Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Thursday. (PW photo courtesy of Cindy Manero/PW baseball)
SOL Patriot/Colonial crossover
Harry S. Truman 4, Central Bucks West 3
Two of the SOL’s breakout teams this spring squared off in what turned out to be a classic pitcher’s duel with a dramatic ending, as Harry S. Truman won its sixth straight game with a walk-off home run by senior shortstop Wyatt Spinks in the seventh inning.
“He’s kind of our anchor,” Truman coach Brian Sinkiewicz said about Spinks. “He’s our shortstop, he’s our leadoff hitter. As the team goes, he goes. He kept saying, ‘Let me get to that plate, let me get up.’ He has that kind of confidence in himself.”
Both teams had very good pitching.
Tigers freshman Austin Allen blanked the Bucks for five innings before running into trouble courtesy of a three-run home run by Sam Greer in the sixth.
Greer was on the mound for the West, and he went six innings, allowing just a home run by Gabe Marrero and an unearned run in the fourth.
“(West’s) pitcher – he brought it,” Sinkiewicz said. “He was really good. He pounded the zone. We got a solo home run by Gabe Marrero and another run scored that inning on an error.
“It was a back-and-forth game. We made some really big plays on defense. Our right fielder, Caleb Wright, robbed one of their guys of a home run in the fifth.”
Thanks to Greer’s homer, West led 3-2 going into the seventh. Nate Gilson drew a one-out walk, and then Spinks homered to left field to end the game and a huge win for Truman.
“We wasted a great effort by Greer on the mound, and Sam had a big homer to give us a chance,” said CB West coach Brian Weaver. “Allen pitched a great game for them, and they made a few big plays, while we made some critical baserunning mistakes.
“All that put together means Spinks is in the position to win the game for them in the seventh.”
Ironically, the celebration occurred on West’s field, as Truman’s field was unplayable because of Wednesday’s rainfall.
“CB West was nice enough to get their field ready,” Sinkiewicz said. “We took the bus up with our softball team. But our guys came ready to play today.”
Truman (8-4, 6-3 SOL) next plays at CB South on Monday.
CB West (10-2, 7-2 SOL), which saw a nine-game win streak snapped, has a nonleague game Friday at Quakertown.
CB West 000 003 0 – 3 4 1
Truman 000 200 2 – 4 5 1
North Penn 3, Council Rock South 2
Sophomore Trevor Lugara had his second impressive start in as many weeks, as took a perfect game into the fifth, a no-hitter into the sixth before holding off a late CR South charge to give North Penn the 3-2 win.
“He was outstanding today,” said Knights coach Kevin Manero. “The story of the game today is pitching. (Chase) Ennis has a big arm for CR South. He’s one of the best pitchers we’ve faced. We took advantage of a couple mistakes and got a couple runs across.”
Lugara ended up allowing two runs on three hits and one walk, with four strikeouts.
“He was one of our starters last year as a freshman,” Manero said. “He kind of ran out of steam at the end of last year.
“The biggest leap he’s made between last year and this, he’s added a few miles an hour and gotten a little bit stronger. He was a different kind of pitcher last year. He threw mostly breaking balls. He didn’t have the fastball to get guys out. He’s had a different approach and pitch selection this year. He’s not a power pitcher but has a little more of a repertoire. And experience is invaluable at this level.”
Offensively, Ben Farley, who finished 2-for-3, had a two-out RBI single to get the Knights started in the first. Then in the fourth, Farley singled, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Brady Dolder sac fly to right field.
Up 2-0, North Penn added an important insurance run in the bottom of the sixth, and once against Farley was in the middle of it. He reached on an error, went to second on a wild pitch and third on a sac bunt by Dolder.
“It was the biggest moment of the game,” Manero said. “Ben Farley was on third, their infield was in, and Mike Cliver hit a ground ball to the shortstop. Farley read it perfectly and (scored). That run was the difference maker. It was just a really smart read.”
Ennis led off the top of the seventh with a double, followed by a Trey Sajeski single to put runners on first and third with nobody out. A sac fly by Braden Keller scored CR South’s first run, a groundout by Billy O’Neill scored another to make it 3-2.
But after a single by Sam Serpiello put the tying run on base, Lugara recorded a strikeout to end the game.
North Penn (10-1, 8-1 SOL), now all alone in first place in the Colonial Division, has a scheduled nonleague game Saturday at home against Spring-Ford.
CR South (5-6, 4-5 SOL) takes on CR North in Trenton on Saturday.
CR South 000 000 2 – 2 3 5
North Penn 100 101 x – 3 4 0
Pennsbury 9, Central Bucks East 2
A five-run sixth inning blew open a close game, and freshman Keller Bradley threw five straight scoreless innings to close out the complete game victory for Pennsbury over visiting CB East.
