Bensalem handed CR South its first loss of the season. Check out all of Tuesday’s SOL action.
By Scott Huff
Bensalem (10-1, 6-1) soared to a first place tie with Council Rock South (9-1, 6-1) in the Suburban One League National Conference as the Owls clipped the Golden Hawks – 5-1.
“I knew something was up today when the players got on the bus and were totally quiet the whole ride to Council Rock, we have a pretty loose group of players,” said Bensalem head coach Rick Lee. “We were as down as we could get after that (5-4) loss to Council Rock North, and we were just as high winning this game today.”
The Owls pieced together a four-run second inning to secure the win. Bensalem had all three of its hits in the inning – two infield hits – and used a combination of walks, errors, stolen bases to account for the big inning. Zach Hizer was clutch for the Owls with a clean two-run single.
“We did a little of everything in that inning,” said Lee. “And Zach came out and gave us a solid game on the mound.”
Hizer threw a complete game for Bensalem and permitted six hits – three to Hawk Brian Donnelly.
“We had a good first half, but we need to be focused on the second half,” said Lee. “We play Pennsbury on Thursday, and we got away with one the first time we played. Our kids will remember that.”
Bensalem Owls 040 000 1 - 5 3 1
Council Rock South Hawks 000 010 0 - 1 6 3
The Rest of the Story in the SOL National Conference
Council Rock North (6-4, 5-2) snatched sole possession of third place in the conference as the Indians rallied for three runs in the home sixth inning to defeat visiting Neshaminy (4-7, 4-3) – 6-4. Rock North trails first place Council Rock South and Bensalem by a single conference game.
“With Bensalem beating South today, and with us winning, it was a great day for us,” said Council Rock North head coach Matt Schram. “We are right back in the middle of the race, and we have the second half of the season still to go.
“(Neshaminy head coach) Chris Tenaglia has done a great job with Neshaminy, and they battled us hard the entire game,” added Schram. “They can swing the bats, and they play the game the right way. It was a nice win.”
Council Rock North was tied with the Skins late in the game, and Schram called a suicide squeeze on two straight batters to plate what proved to be the game winning runs. Cal Parker and Aden Tully placed the RBI bunts down for the Indians.
“We have been leaving too many runners on base, and I wanted to get at least one run,” said Schram. “And when it worked the first time – I just decided to try it again. Both plays came on 1-1 counts with the bases loaded, and those runs were big.”
Neshaminy Redskins 020 010 1 - 4 4 1
Council Rock North Indians 010 203 x - 6 9 3
William Tennent (3-9, 1-6) won its first conference game of the season as the Panthers clawed visiting Pennsbury (3-9, 2-5) – 4-2.
Chuck Delagol was the winning pitcher for Tennent as he fired a complete game with two strikeouts. He allowed just four hits – walked three – and hit three batters.
“He kept us hitting pop-ups the whole game,” said Pennsbury head coach Joe Pesci. “We had some chances, but we were unable to come up with the clutch hit.”
Pennsbury Falcons 001 100 0 - 2 4 1
William Tennent Panthers 100 030 x - 4 7 1
The Abington (3-7, 2-4) @ Truman (2-8, 1-5) game was postponed. It will be played Wednesday at Truman.
Marty Martens Fires No-Hitter for CB West
Central Bucks West (9-2, 6-1) remained alone at the top of the SOL Continental Conference standings as the Bucks gouged visiting Central Bucks South (5-4, 2-4) – 10-0. The game was called due to the mercy-rule after six innings.
Marty Martens threw a pitch count in the low 80’s and had six strikeouts in his complete game masterpiece.
“I was about to take Marty out in the seventh inning, but one of my assistant coaches told me that he had a no-hitter,” said Central Bucks West head coach Jim Ertel. “We scored in the bottom of the sixth inning to win by the 10-run rule, and he didn’t have to throw the seventh inning. To be honest, he had great location but really didn’t have his best stuff.”
The CB West offense was fueled by Martens, Pat Bradley and Tory Bingaham with two RBI each. The Bucks scored in all but one inning and pounded out 11 hits.
“We hit the ball hard, and even our outs were line drives,” said Ertel. “The first half is over, and now we can focus on the second half. And that starts with Souderton on Thursday.”
Central Bucks South Titans 000 000 - 0 0 2
Central Bucks West Bucks 103 231 - 10 11 0
The Rest of the Story in the SOL Continental Conference
Hatboro-Horsham (8-3, 5-2) used some two-out magic as the Hatters rallied for six runs with two outs in the sixth inning in a 9-6 victory over visiting North Penn (8-3, 4-3).
“We have a team that believes that we are never out of a game,” said Hatboro-Horsham head coach Peter Moore. “We just won’t go away. We got some good at bats in the sixth inning, and we did things the right way.”
Connor Crookham and Chris Hens delivered the big blows in the sixth inning for the Hatters. Both Crookham and Hens collected two-run singles to first get the lead and then extend the lead for the winners. Crookham pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning to save the game for winning pitcher Casey O’Donnell.
“Any time you beat a North Penn, you have beaten a quality team with talented players,” said Moore. “We feel we have that same quality and talent this year.”
North Penn Knights 200 202 0 - 6 4 1
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters 000 306 x - 9 7 2
Souderton (8-2, 5-2) broke open a 4-4 tie as the Indians rallied for a 7-6 victory over visiting Central Bucks East (5-5, 2-4).
Brian Gibbs earned the win for Souderton, hurling three and one-third innings of relief, while Ozzie Moyer closed out the afternoon with the save. The Indian offense collected 10 hits and was sparked by both Cory Capaldi (two hits – two RBI) and Ryan Gryzwacz (two hits – two RBI).
Central Bucks East Patriots 100 310 1 - 6 8 1
Souderton Indians 202 120 x - 7 10 2
The Pennridge (6-5, 1-5) @ Quakertown (2-7, 1-5) game was postponed. No date has been set for the make-up game.
Trojans March to Key SOL American Victory
In the only SOL American Conference game, Wissahickon (6-6, 6-4) stayed in contention for the conference lead as the Trojans captured an 11-4 victory over visiting Cheltenham (5-6, 4-5).
“Right now we are beginning to play with confidence,” said Wissahickon head coach Shannon Gunby. “When you play with confidence, you will earn success. We were able to score first – extend the lead late in the game – and hit with two outs.”
Wissahickon exploded for six runs in the sixth inning to break open a tight 5-4 contest. The Trojans did the damage by scoring all six runs with two outs.
Dan Chou came into the game in the fifth inning to collect the win for the Trojans.
“It is great to be playing meaningful games this time of year,” said Gunby as the Trojans (6-4) are in close pursuit of Upper Moreland (6-2), Plymouth Whitemarsh (7-3) and Upper Dublin (7-3) in conference standings.
Cheltenham Panthers 000 400 0 - 4 6 6
Wissahickon Trojans 021 026 x - 11 11 2
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