Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Wednesday. PW/Tennent photos courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f899671345
SOL Patriot/Colonial crossovers
North Penn 6, Bensalem 2
Losing streaks aren’t all that common over at North Penn, and the team went into Wednesday’s game having lost three league games in a row and five of its previous six games. The Knights needed to reverse that trend.
And they did just that, jumping out to a lead and then putting it away with a three-run seventh for the 6-2 crossover game on the road.
“We’re into the second half of the schedule now, so at this point, we have to string some wins together if we want to be serious about things,” said North Penn coach Kevin Manero. “And any way you can find to win, you have to take it.”
The Knights turned to Nick Palovich on the mound, and he delivered with the complete-game win. The only two runs allowed were unearned, as Bensalem took advantage of a pair of errors to get within 3-2 in the sixth, but otherwise Palovich didn’t give up much. He struck out seven and scattered five hits and one walk.
“Nick Palovich gave us an excellent start today,” Manero said. “It’s a three-game week, so complete games help a lot. We haven’t allowed an earned run yet this week, so the pitchers have certainly answered the call at a pivotal point in the season.”
In the third inning, Ben Farley put NP in front with an RBI single. Two innings later, it added two more. After a single by Jeremiah Criger to lead off the fifth, Chase Jones doubled and Farley picked up another RBI with another run-scoring single. Henry Wetzel made it 3-0 with a sac fly later in the inning.
After Bensalem narrowed the gap, the Knights responded with three in the top of the seventh to put the game away. Aaron Briggs had an RBI single, Josh Martinelli a sacrifice fly and a passed ball led to the runs.
Farley and Jones led the nine-hit attack with two each.
“Our ability to answer back with runs in the top of the seventh was obviously huge today,” Manero said. “Scoring first, extending a lead and answering back have not been our strong suits lately, but we checked all of those boxes today.”
North Penn (7-5, 5-5 SOL) will host Harry S Truman Friday in a crossover game.
Bensalem (2-9, 0-7 SOL) will travel to Pennridge for a crossover game Friday.
North Penn 001 020 3 – 6 9 4
Bensalem 000 002 0 – 2 5 2
Central Bucks East 5, Neshaminy 2
In a battle between first-place teams, CB East was looking to bounce back in a hurry after losing to Pennsbury on Monday. And right off the bat, Reece Moody and Nolan Behm got things started in a dramatic way with back-to-back home runs, as the Patriots scored an impressive 5-2 win at home Wednesday.
“Neshaminy is a very good team, but our guys are playing really, really well,” said CB East coach Kyle Dennis. “We had a little setback against Pennsbury – we didn’t have a complete game in all three areas – today was a complete bounce back in every area.
“We hit, Damian (Frayne) was phenomenal and good defense all around.”
Frayne went five innings on the mound to pick up the win. He allowed two earned runs – in the third when Neshaminy tied the game at 2 – on six hits and three walks, while striking out seven.
Tim Mahoney pitched two scoreless innings of relief to close things out.
“I can’t say enough positive things about Damian today,” Dennis said. “He pitched in and out of trouble in spots. He minimized damage multiple times and just got outs.”
After Neshaminy tied it, CB East came right back and retook the lead with a run in the bottom of the third on an error. It added a run in the fifth on a Jack Mislan RBI single, and Jack Thompson added an RBI single in the sixth to make it 5-2.
“We’re well aware that everyone is very good that we play,” Dennis said. “Up and down, even teams that are .500, they’re dangerous. They can beat anybody.
“Our guys have a great approach. They just want to play the best game that we can. We have a lot of talent, and they’re guys that play the right way. They’re willing to do what it takes to win. They just want to win. It’s a fun group to coach.”
Moody, who also had a double, and Mislan led a nine-hit attack with two hits each.
Ryan Fox was 2-for-3 with an RBI for Neshaminy.
Central Bucks East (9-3, 8-1 SOL) will travel to Council Rock North for a crossover game Friday.
Neshaminy (9-2, 8-2 SOL) will be on the road at Central Bucks West Friday for a crossover game.
Neshaminy 002 000 0 – 2 6 1
CB East 201 011 x – 5 9 0
Pennsbury 7, Central Bucks West 3
Connor O’Brien stepped up with a big effort out of the bullpen, and offensively, Pennsbury came alive with six runs in the fifth inning to get past visiting CB West, the fifth win in a row for the Falcons.
“We’ve been doing a great job over the course of this win streak, minimizing strikeouts, putting balls in play, getting good at bats,” said Falcons coach Joe Pesci. “It was frustrating the first four innings. I think we had nine fly balls, and we weren’t hitting the ball hard. We were reaching and getting out in front.
“They changed their approach here and there and understand how a pitcher is getting you out.”
