Jarrad Saffren recaps Wednesday’s SOL baseball action, which included some standout pitching performances. Photos of the Quakertown/Wissahickon game provide by Keith Clemens Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos…CLICK HERE to go directly to the SOS baseball gallery.
By Jarrad Saffren
Last baseball season, we established an interesting club here at suburbanonesports.com.
The one-name pitcher club.
Basically, these Suburban One League hurlers were so dominant, and featured so often, that you, our readers, knew them by just their last names. First names became superfluous.
There was Klepchick, Gulibon, Hand and others. Most graduated, like Gulibon and Hand. Others, like Klepchick, are back.
But he’s Dan Klepchick again for now. You have to earn your way back into the one-name club.
And that’s where I’m going with this. It’s too early in the season to accept one-name club members. But we are considering 2017 applicants.
Five pitchers helped their cases Wednesday. It was a day of strong, even dominant, pitching performances.
Sixteen SOL teams played league games Wednesday. There were eight games in all. The results and recaps are below.
SOL National
Neshaminy 3, Council Rock North 0
This kid has to make the one-name club. Because his last name is too awesome for him to be left out.
His name is Zach Boop, and he’s Neshaminy’s senior ace. You don’t know him because he missed last season with a lower back injury.
But, before his first start of 2017, Redskins coach Dan Toner, without hesitation, said, “He’s one of the best in the area.”
Boop has proven his coach right so far. First he Booped Pennridge, a very good program, last Thursday, allowing no runs and one hit in an 8-0 win.
Then he Booped Council Rock North, another very good program, Wednesday, tossing a complete game shutout, allowing one hit.
“Zach was phenomenal. He went to 99 pitches and felt good the entire time. We asked him how he felt every inning. He kept going,” Toner said. “He was throwing his pitches where he needed to.”
Yes, Boop has allowed two hits in two starts, 12 total innings. He is also 2-0 with a 0.00 earned run average. Neshaminy has replaced Billy Meyer, its very good, one-name caliber, 2016 ace.
“Boop’s the guy,” Toner said. “Whenever we have the chance, he’s going out there.”
Boop threw 88 pitches against Pennridge. Pitch counts are not a thing to him. He’s the Livan Hernandez (Wow, what a dated reference, Saffren.) of the SOL National.
“Pat Devlin has been his pitching coach the last couple years. They have real good trust,” said Toner, the Redskins’ first-year coach who retained Devlin from Chris Tenaglia’s staff. “Pat got Zach ready to go. Stamina was a big part of the program. Arm strength too.”
Boop only put two men on once, in the top of the fifth. With two on and one out, Boop got Cavan Tully, North’s best hitter, to pop out to the catcher. He struck out the next batter swinging.
“That was their best scoring chance. He just battled,” Toner said. “He doesn’t get nervous. He keeps his poise.”
Boop’s fastball and slider are on right now.
“His fastball is always pretty dominant. He does a real nice job of locating that,” Toner said. “His slider is good too. Having a real good fastball and backing it up with a slider is tough to hit. Plus he’s throwing in the high 80s, low 90s.”
Ed Parry and Eric Gale both drove in a run for Neshaminy. Parry leads the team with six RBIs in four games.
Evan Matthews, Cory Joyce and Parry all scored one Neshaminy run.
Joe Preciado tossed three scoreless innings for North, fanning four and walking none.
Neshaminy (3-1, 2-0 SOL) plays Bensalem Thursday at 3:45. That will be rained out, most likely, according to every news report. But for now, it’s on.
CR North (3-3, 1-1 SOL) hosts Council Rock South Thursday at 3:30. Same forecast is in play.
Council Rock North 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0
Neshaminy 0-0-3-0-0-0-X 3
Pennsbury 3, Harry S. Truman 0
Pennsbury’s one-name club applicant does not have a cool last name. It’s actually quite common. There are even two players with this last name on Pennsbury’s 23-man roster.
