Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Wednesday. CR South/Pennsbury photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f12122253
SOL Patriot Division
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3, PENNSBURY 2
It’s been a good week for the Golden Hawks.
On the heels of their 4-3 win over Council Rock North on Monday, the Golden Hawks edged a Falcon squad that had won five straight to open the season.
“It was a really, really good game against a powerhouse program,” Rock South coach Greg Paprocki said. “It was an incredible job all around by our guys. They really stepped up and came ready to play. They believed they were going to win this game going into it, and that’s the result they got.”
The win was not without its anxious moments as the Falcons – who trailed 3-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh – had a pair on base and none out when relief pitcher AJ Pirone entered the game. He collected the first out on a fielder’s choice, and then issued an intentional walk to Ryan Zuckerman to load the bases.
Joe Tiroly lofted a sacrifice fly to right field to plate a run, and it was a 3-1 game. Dylan Hirsh followed with a two-out RBI single, but that’s where the Falcons’ comeback ended. Pirone retired the next batter he faced on a fly ball to center field for the game’s final out.
“AJ now has two saves on the week,” Paprocki said. “He’s been tremendous for us. He closed out the Rock North game (a 4-3 win on Monday), and he was able to come back for the Pennsbury game on one day’s rest. He got the job done. Great job by him, great job by the rest of the guys.”
Chase Ennis threw five-and-two-thirds shutout innings to earn the win. He allowed five hits, struck out seven and walked three. It was a marked contrast to his start in the Hawks’ 11-10 loss to Neshaminy when he lasted just three-and-a-third innings and walked seven in that stint.
“Chase Ennis really struggled last week,” Paprocki said. “Going into the season, we knew that Chase was going to be a great pitcher for us, and not only that – one of the better pitchers in the league.
“Chase worked hard in practice, worked his bullpen, made a couple tweaks, and he got the results from it. He got the results from hard work, and those tweaks really showed. That’s the Chase Ennis we know as coaches, and that’s the Chase Ennis that his teammates know. We expected that at some point from Chase, and it came earlier than expected. He really made a great turnaround after the Neshaminy game last week.”
Before they stepped onto the diamond, the Hawks knew that runs would be difficult to come by against Pennsbury ace Kayden Faulcon. They scored two in the top of the fourth. Sam Serpiello singled to lead off the inning, moved up to third on Ryan Petrie’s one-out double and scored on Trey Sajeski’s single. With two outs, Ennis helped his own cause with an RBI double to right field.
“Whenever you’re facing a pitcher like Kayden Faulcon – he’s a special, special player, a special talent,” Paprocki said. “He’s going to (the University of) Pittsburgh for a reason, but the guys just stuck to their plan all year. They really have a selfless approach at the plate. They’re really doing their job of moving runners and coming up big in big spots.”
The Golden Hawks added a run in the top of the seventh to go on top 3-0 when Serpiello lined a two-out single to center that plated Tyler Harper, who reached base on an error. That run loomed large.
“We actually left a couple of runs on the board just from baserunning decisions that we made,” Paprocki said. “That’s something we’re going to clean up in practice. I think if we start cleaning things up, we’re really going to start believing that we have something here.
“This was a team effort, and we’ve had a team approach the entire year so far. That’s why we put up as many runs as we did against Neshaminy. We left some runs on the board against (Rock) North, and we definitely left some runs on the board against Pennsbury. So that’s a coach’s job for myself and my staff to figure out how to clean that stuff up, so we can really start hanging some crooked numbers up on the board.”
Sajeski was 3-for-4 with a double, RBI and run scored out of the leadoff spot. Ennis was 2-for-3 with a double and RBI, Harper was 2-for-4 with a run scored, and Serpiello was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
“When a player steps up to the plate and there are runners in scoring position, there’s always added pressure,” Paprociki said. “Guys who have been struggling this year really stepped up.
“Sam Serpiello struggled through his first two league games, and he worked on his craft all week with the assistant coaches. He stayed after practice to hit, and he got results from that. He came up with two big hits for us and a big RBI.”
Council Rock South (4-2, 2-1 SOL) is off until Monday, April 17, when the Golden Hawks will host Harry S Truman. Pennsbury (5-1, 2-1) will host Bensalem on Tuesday.
Council Rock South 000 200 1 3
Pennsbury 000 000 2 2
NESHAMINY 8, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 4
Neshaminy trailed 4-2 heading into the sixth inning but erased that deficit with a five-run outburst on its way to the big win.
A bases-loaded walk to Joel Bonner pulled the Redskins to within one, and Jake Kozlowski followed with a hit that turned out to be the game-winner, lining a single to center that plated a pair to put the Redskins on top 5-4.
“Our offense really battled at the plate today,” Neshaminy coach Dan Toner said. “Jake Kozlowski came through in a big situation to break the game open. Any time Jake comes up to the plate, you get that feeling that you know he’s going to deliver.”
By the time the inning was over, the ‘Skins had pushed two more runs across. Rob Del Buono had an RBI single, and another bases-loaded walk – this one to Mike Amrhein – put the Redskins on top 7-4. Another Kozlowski RBI single in the seventh gave Neshaminy its final margin of victory.
Evan Krippel threw five innings to earn the win, allowing four hits and four runs (three earned) while striking out four and walking two. Steve Martin did not allow a hit in two scoreless innings to close it out, striking out one and walking one.
“Evan Krippel and Steve Martin did a fantastic job on the mound today,” Toner said. “They attacked the strike zone and were able to throw all their pitches for strikes.”
Early on, Stone Powell’s RBI single spotted the Redskins a 1-0 lead in the first, but the Indians answered with three runs in the third inning. Nolan Riesenberger drew a leadoff walk, and Quinn Erlandsen followed with a single to center. Will Scibona’s single plated Riesenberger, Erlandsen scored on a wild pitch, and Jaden Tang had an RBI single to put the Indians on top 3-1.
Mike Morrow’s RBI single in the fourth pulled the Redskins to within one, but Rock North plated an unearned run to go on top 4-2, a lead it could not hold.
Kozlowski finished the game 2-for-5 with three RBIs and a run scored to lead Neshaminy. Morrow was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
For the Indians Erlandsen was 2-for-4 with a run scored out of the leadoff spot.
Neshaminy (5-1, 3-1 SOL) will travel to Harry S Truman on Tuesday, and Council Rock North (3-3, 2-2) is off until Monday, April 17, when the Indians will host Pennsbury.
Neshaminy 100 105 1 8-9-2
Council Rock North 003 010 0 4-4-1
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