speak about our pitching staff each game,” Toner said. “Our pitchers have been attacking the strike zone all season and today was more of the same. Evan Krippel started the game and pitched fantastic. Steven Martin finished up the last two innings to close the door. The confidence our team has knowing we will be able to compete each game because of our pitching staff is extremely relieving.”
Neshaminy (9-1, 8-1 SOL) is on the road Wednesday against CB East.
Souderton (3-8, 2-6 SOL) hosts CR North on Wednesday.
Souderton 010 001 0 – 2 4 0
Neshaminy 000 202 x – 4 8 2
Central Bucks South 1, Bensalem 0
Hits were difficult to come by for both teams, and runs were nearly impossible for CB South and Bensalem Monday night.
The Titans managed just one hit on the night, and it came at an opportune time as pinch hitter Luke Poley singled home Jake Yang, finishing off a two-out rally in the seventh and an exciting pitchers’ duel.
“Our guys stayed in it,” said CB South coach Kevin Bray, whose team won its third straight crossover game. “We played really good defense, the pitching was phenomenal, we just couldn’t get a hit. But our guys stayed with it. I’m happy with our effort.”
The starting pitchers were both very good.
Bensalem’s Trevor Morris pitched five shutout and hitless innings, scattering six walks and striking out 10.
CB South’s Brett Barrett allowed just two hits over four innings, before giving way to sophomore Luke Hillegass, who shut the door by striking out the side after a leadoff single in the top of the seventh.
CB South (5-5, 5-5 SOL) plays at Harry S. Truman on Wednesday afternoon
Bensalem (2-9, 0-7 SOL) hosts North Penn on Wednesday.
Bensalem 000 000 0 – 0 3 2
CB South 000 000 1 – 1 1 0
SOL Liberty/Freedom Division Crossovers
Plymouth Whitemarsh 5, Springfield Twp 4
Upstart Springfield looked to play David against Goliath on Monday, twice rallying from deficits to tie the game late against SOL Colonial-leading Plymouth Whitemarsh. In the end, the Colonials emerged with the win as
Gabe Caucci delivered the game-winning, walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning.
PW has been blowing teams out of late, but that wasn’t the case against the visiting Spartans, who jumped up with a run in the top of the second.
“Most of our wins have come in very different ways this year,” said PW coach Chris Manero. “And winning close games like this is so important as we head further into the second half of the season when the stakes get higher every day.
“We knew Springfield would be tough and they were as advertised. (Spartans pitcher Max) May did a nice job attacking our hitters, and we had to dig deep to pull this one out.”
Brett Smith led off the top of the second inning with a double and came around to score on an RBI groundout by Jake Gibson.
PW flexed its muscles a bit in the bottom of the inning, starting with a triple by Gavin Moore, and then a RBI single from Sam Stolzer. Colin Brady then delivered with a two-out, two-run single to make it a 3-1 game.
“Gavin (Moore) leading off the second inning with a triple was a big moment early in this game,” Manero said. “They had just taken the first lead of the game, and
that triple enabled us to answer right back. Extra base hits are so important, and that was one of the biggest ones in this game.
But Springfield didn’t go away. Nolan Kidwell led off the fourth with a single, followed by a Matt Caruso double. Mike Capoferri and Gibson each had RBI groundouts to tie the game at 3.
Back-to-back sacrifices by Max and Mason Eagland enabled the Colonials to manufacture the go-ahead run in the bottom of the fourth.
The Spartans tied it up in the sixth on a Capoferri RBI double to make it 4-4 heading into the seventh.
After PW’s Johnny Giordano retired Springfield 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh, a walk, a sacrifice and Caucci’s single to left plated the game winner.
“I give Johnny (Giordano) a ton of credit for really pitching tough to get out of the sixth and keep the game tied in the seventh,” Manero said, “We had our bullpen ready, but decided to give Johnny a chance to finish, and he stepped up.
“When we came up in the seventh, the plan was to set the inning up to play for a run. And we executed that inning exactly how we needed to. Colin’s leadoff walk was a great example of patience at the plate. Chase (Fisher) came off the bench to execute a perfect sacrifice bunt, and Gabe wasted no time driving Colin across with a ball he just stayed back on and drove up the middle.
“We really spread hits throughout our lineup today. We’ve used a lot of different players this year and our lineup has changed more than usual. Four different guys drove in runs today and five different guys scored runs. That’s certainly a formula we’d like to see continue.”
PW (10-2, 9-0 SOL) plays at William Tennent Wednesday.
Springfield (5-5, 6-3 SOL) looks to bounce back Wednesday at Abington.
Springfield 010 201 0 – 4 6 1
PW 030 100 1 – 5 7 1
Quakertown 10, Upper Moreland 0 (5 innings)
In just four innings, Quakertown pounded out 10 runs on 10 hits, providing plenty of run support for starter Matt Marsten in a 10-0 mercy-rule shutout of Upper Moreland.
“Matt Marsten did a great job on the mound today,” said Panthers coach Jon Pallone. “He is a kid that loves to compete against every hitter.”
Marsten threw 74 pitches in five innings, allowing just two hits and one walk, while striking out seven. He also did the job at the plate, going 2-for-3.