For the second straight game, Pennsbury found itself in an early hole. CB West scored two runs in the first on RBI doubles by Quinn Illig and Noah Gerstein. After Pennsbury answered with one on a RBI single by Jordan Czerniak, West scored again in the second to go up 3-1, thanks to a home run by Alex Valdes.
Bucks starter Jacob Greer was cruising through the first four innings but ran into trouble in the fifth.
Ben Seidler opened with a single, went to second on an error and third on a wild pitch. Charlie Cordisco then drove him home with an RBI single. Dylan Hirsh doubled to put runners on second and third, Evan Hawkes scored on a wild pitch, and Czerniak drove in another with a fielder’s choice ground to put the Falcons up 4-3.
Then, back-to-back, Tyler Boraski had an RBI triple and Michael Mercora bashed a two-run homer to make it 7-3.
O’Brien, a sophomore, took over from there. In five innings of scoreless relief, he allowed just three hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out four.
“He only gave up a couple hits here or there and worked through those five innings,” Pesci said. “It was great to see Connor, who hasn’t thrown since the Bensalem game on April 5, gave us five innings. In a three-game week, we need arms. It was huge to do that for us as a sophomore.”
Pennsbury (9-3, 7-3 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks South for Friday’s crossover game.
Central Bucks West (5-6, 4-5 SOL) will host Neshaminy in a crossover game Friday.
CB West 210 000 0 – 3 8 1
Pennsbury 100 060 x – 7 9 0
Harry S. Truman 3, Central Bucks South 1
Runs have been tough to come by for Harry S. Truman, as it managed just three runs total in a recent three-game losing streak.
Wednesday, the Tigers had their troubles against tough CB South starter Eric Hofmeister.
But three runs in the bottom of the fourth was all Truman needed, as it rode the pitching of Ryan Kerns to post its second SOL win of the season.
“He kind of broke through on the scene last year,” said Truman coach Brian Sinkiewicz. “We had like five games in one week, and he stepped up and showed what he could do. Today, it was what we needed. We don’t have a ton of pitching depth – we’re a really young team – and he kept South off balance.”
Kerns went the distance, allowing just one run (unearned) on two hits and three walks, while striking out nine.
Offensively, the game came down to the bottom of the fourth. Luke Olivero led off with a single, Nathan Gilson doubled and then Kerns walked to load the bases. Kevin Pickard tied it up with a sac fly to right, and later with two outs, Gavin Kenworthy delivered with a two-run single to put Truman in front for good.
“It was a quick game,” Sinkiewicz said. “The game was over in about an hour and a half. It’s the fastest game I’ve been a part of.
“Their pitcher kept us off balance. We had a couple hits, and a huge two-out hit by our sophomore shortstop Gavin Kenworthy. That’s all we needed to get us to the finish line.”
Harry S. Truman (2-7, 1-7 SOL) will be on the road at North Penn for Friday’s crossover game.
Central Bucks South (4-6, 4-6 SOL) will host Pennsbury in a crossover game Friday.
CB South 001 000 0 – 1 2 0
Truman 000 300 x – 3 5 2
Council Rock South 4, Pennridge 3
Three runs in the top of the second enabled CR South to overcome an early deficit and get past Pennridge in another close SOL road win for the Golden Hawks.
“It was a great win for the guys,” said coach Greg Paprocki. “Billy O’Neil did a great job settling in on the mound.”
A hit by pitch, an RBI double by Matt Atchley and an RBI single by Noah Keating put host Pennridge up 2-0 in the bottom of the first.
CR South’s O’Neill then retired 14 straight batters, allowed just one run in the sixth and earned the win. He struck out eight. Jack Albright picked up the save with a perfect seventh inning to close out the game.
In the top of the second, Jake Maurer got the Hawks’ rally started with a one-out single. With two outs, Sam Serpiello, Johnny Mendola and Chase Ennis each had RBI singles to make it a 3-2 game.
Maurer doubled in the sixth and ended up scoring on an error for his team’s fourth run.
Keating went 2-for-3 with two RBIs to lead Pennridge.
“We played well for the large majority of this game,” said Rams coach Danny Long. “A few miscues in the second inning and they capitalized on them. I know this group is looking forward to a quality practice tomorrow before hosting Bensalem on Friday.”
Council Rock South (6-5, 5-4 SOL) will host Souderton in Friday’s crossover game.
Pennridge (6-4, 3-4 SOL) will host Bensalem in a crossover game Friday.
CR South 030 001 0 – 4 6 0
Pennridge 200 001 0- 3 4 3
SOL Liberty/Freedom crossovers
Abington 2, Springfield Twp 0
Jack Hoetzel and Joe Loughney combined on a two-hit shutout for Abington, which managed just four hits itself, but scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to knock off Freedom Division-leading Springfield on Wednesday.