Bradley allowed two runs in the second inning (one earned), four hits and one walk, while striking out six.
With his team trailing 1-0, Joey Wilga hit a two-run home run for CB East in the top of the second, that pretty much was it for the Patriots offensively.
“We went up (in the first) and it was great,” said Falcons coach Joe Pesci. “(James) Schaffer was on third base and I had (LJ) Nelson drag a bunt to get the run in.
“There was an error and then Wilga hit an absolute bomb. It was 3/4 of the way up the trees in left field. That was really the only missed pitch by Bradley. Everything else was down.”
And Pennsbury was able to tie the game in the bottom of the second on a Schaffer RBI single. The Falcons then took the lead with one in the fourth on an error, and another one in the fifth on a wild pitch to go up 4-2.
They got the big inning in the sixth, starting with a leadoff single by Tyler Boraski, Schaffer was hit by a pitch and Ryan Zuckerman singled to load the bases. A walk scored one run, Jordan Czerniak had an RBI single, Sam Labrecque drove in one on a fielder’s choice and Boraski singled again to drive in the ninth run.
Schaffer finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Boraski was 3-for-4 with an RBI.
“I challenged them,” Pesci said. “I told them I need you to score in three of the first four innings. We just chipped away, tacked on a run in the second, added one in the fourth, one in the fifth and blew it open in the sixth.
“It was one of those games. Zuckerman and (Joe) Tiroly went 1-for-8. My nine and one (Boraski and Schaffer) had six hits. We were putting the ball in play, they’d make an error, we’d take advantage of it. It’s great when two of your best hitters weren’t doing the job – it wasn’t like they were taking bad swings – and everyone else stepped up.”
Pennsbury (10-2, 7-2 SOL) maintained its lead in the SOL Patriot with the win. It plays Hopewell Valley (NJ) in a nonleague game in Trenton on Saturday.
CB East (2-10, 2-6 SOL) is back in action Friday against Bensalem at home.
CB East-020 000 0 – 2 4 2
Pennsbury 110 115 x – 9 12 2
Council Rock North 15, Pennridge 0
The CR North bats came alive, scoring 15 runs on 15 hits, and for the first time in a while it put that together with a dominant effort on the mound by Pat Dougherty, as the Indians snapped a six-game losing streak with the road win.
“Six-game losing streaks are never fun,” said Indians coach Matt Schram. “Especially in our league, where there is no room to breathe.
“Pat Dougherty threw a gem. He was effective, efficient and finished with a complete-game, 75-pitch effort. He was on from the start of the game.”
Dougherty allowed just two hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out seven.
Offensively, CR North started with single runs in the first and second innings, and it scored in six of the seven innings, including 10 runs in the sixth and seventh to blow the game wide open.
“A couple of our guys who have been battling slumps were able to put their barrel on the ball today,” Schram said. “And overall, it was nice to get a win against a (Pennridge) team who is battling the same issues we are with injuries to key starting arms.”
Catcher Lukas Mullin went 2-for-4 with two home runs, two runs scored and two RBIs.
Will Scibona was 3-for-5 with a home run, three runs scored and two RBIs.
Brian Curry had a home run, three runs scored and two RBIs.
Nick DiGiacomo was 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs.
Quinn Erlandsen was 2-for-4 with two doubles, three runs scored and one RBI.
CR North (4-7, 3-6 SOL) will look to make it two in a row Saturday against CR South in Trenton.
Pennridge (0-13, 0-9 SOL) Is off until Monday when it plays at CR South.
CR North 110 213 7 – 15 15 0
Pennridge 000 000 0 – 0 2 2
Neshaminy 6, Souderton 1
Three runs in the top of the third was plenty of run support for Evan Krippel in what turned out to be an impressive 6-1 win for Neshaminy on the road at Souderton.
Krippel pitched a complete game, allowing just one earned run on seven hits, while not walking a batter. He also struck out six.
“We played very good in all aspects of the game,” said coach Dan Toner. “Evan Krippel had another very impressive outing, offensively we were able to put up 10-plus hits again, and we played fantastic on defense.”
Robert Harrison led the way, going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, while Anthony Trommer, Joel Bonner and Mike Morrow had two hits each.
In the first, Luke Hardnock had an RBI single to open the scoring, Harrison followed with an RBI double and then Hardnock scored on an error.
Neshaminy tacked on two in the fourth, with Morrow and Trommer collecting back-to-back RBI singles. Mike Amrhein had an RBI double for the final run in the top of the seventh.
For the Indians, Joey Crecca was 3-for-3 with one RBI, and Kaden Pasterak was 2-for-3 with a double.
Neshaminy (9-4, 6-4 SOL) hosts CB East on Monday.
