Chase Fisher tossed a no-hitter in PW’s win over Hatboro-Horsham, and Neshaminy notched a walk-off win in the bottom of the seventh. Check the recaps. (Photo courtesy of Cindy Manero/PW baseball)
SOL Liberty Division
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 8, HATBORO-HORSHAM 0
Talk about storybook – this was it.
Chase Fisher – who wasn’t scheduled to go the distance – pitched a complete game no-hitter in Thursday’s league contest.
“I didn’t necessarily plan on having Chase throw a full seven today,” PW coach Chris Manero said. “As a matter of fact, we had two more guys lined up to throw, but sometimes, you just need to let the storyline develop on its own, and no doubt that’s how it unfolded today.”
In the game’s final innings, Fisher knew he was mighty close to reaching the 100-pitch mark and was in danger of not being able to finish the game.
“The second to last batter, I glanced at the pitch count a couple times to make sure I had enough pitches to finish him and then the next guy, to make sure I could squeeze him in,” Fisher said. “It was kind of a relief when it was over because I had the pressure of throwing the no-hitter off my shoulders after it’s been on my mind 30 or 40 minutes. Thank goodness it’s finished, it’s over.”
Fisher would be the first to admit – a no-hitter was the least of his concerns when he was warming up prior to the game.
“The bullpen before the game was a little rough,” he said. “I hit the little batting practice guy we have up there that’s the visual – I hit him three or four times, so that wasn’t really a good start, but everything kind of worked in the pen. This is the first time in a while having all of my pitches kind of working together at once. It was fun, it was nice.”
Fisher retired the first nine batters he faced but then put a pair on with one out, sandwiching a pair of walks around a strikeout, but he escaped that with no damage, thanks to a huge pickoff play by catcher Chase Olszyk.
“He had a bit of a rough start to the fourth inning, and we got the bullpen stirring a bit,” Manero said. “Chase Olszyk then got a big pickoff at second base from behind the plate, and Chase got back on track.”
Fisher allowed a two-out walk in the fifth but followed that with a 1-2-3 sixth. He issued a leadoff walk in the seventh but retired the next batter on three pitches and the next one on a full-count strikeout to up his pitch count to 97. Down to potentially his last batter, he closed it out with a three-pitch strikeout to finish with 100 pitches.
“Once he got strike one, I felt a little better,” Manero said. “But I just wanted him to finish so bad, so naturally I think we were all a little on edge in the dugout.”
Fisher realized he was throwing a no-hitter around the fifth inning.
“I knew the perfect game was gone when I walked two hitters in the fourth inning,” Fisher said. “But in the fifth, I started to think about it.
“The majority of our team had no idea a no-hitter was going on. One of our coaches afterwards – he didn’t know it was a no-hitter until one of our coaches mentioned it when we were having the postgame talk.”
Interestingly, Fisher also had a seven-inning no-hitter as a sophomore on JV.
“It was kind of like this where I had just enough pitches and just got it in in time,” he said.
In Thursday’s complete game no-hitter, Fisher struck out nine and walked four.
“It is always great to see a player go out there and achieve something special,” Manero said. “High school baseball will provide these guys with so many memories, and the chance to make one that is extra special like a no-hitter doesn’t always come around that often.
“Chase is a PW baseball kid through and through. His dad won a state championship here, Chase was once a bat boy for us when he was in elementary school, and now he’s making his own mark on the field and in the uniform that has been such a big part of his family for so many years. It’s hard not to root for things to happen like they did today.”
The Colonials gave Fisher plenty of support, putting four runs on the board in the second when they capitalized on four free passes as well as two-run singles by both Christian Strunk and Gabe Caucci.
PW added a run in the third without collecting a hit and then put the game out of reach with a three-run fifth. Gavin Moore led off with a single, and he scored one out later when Ryan Heincer doubled to right. An error and an RBI double by Olszyk put the Colonials on top 8-0. Fisher did the rest.
Thursday’s was a bounce-back win for the Colonials in their first game since their spring training trip to Florida.
“We’re 2-0 in the league, which is pretty huge,” Fisher said. “Especially after we’re bouncing back from a tough stretch in Florida, losing two games. It’s nice to bounce back and win the games that actually matter for us conference-wise.
“We were in Florida for five days – we’re together as a team all day, bonding and getting close with each other, and there’s the two practices we had a day mixed in with games and just being around everybody. It helps with team building.”
Strunk had PW’s lone multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-4 with three RBIs and one run scored.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (2-2, 2-0 SOL) will host Upper Dublin on Friday, and Hatboro-Horsham (0-4, 0-1) will travel to Quakertown on Friday for a 6:30 p.m. night game.
Hatboro-Horsham 000 000 0 0-0-2
Plymouth Whitemarsh 041 030 x 8-7-1
SOL Patriot Division
NESHAMINY 3, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 2
With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the seventh in a tie ballgame, Stone Powell lined a 2-2 pitch to center field, a single that plated a run and gave the Redskins the dramatic walk-off win.
“Offensively we hit the ball really hard today, but the score didn’t reflect that,” Neshaminy coach Dan Toner said. “North made a couple very good plays on defense, and it was also one of those games where we hit the ball right at people.”
“I was glad to see that we were able to overcome that adversity and walk it off in the last inning with the bases loaded. Stone Powell hit an absolute missile over the infield to win the game.”
Powell’s game-winner was set up when Adam Hunter led off the inning with a line drive single to right field. He moved up to second on Anthony Trommer’s sacrifice, setting the stage for back-to-back intentional walks to both Brandon Lall and Joel Bonner that loaded the bases. Powell made it hurt with his game-winning single.
The Redskins found themselves in a position to win it thanks to impressive outings on the mound by Evan Krippel and Steve Martin. Krippel started and in five strong innings allowed three hits and two runs, striking out four. Martin allowed one hit in two shutout innings, striking out two and walking two to earn the win.
“Evan Krippel and Steve Martin flipped roles today with Krippel starting the game and Martin coming in to close,” Toner said. “Krippel and Martin both pitched a solid game and attacked the strike zone. There was only one inning where we put a couple guys on, and North was able to take advantage of the free baserunners.”
It was the first game action in at least nine days for both teams.
“It was great to be able to get out and play after a long break,” Toner said. “Knowing that there was no field prep necessary to get ready to play was huge relief. The weather conditions weren’t great during the game, but the turf was able to let us get it in.”
Rock North took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth. Will Scibona and Nick DiGiacomo were both hit by pitches to lead off the inning. Both moved up on Johnny Mulder’s sacrifice, but it looked as though the Indians might escape unscathed when reliever Peyton Shaw struck out the next batter he faced, but Preston Martin followed with an RBI single to right, and Kyle Book’s RBI single gave the Indians their two-run edge.
The Redskins evened the score in the sixth. Bonner lined a one-out double to right, and Powell was safe on an error. Ryan Fox’s single to right plated the first run, and Jake Plebani’s two-out single plated Powell to knot the score, setting the stage for the dramatic finish.
Powell’s 2-for-4 effort at the plate with one RBI and one run scored led the Redskins.
Neshaminy (3-0 SOL) will be on the road for a non-league game at Holy Ghost Prep on Saturday at 11 a.m. Council Rock North (4-2, 2-1) will travel to Sun Valley for a non-league game on Friday.
Council Rock North 000 200 0 2-4-2
Neshaminy 000 002 1 3-8-0
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