Tanner Clancy was 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs. Cole Reich and Gunner Rahn also had two hits each.
“We had a great first inning at the plate,” Pallone said. “We got a guy on, moved him to second and then hit them home.”
In the Panthers’ five-run first, Dan Qualteria drew a leadoff walk, stole second and scored when Cole Reich grounded a single to center. Cooper Natisin lined a double to center, and Reich scored on an error on the play. A fielder’s choice brought the third run home, and Rahn and Clancy each added RBI singles to give the Panthers a lead they would not lose.
Quakertown (8-4, 7-2 SOL) next plays at Cheltenham on Wednesday.
Upper Moreland (4-5, 4-3 SOL) looks to bounce back against Hatboro-Horsham at home Wednesday.
Upper Moreland 000 00 – 0 2 2
Quakertown 513 1 – 10 10 2
Upper Dublin 3, Cheltenham 1
It was pitch by committee for Upper Dublin, and all three delivered in a big way, as it held off Cheltenham for the 3-1 crossover win on Monday.
Evan Sanders started for the Flying Cardinals and went the first three innings, allowing just one earned run. Jack Brannigan came on in the fourth and pitched three shutout innings. Wesley Gill pitched a shutout seventh to close out the game for the save.
UD didn’t have a huge night at the plate against Cheltenham starter Finn Kopp.
Down 1-0, Oliver Gill singled to score Eric Berman in the top of the third. Then in the fifth, the Cardinals manufactured two more runs. After a walk and a Berman single, a Nate Cairnes groundout scored one, and then Gill delivered with a RBI bunt to make it a 3-1 game.
“Another good win and we’re excited for the next opportunity to get better,” said Cardinals coach Ed Wall.
UD (8-2, 6-1 SOL) next hosts New Hope-Solebury Wednesday.
Cheltenham (3-7, 2-6 SOL) is back home Wednesday against Quakertown.
Upper Dublin 001 020 0 – 3 5 1
Cheltenham 010 000 0 – 1 5 2
Hatboro-Horsham 3, William Tennent 2 (9 innings)
Isaiah Brown delivered in the bottom of the ninth for the Hatters, who surrendered a one-run lead in the seventh, rallied to tie it in the eighth and then won it in walk-off style in the ninth for an extra-inning thriller over visiting William Tennent.
H-H actually started quickly with a run in the bottom of the first, with a pair of walks, a single by Jamie O’Neill and then a sac fly by Dom Rapino to score a run to make it 1-0.
But that was it the rest of the way, as pitching took over.
H-H’s Cole Reinheimer pitched 5 1/3 shutout innings, allowing just three hits and a walk. Tennent’s Nate Scotese allowed one run over five innings.
In the top of the seventh, the Panthers rallied, as Cody Devor and Sam Vernick singled and the tying run scored on a sac fly by Jackson Archibald.
H-H reliever Shane Mills got the final two outs to avoid any further damage.
In the eighth, Tennent went up on an RBI single by Vernick, only to see the H-H come back on a RBI single by Ryan Thomas.
After Mills pitched a scoreless top of the ninth, the Hatters took advantage of two errors in the bottom of the ninth, and then with two outs Brown singled with the bases loaded to drive in the game-winning run.
H-H (5-5, 4-5 SOL) plays at rival Upper Moreland on Wednesday.
Tennent (3-6, 2-5 SOL) hosts Plymouth Whitemarsh Wednesday.
Tennent 000 000 110 – 2 8 3
H-H 100 000 011 – 3 7 2
Wissahickon 11, New Hope-Solebury 0 (6 innings)
Catcher Josh Stonesifer went 3-for-3 with four RBIs, capping a solid game for Wissahickon, which blanked New Hope in six innings of a game that ended early via the mercy rule.
The Trojans had 10 hits on the day, all singles, and were opportunistic, taking advantage of five errors from New Hope.
“Today felt like a great Wissahickon baseball win,” said coach Andy Noga. “We found ways to get on base, whether that be multiple hit-by-pitches, walks after quality at bats, or putting the ball in play and putting pressure on the defense. I was really proud of the many ways we were able to get those runs across.
“Brayden Ryan continues to be the hot hand for us, and it’s been great to have him shine at the plate this season as much as he has defensively for a few years for us.”
Josh Palutis was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, as well.
A four-run second inning set things in motion, and it all happened with two outs. Palutis had an RBI single and then an error in the outfield opened up the floodgates.
On the mound, Adam Hadjak was lights out for the Trojans, pitching six shutout innings, scattering four hits and a pair of walks, while striking out 10. He threw 91 pitches.
“There’s not much more I can say about Adam Hajdak at this point,” Noga said. “He’s as good as they come in District One. Another completely dominating, no earned runs performance from him, which we have grown accustomed to. I’m glad we finally were able to get some run support for him today.
“This is a big week for us, our first three-game week, and we feel it’s big to go 3-0 this week. This was a great first step towards that goal.”
Wissahickon (7-4, 4-4 SOL) hosts Lower Moreland on Wednesday.
New Hope (2-8, 0-8 SOL) is at Upper Dublin Wednesday.
Wissahickon 043 202 – 11 10 2
New Hope 000 000 – 0 4 0
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