Ward is his last name, Justin his first name. Justin Ward. His brother Vaughn Ward is also a Pennsbury senior.
Justin Ward pitched six shutout innings Wednesday. He struck out seven, walked only two and threw just 71 pitches. Ward also took a no-hitter into the fifth.
“He spotted his fastball and mixed in his curve and change when he had to,” Falcons’ coach Joe Pesci said. “Seventy-one pitches in six innings is pretty good.”
Ward, as a pitcher, started one game, a non-league game, last season. He pitched five innings in an 8-3 win over Holy Ghost Prep. “He pitched well. Same stuff as this year, throws 83-85 with some run,” Pesci said. “We knew this year he’d be one of our two main starters. His first two outings have been really successful.”
Ward also took a no-hitter into the fifth on March 30 against Archbishop Wood. He has a 2.10 ERA in 10 innings. He has also fanned nine and allowed just four hits. Pennsbury has won both of his starts.
Ward walked the first batter he faced Wednesday. It was all uphill from there.
“Besides that, he really kept them at bay,” Pesci said.
Pennsbury played great defense behind Ward, turning three double plays. With two on in the fifth, Ward induced a 4-6-3 double play.
The game ended on a double play as well. Pennsbury right fielder Zach DeMarchis caught a fly ball and threw a runner out at home.
The Falcons hit just enough to support Ward and their defense. In the third, Ryan McCarty stroked a two-out, two-run double. McCarty is hitting .462 (6-for-13) through four games.
Pennsbury has won three straight since losing its opener, 11-1, to Central Bucks South on March 29.
“We faced a really good pitcher (Klepchick) in that loss. We also made uncharacteristic miscues in the outfield,” Pesci said. “The last three games we played our typical game of the last three years, pitching and defense. It’s nice to have two huge league wins.”
Pennsbury (3-1, 2-0 SOL) plays Abington Thursday at 3:45. But, rain.
Truman (0-4, 0-2 SOL) meets William Tennent Thursday at 3:30. But, mother nature.
Harry S. Truman 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0
Pennsbury 0-1-2-0-0-0-X 3
Council Rock South 9, Abington 6
Council Rock South trailed 4-3 going into the bottom of the sixth. Then the Golden Hawks scored six runs, took a 9-4 lead and held on in the top of the seventh.
Senior captain John Crane started the rally with a double to left. Then Nick Gallo sacrifice bunted to the pitcher, moving Crane’s pinch-runner, Joe Shragher, to second. Then Matt Smith lined a single to center, scoring Shragher, tying the game.
The next batter reached on an error. Two batters later, after an out, Josh Kim belted a single to center, scoring Smith, giving CR South the lead. Trey Obarowski followed with a sacrifice fly. Then Evan Fisher barreled a single to right, plating Kim. Kyle Fleming punctuated the rally with an infield single, bringing home Fisher.
South banged 11 hits Wednesday.
Kim had two runs, two hits and an RBI. Obarowski had two RBIs. Fisher had three hits, a run scored and an RBI.
Bryan Rieser scored three runs. Crane had three hits and two RBIs. Smith had two hits, a run scored and an RBI.
South, as platitude-loving coaches like to say, hit “one through nine.” The Hawks have been doing that this season. They have scored 21 runs in three games, all wins. They are one win shy of their 2016 total (4-15).
Nick McClay had a game for Abington, with four hits, two RBIs and a run scored. JP Nolan had a hit and an RBI.
CR South (3-0, 1-0 SOL) battles CR North Thursday at 3:30. Except, the thing is, there is absolutely no chance of that game happening tomorrow.
Abington (1-3, 0-1 SOL) plays Pennsbury Thursday at 3:45. That one also has zero chance whatsoever of being played.
Abington 0-2-0-2-0-0-2 6
Council Rock South 2-0-1-0-0-6-X 9
SOL American
Hatboro-Horsham 11, Springfield Township 0
Hatters’ senior hurler Brian Edgington has been even more dominant than Boop.
