Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Friday. Wissahickon/Abington photos courtesy of Keith Clemens Photography. PW/Upper Dublin photos courtesy of Michael Rice. Check back for galleries of both games: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f1055694815
SOL Patriot Division
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3, PENNSBURY 0
Reed Curtier and Billy O’Neill combined for a one-hit gem on the mound to win a classic pitcher’s duel with Pennsbury’s Keller Bradley.
Curtier started and allowed one hit in six shutout innings, striking out 11 and walking four. O’Neill closed it out with a 1-2-3 seventh to put the finishing touches on the impressive win.
“Reed was spectacular,” Rock South coach Greg Paprocki said of his sophomore standout. “He’s a young buck, but he got good exposure as a freshman pitching some big games, some high pressure games, and I think we saw what he could be as a sophomore.
“He’s certainly delivering this year. He’s such a great competitor, he’s fearless. The talent is one thing with Reed, but the competitive nature he brings to the field every single day is what makes him great. “
The Hawks’ coach also lauded the effort of Bradley, who scattered seven hits in six innings, striking out 11 and walking two.
“Hats off to Keller Bradley because he’s a sophomore as well,” Paprocki said. “Both of those guys were tremendous today. Both of those guys are incredible talents for their age. I’m really looking forward to seeing those guys face off down the road as they progress and develop.”
On a day when runs were hard to come by for both sides, the Golden Hawks scored all the runs they would need in the second with an impressive two-out rally. Mason Curtier lined a single to center, and Sam Serpiello followed and drew a walk. Curtier scored a run that turned out to be the game-winner on Zak Abt’s line single to center. Both base runners advanced on the throw, and both scored when Drew Nemeth singled.
“Drew Nemeth had his first varsity hit, and it was an infield single with two RBIs,” Paprocki said. “Zak Abt was down 0-2 in the count with two outs, and we really needed him to come up in a big way, and he delivered with two strikes for his first varsity hit. That was the first RBI of the game and kind of broke it open there.”
Mason Curtier finished the day 2-for-3 with one run scored, and O’Neill was also 2-for-3 as the Golden Hawks improved to 2-1 in league play.
“This is a great momentum builder for us,” Paprocki said. “We have a great group of kids, and we’ve returned a lot of players. Right now, we’re scratching the surface of what I think we can be.
“Right now, we are struggling at the plate a little bit – we’re striking out way too much in every game. We’re just continuing to work hard at practice on pitch selection, two-strike approach and things of that nature in order to improve every single practice just a little bit.”
Council Rock South (3-1, 2-1 SOL) will face Council Rock North on Saturday (7 pm) at Arm & Hammer Stadium in Trenton.
“In the past, it was always a non-league game, and it was Senior Night for both teams,” Paprocki said. “This year, it’s a league game. Obviously, Council Rock North and Council Rock South have been a great rivalry for the past 20 years. All those games are high energy, they’re fun, and now we get to play one underneath the lights with the community watching.”
Pennsbury (3-2, 1-2) will be on the road at Bensalem on Sunday at 10 a.m.
Pennsbury 000 000 0 0-1-0
Council Rock South 030 000 x 3-7-0
SOL Liberty Division
WISSAHICKON 1, ABINGTON 0
The Trojans didn’t generate a whole lot offense, but that didn’t really matter.
Not with Adam Hajdak on the mound.
Hajdak allowed just two hits in six-and-two-thirds superb innings when he reached his allowed pitch count and was relieved by Cole Rogers, who earned the save with a strikeout of the only batter he faced.
“We know that every time that Adam Hajdak takes the ball for us, we have a really good shot to win the game, and today was a perfect example of that,” Wissahickon coach Andy Noga said. “He was a pitch count limitation and one out away from a complete game shutout two-hitter when he didn’t have his best stuff, but he still found ways to minimize damage, and keep their hitters off balance and off the scoreboard.
“His ability to throw four pitches at will to righties and lefties makes him so difficult to hit against. We needed an effort like that from him today because we really struggled to get things going offensively.”