Souderton (6-5, 4-5 SOL) has a nonleague game Friday against Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Neshaminy 300 200 1 – 6 11 0
Souderton 000 001 0 – 1 7 3
SOL Liberty/Freedom Crossovers
Wissahickon 4, New Hope-Solebury 1
Three pitchers combined on a five-hitter, as Wissahickon broke open a tie game and held off New Hope-Solebury for the crossover win.
“Not a pretty win, but a win is a win,” said Trojans coach Andy Noga. “We had a key, unselfish (at-bat) by Jarret Federer late in the game, with a sac bunt which led to a key insurance run scoring late.
“It wasn’t our best offensive day. The New Hope pitcher (Tyler Corino) did a good job keeping us off balance and we struggled to make the adjustment off of him. Shane Henrick had a couple nice swings again today, so it was good to see him keep it rolling.”
The Lions took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Saul Carmenini hit a two-out RBI double to right field. Henrick’s RBI double in the bottom of the inning evened the score.
Jarret Federer’s two-run double in the third put the Trojans on top 3-1, and they added a run in the bottom of the sixth.
Jack Garrity pitched the first five innings for Wissahickon, allowing just one run, scattering four hits and four walks, and striking out six.
Jake Fuhrmeister and Adam Hajdak each pitched an inning of relief to close the game out.
“On the mound, Jack Garrity battled,” Noga said. “Jake Fuhrmesiter continues to come into big spots on the mound and get big outs for us. Adam Hajdak usually is a starter for us and came in to shut the door with a quick 1-2-3 inning in the seventh. It was good to see him come into a game in a different situation than he is used to and still dominate.”
For the Lions, Carmenini was 2-for-4 with a double and RBI.
Wissahickon (8-3, 6-3 SOL) next plays Monday at Lower Moreland.
New Hope (3-8, 2-7 SOL) hosts Upper Dublin on Monday.
New Hope 100 000 0 – 1 5 1
Wissahickon 102 001 x – 4 7 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh 5, Springfield Twp 0
Dylan Robinson did the job again on the mound for Plymouth Whitemarsh, and he needed to be as he out-dueled Springfield starter Nolan Kidwell, and the Colonials scored four runs in the seventh to post the 5-0 win on Thursday.
Robinson pitched a four-hit shutout and didn’t walk a batter, while striking out four.
“Dylan put us on his back again today,” said PW coach Chris Manero. “His complete game in under 70 pitches, his 74 percebt strike percentage, and his energy from the first pitch on was our biggest highlight.
“He has been outstanding for us all season, and we are happy to see him start the second half as strong as he started the first half.”
Springfield’s Kidwell allowed just one run on one hit through the first five innings. He scattered five walks and struck out six.
PW’s one run against him came in the third as Gavin Rocks plated a run with a squeeze bunt, and that 1-0 lead held through six innings.
Then in the seventh, Luke Gartland led off with a single, stole second and scored on a Johnny Giordano single. Rocks added an RBI single, Luke Caucci doubled home a run and Lincoln Sharpe made it 5-0 with an RBI single.
“We didn’t have a comfortable day at the plate today for the first six innings,” Manero said. “But we sort of made up for it by stringing some big hits together in the top of the seventh.
“It doesn’t always show up in the boxscore, but Luke Gartland and Luke Caucci in our middle infield have been so steady for us all season. Today, they made so many putouts look routine, and we just can’t overlook their importance.
Ryan Marcino accounted for two of Springfield’s four hits.
PW (9-2, 8-1 SOL) plays again Friday, in a nonleague game at Souderton.
Springfield (4-7, 4-5 SOL) hosts Abington on Monday.
PW 001 000 4 – 5 7 1
Springfield 000 000 0 – 0 4 1
Upper Dublin 8, Cheltenham 1
Upper Dublin scored eight runs on 10 hits, including five runs in the first three innings, and three pitchers combined on the hill to give the Cardinals the 8-1 win over Cheltenham on Thursday
Aidan McCarthy went the first three innings for UD, and didn’t allow a hit, scattering four walks with six strikeouts, before giving way to Chase Sunday, who allowed one run on four hits through three innings,
Jacob Cornbluth, who went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI at the plate, closed the game out with a scoreless seventh.
Austin Dahl got things started offensively for the Cardinals with an RBI single in the bottom of the first. A bases loaded walk made it 2-0.
UD added two in the second on an RBI single by Eric Berman and a RBI double by Dahl, and one in the third on a Bobby Keck RBI sac fly.
The Cardinals then put it away with three in the fifth. Sunday had an RBI double and two runs scored on errors.
UD (8-3, 8-1 SOL), winners of six straight games, played at New Hope-Solebury on Monday.
Cheltenham (2-8, 1-8 SOL) plays at Quakertown Monday.
Cheltenham 000 001 0 – 1 4 3
Upper Dublin 221 030 x – 8 10 0
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