Edgington pitched a complete game shutout Wednesday, striking out nine and allowing three hits. He threw 75 pitches in five innings.
Hatboro-Horsham is 2-0 in SOL American play. Edgington has started and won both games. He has 19 strikeouts, no walks and a 0.58 ERA in 12 innings. He allowed one run in a win over Plymouth Whitemarsh on March 30.
“The kid’s been outstanding,” Hatters’ coach Pete Moore said. “Edge is just continuing to get better and better. He was really good as a sophomore in relief. Last year he had a tremendous year as a starter. He’s a mid to upper 80s guy, very good curve. He’s a very good pitcher.”
The Hatters faced Springfield ace Nick Pave, one of the best pitchers in the American last year. The Spartans didn't help Pave's cause, committing seven errors behind him. Only three of the Hatters' 11 runs were earned.
Leadoff man Shaun Thomas, third hitter Colin Kennedy and seventh hitter Jake Mayson all had big games.
Thomas stroked two hits and knocked in a run. Kennedy ripped three hits, including triple, drove in two runs and scored one. Mayson had two hits, two RBIs and a run.
“We had a really good approach at the plate. It’s a new year, a new league and a completely different experience with not knowing our opponents. We keep charts and data from year to year,” Moore said. “We don’t have much information on guys we’ve seen in our first two games. We knew Pave was considered one of the best pitchers in the league. The guys were excited for the challenge.”
Hitting was Hatboro-Horsham’s weakness last year.
“Playing to our advantage is the experience we gained last year. We have seven guys who played every day last year. They have experience and are playing with more confidence,” Moore said. “We also put a lot of time into hitting in the offseason. We talked a lot about having a plan when we go up there. We preached it and made a bigger deal out of it than we have in the past.”d
The Hatters put a single run on the board in the first on Kennedy’s RBI triple. They added two more in the second when Eric Jester, who walked, scored on a double steal. An RBI single by Thomas plated Jake Mayson, who reached base on a bunt single. An eight-run third blew the game wide open.
The 10-rule win was the Hatters’ first in a league game since April 3, 2012, when they defeated Quakertown 10-0 behind a Zach Prendergast no-hitter.
Hatboro-Horsham (2-1, 2-0 SOL) plays Upper Moreland Thursday at 3:45, but probably not. Springfield (3-1, 0-1 SOL) meets Cheltenham Thursday at 3:30.
Hatboro-Horsham 1-2-8-0-0-X-X 11
Springfield Township 0-0-0-0-0-X-X 0
Upper Dublin 3, Cheltenham 2
Upper Dublin starter Ryan Besachio pitched a gem, allowing no runs in five innings. He struck out six and allowed two hits.
“Besachio did a great job. We wanted to keep him under a certain pitch limit, and he threw 68, right around where we wanted him,” Flying Cardinals coach Ed Wall said. “It’s been a little while since he got out there. He hadn’t pitched in at least a week. Other than small pens inside, he hasn’t had a whole lot of work.”
Upper Dublin led 1-0 going into the top of the seventh. But Cheltenham tied the game off a different pitcher. Sam McTier singled home Lukas Nakkula.
Cheltenham took a 2-1 lead in the top of the eighth. Nakkula hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Kieran Versaw-Barnes, who had a pair of hits for the Panthers.
UD salvaged Besachio’s strong outing by scoring two runs, the winning, walk-off runs, in the bottom of the eighth. Justin Horn led off the inning with a triple to center.
“He was hitting well all day. Some were just at them,” Wall said. “This one was hit to the deepest part of the park.”
Horn scored the tying run after the catcher tried to throw him out leading off third. The ball tipped off the third baseman’s glove as Horn raced home.
Joey Monaghan followed with a walk. Then Jason O’Gara singled. Then Ryan O’Gara walked. Jack Jamison stepped in with the bases loaded. Jamison was 0-for-3.