Hoetzel went the first five innings, allowed just two hits and worked around five walks, while striking out seven. Loughney picked up the save with two shutout innings of relief and four strikeouts.
Springfield’s Jack McKittrick was just as strong, shutting down the Galloping Ghosts for five innings, scattering three hits and four walks, while striking out nine.
Abington finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth, as Calvin Judge had an RBI single and two batters later, Chase Goodson made it 2-0 with an RBI double to center field.
Abington (3-5, 3-5 SOL) will travel to William Tennent for a crossover game Thursday.
Springfield Twp (5-6, 5-5 SOL) will host Wissahickon in a crossover game Thursday.
Springfield 000 000 0 – 0 2 3
Abington 000 002 x – 2 4 1
Hatboro-Horsham 10, Upper Moreland 5
Rivalry games like this one are usually spirited and Wednesday was no exception, as the teams combined for 15 runs, 14 hits and Hatboro-Horsham rallied from a four-run deficit with five runs in the sixth and four in the seventh for the victory.
“I’m really proud of my guys, the way they stayed in the game until the last out was made,” said H-H coach Bill deBoer. “They fought back after getting behind and believed they could win this game the whole time. Just keep having good at bats and don’t give any of them away.”
Upper Moreland led 5-1 after five innings. Pat Kilgus had an RBI single in the first, Jackson Townsend a run-scoring fielder’s choice in the second, Alex Best an RBI single in the fourth, followed by a Townsend sac fly to make it 4-1. An error led to a fifth run in the fifth.
Undeterred, the Hatters struck back in a big way in the top of the sixth.
Kenny Lutz and Jaxson Bumpus led off with singles, Jamie O’Neil was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Dom Rapino scored two with a double to center field. Two batters later, Ricky Klenk tied the game with a two-run single, and H-H would take a 6-5 lead on an RBI single by Seamus Hellings.
The Hatters tacked on four more runs in the seventh.
Bumpas, Klenk and Cole Incudine had two hits each to lead the Hatters hitting attack.
“After we were able to have a few good at bats against a tough lefty (UM’s Nick Simons), and get him out of the game, we relaxed and swung the bats well, along with having patient, effective at bats,” deBoer said.
“The difference was the seventh inning add-on runs as it very easily could have ended up a one-run game either way.”
On the mound, Stephen Plefka earned the win, allowing just two earned runs over 6 2/3 innings.
Hatboro-Horsham (6-5, 5-5 SOL) will host Cheltenham in a crossover game Friday.
Upper Moreland (4-6, 4-4 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh for Friday’s crossover game.
Hatboro-Horsham 001 005 4 – 10 10 3
Upper Moreland 110 210 0 – 5 4 3
Wissahickon 5, Lower Moreland 2
The Trojans scored four runs in the bottom of the first, and then rode their pitching on the way to the tight win over visiting Lower Moreland Wednesday.
It was the high-school version of a bullpen game for Wissahickon. Noah Okenquist pitched the first three innings and allowed just one run (unearned), Jack Pogue allowed one run (unearned) over the next three innings and Cole Rogers closed out the game with a scoreless seventh inning.
“In a three-game week, your pitching staff is always extremely important, and they certainly stepped up today,” said Wissahickon coach Andy Noga. “We had three different guys in Noah, Jack and Cole take the ball and get the job done. Our pitching staff has been there all year, and it was good to see multiple guys on the mound get out there and compete in an important game for us.”
Offensively, Wissahickon got off to a fast start. Josh Palutis was hit by a pitch to lead things off in the first. After a sacrifice, Adam Hajdak singled, and then three consecutive hit batters played two runs. Brayden Ryan followed with a fielder’s choice as two more runs scored to make it 4-0 after one.
“Offensively, we were able to take advantage of multiple hit-by-pitches and walks,” Noga said. “Our guys have bought into an unselfish approach and just making sure they get to first base and create chaos with big hits from there.
“Mark Selverian had a great day for us defensively at third base making some key big plays. Adam Hajdak went 3-for-3 with a big double and a walk and has shown that he is not just another stud pitcher in the league.
“Josh Stonesifer has stepped into our starting catching role and hasn’t blinked, handling our arms – our pitching staff.
“Senior captain Luke Frank has helped Stonesifer to be ready for this role. He had a big double and has been coming around more at the plate.
“Our guys are continuing to play for one another, and it’s been showing at the plate and in the field. In our position, you have to take things pitch-by-pitch, inning-by-inning, and game-by-game and our guys have really bought into the why not now approach.”
Wissahickon (8-4, 5-4 SOL) will be on the road at Springfield Twp for a crossover game Thursday.
Lower Moreland (6-6, 3-6 SOL) will host Upper Dublin in a crossover game Friday.