“He was trying to find himself at the plate,” Wall said.
Jamison hit a hard fly ball to right that fell in and out of the right fielder’s glove, scoring Monaghan with the winning run.
“It was a good first conference win,” Wall said.
Cheltenham starter Jacob Petrisko gave up no earned runs in 6.1 innings.
Upper Dublin (2-1, 1-0 SOL) plays Quakertown Thursday at 3:30, maybe, possibly, probably not. Cheltenham (0-4, 0-2 SOL) hosts Springfield Township on the same day and time, but not really.
Cheltenham 0-0-0-0-0-0-1-1 2
Upper Dublin 0-1-0-0-0-0-0-2 3
Quakertown 13, Wissahickon 3
Quakertown beat a good team by 10 runs, improving to 3-0. There may be a new contender in the SOL American, its newest team.
The Panthers pounded 14 hits and scored multiple runs in four of seven innings.
“We’ve been leaving men on base, so it was good we got them in tonight. We hit the ball hard with guys on base,” Quakertown coach Jon Pallone said. “We ran the bases well, too. Two or three times we got in a rundown, trying to stretch singles into doubles, and runs scored during them. We also stole a couple bases. It all kind of came together today.”
Quakertown leadoff man Jake Reed scored three runs, got two hits and had one RBI. Lake Friday had four RBIs, two hits and two runs. Matt Bukavich had three hits, two RBIs and two runs.
“We did a lot of small things right, and that added up to some big stuff,” Pallone said. “In the beginning of the game, we bunted twice to start the inning. The first was for a hit. The second was a sacrifice that became a hit because it landed in the right spot.”
Quakertown (3-0, 1-0 SOL) plays Upper Dublin Thursday at 3:30. Wissahickon (2-2, 0-1 SOL) battles PW on the same day and time.
Quakertown 2-0-5-3-0-0-3 13
Wissahickon 0-0-0-1-0-0-2 3
SOL Continental
Pennridge 1, Central Bucks South 0
Pennridge’s Ian Kacergis out-dueled Dan Klepchick, handing Klep his first loss. He did not lose a game in 2016.
Kacergis struck out 10, walked none and gave up no runs in 6.2 innings. Klepchick fanned 10, walked none and allowed one run. Klepchick actually gave up fewer hits, 2-5, than Kacergis.
But Pennridge scored one run, in the top of the fourth, on Joe Robinson’s groundout. Andrew Fantaskey scored.
Tommy Dugan and Joey Loynd both had two hits for CB South.
Pennridge (2-1, 1-0 SOL) hosts Truman Friday at 3:30. CB South (3-1, 0-1 SOL) plays Souderton Friday at 3:45.
Pennridge 0-0-0-1-0-0-0 1
Central Bucks South 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0
William Tennent 8, Central Bucks West 4
William Tennent scored four runs in the bottom of the second, took a 4-1 lead and never trailed again.
Four Panthers—Greg Delgado, CJ Goodz, Danny Goodz and Joey Shannon—got multiple hits. Danny Goodz, Shannon and Tom Plunkett also scored multiple runs. Danny Goodz and Greg Delgado both drove in two runs.
Tennent pitcher Dan McNamee gave up one run in three innings.
John Martindale drove in two runs for CB West. Matt Cooper had two hits, a run and an RBI for the Bucks. West’s Steven Gebre had two runs and two hits.
Tennent (1-2, 1-0 SOL) plays Truman Thursday at 3:30. CB West (1-2, 0-1 SOL) hosts North Penn Thursday at 3:30.
Central Bucks West 1-0-2-0-0-0-1 4
William Tennent 0-4-3-0-1-0-X 8
Souderton 6, Central Bucks East 6 (Suspended)
Eleven innings could not determine a winner, and the game, which was halted because of darkness, will be completed at a later date.
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