LM 010 001 0 – 2 4 2
Wissahickon 400 010 x – 5 7 2
Quakertown 14, Cheltenham 4
The hit parade continued for Quakertown, which blew open a close game with 10 runs over the last three innings to blow past Cheltenham on the road Wednesday.
It was Quakertown’s fifth win in its last six games, and in league games in that stretch it has averaged 10.6 runs a game.
“We’ve made a lot of small adjustments since we started the season,” said coach Jon Pallone. “We’ve focused on making batting practice boring.
“Cole Reich had a great day at the plate, seeing the ball well and finding good barrel. Matthew Marsten reached base four times, having good control of the strike zone.”
Reich went 3-for-4 with two doubles. Marsten finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI. Leadoff hitter Danny Qualteria was 2-for-4 with three runs and an RBI. No. 9 hitter Brady Martin was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Gunner Rahn and Tanner Clancy also had two hits each.
Cole Weiss picked up the win, allowing one earned run over the first four innings. Mason Probison did not allow an earned run over the last three innings.
Quakertown (9-4, 8-2 SOL) will be on the road at New Hope-Solebury Friday for a crossover game.
Cheltenham (3-8, 2-7 SOL) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham for Friday’s crossover game.
Quakertown 310 054 1 – 14 17 3
Cheltenham 001 120 0 – 4 7 6
Upper Dublin 7, New Hope-Solebury 6
What looked like a pretty comfortable lead slipped away in the top of the seventh for Upper Dublin, but the Cardinals answered with a run in the bottom of the seventh to post the win over New Hope in a crossover game on Wednesday.
“Brady Fogle pitched four great innings for us, giving up one, striking out three and walking one,” said coach Ed Wall. “Sophomore Chase Greiner got his second varsity appearance. He did well, just ran into a little bit of trouble in the seventh. Up until then we were in control.”
UD led this one 6-1 through six innings.
Austin Dahl, who came into pitch and eventually earn the save in the seventh, had a big game offensively, going 3-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
The 4, 5 and 6 hitters in the UD batting order drove in seven runs.
New Hope rallied with a huge, five-run seventh to tie the game at 6. Morrin was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. McCagg and Carmenini also had two hits.
That set the stage for UD’s dramatics in the bottom half of the inning.
“After a Nate Cairnes leadoff walk in the seventh, then back-to-back intentional walks brought up (Eric) Stoffel again,” Wall said. “A one-out, bases-loaded sac fly brought in Nate for the game winner. That was Stoffel’s third RBI of the day.
“New Hope never stopped competing and you’ve got to give them a lot of credit for battling.”
Upper Dublin (9-2, 7-1 SOL) will travel to Lower Moreland for Friday’s crossover game.
New Hope-Solebury (2-9, 0-9 SOL) will host Quakertown in a crossover game Friday.
New Hope 100 000 5 – 6 10 0
UD 020 130 1 – 7 8 3
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10, William Tennent 0
Colin Brady struck out 12, did not walk a batter and allowed only one hit in six innings for another impressive outing for the Plymouth Whitemarsh pitching staff, as the Colonials remained unbeaten in the SOL with a convincing win over Tennent.
“Colin was about as business-like as you can be on the mound today,” said coach Chris Manero. “Twelve strikeouts, no walks, one hit, and only 74 pitches in six innings. It’s pretty tough to get much more efficient than
that. He was fun to watch.
PW started quickly with a run in the first and then another in the third. Five runs in the fourth blew the game wide open.
“We’ve been working hard to try to put together more complete games offensively, and I think today we took a big step in that direction,” Manero said. “Gavin Moore’s two doubles and Chase Fisher’s double and triple were timely extra base hits that we’ve been telling our hitters we need more of.
“Aside from Chase’s four RBIs out of the sixth spot in the order, the top of the lineup really drove us today with nine hits coming from our 1 through 4 in the lineup. Obviously, it is a big help with the guys who get the most at bats are heating up.
Johnny Giordano went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Gabe Cacci, Chase Olszyk, Moore and Fisher each had two hits.
“It did feel like a complete effort today,” Manero said. “We had big hits, got multi-hit performances out of several guys in the lineup.
“Colin was dominant on the mound, we’ve got to get Jake Rauscher some much needed work out of the pen, and under the radar perhaps, but very important was the role Ryan Moore played on the bases today, getting excellent reads and scoring three runs as our courtesy runner.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (11-2, 10-0 SOL) will celebrate the 30th anniversary of PW’s 1994 team when the Colonials host Upper Moreland in a crossover game Friday.
William Tennent (3-7, 2-6 SOL) will host Abington in a crossover game Thursday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 101 502 1 – 10 12 1
Tennent 000 000 0 – 0 1 3
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