The Trojans scored the only run they would need in the bottom of the second. Mark Selverian led off the inning with a ground single to left, and one out later, he stole second. Brayden Ryan singled and stole second, putting a pair on board for Giulio Carbo, who delivered in a big way, lining an RBI single to right for a 1-0 lead that stood the rest of the way.
“A bright spot for us on the offensive side is the continued success and development of freshman Giulio Carbo, who knocked in our one run today in a big spot with
runners on second and third,” Noga said. “We have really liked his approach and maturity at the plate and are excited to see where his development takes him.
“Our pitching has been absolutely terrific so far this season, and we’re hoping with the weather warming up, our bats will come around, and we can kickstart our offense a little bit as we head deeper into conference play.
“Our pitching coach, Colin Kennedy, has done an outstanding job with our pitchers. Their development throughout just two years under his tutelage is a testament to the type of pitching coach he is.”
Ryan’s 2-for-3 effort with a double led the Trojans, who had just five hits.
Wissahickon (3-1, 2-1 SOL) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday, and Abington (0-3) will host Quakertown on Tuesday.
Abington 000 000 0 0-2-2
Wissahickon 010 000 x 1-5-0
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 4, UPPER DUBLIN 2
Twenty-four hours after Chase Fisher tossed a no-hitter in the Colonials’ 8-0 win over Hatboro-Horsham, Johnny Giordano and Cooper Jones combined for a one-hitter to lead the Colonials to their second SOL win in as many days.
“The line ‘it starts on the mound’ may be a little overused, but it’s hard to think of any other way to describe the first three league games we have played this season,” PW coach Chris Manero said. “In the opener, it was several of our guys who combined for a shutout at Abington. Yesterday, it was Chase Fisher tossing his no-hitter. And today Johnny Giordano came out and established command right from the start.”
Giordano allowed one hit and two runs in five-and-a-third innings on the mound, striking out seven and walking four.
“We have a lot of pitchers on this team,” Manero said. “We told our guys that six or seven of them needed to be ready to get on the mound between yesterday and today. But, with our starters getting deep into games, we only needed to use three. That is a real testament to how effective Chase and Johnny were for us this week. But, next week, we play four. So, there will undoubtedly be some big opportunities for some of our other arms to show up and play big roles.
“Johnny is a guy that we have seen as a pitcher/outfielder for the last two years. But, because of having some very effective arms at the top of the rotation, we never really got him on the mound as much as we thought we might. Now he’s a senior, and I know he wants the ball. We will need that mentality as we move through a very competitive schedule.”
The Colonials wasted little time before providing Giordano with some support. In the bottom of the first, Gabe Caucci led off with a ground single to center. One out later, Chase Olszyk drew a walk with Caucci advancing to third on a UD miscue. He scored to give PW an early 1-0 lead. when Colin Brady lined a single to left.
In the bottom of the third, Olszyk opened the inning with a single to left and was replaced by courtesy runner Tommy Baron, who immediately stole second and advanced to third on a groundout.
With two outs, Mason Eagland singled to plate Baron and advanced to second on an error. Kevin Hegarty was hit by a pitch, and Eagland scored when Christian Strunk grounded a single to right. A walk to Ryan Moore loaded the bases, and Hegarty scored when Caucci drew a bases-loaded walk to put the Colonials on top 4-0.
“We scored four today in the first three innings, and with the way Johnny was pitching, I’m sure at times it felt comfortable for our team,” Manero said. “But, again, we left too many in scoring position. We know all too well from recent seasons that Upper Dublin players are well coached and will battle in every at bat all game long. Things got tight late in this game and that needs to be a warning for us that we can’t squander opportunities for bigger innings.”
In the top of the sixth, the Cardinals took advantage of four straight walks and a sacrifice fly by Paul Stoffel to plate a pair.
Jones, who entered the game with one out and the bases loaded, threw the final one-and-two-thirds innings. He did not allow a hit, striking out two and walking two.
The Colonials, who collected seven hits, were led by Caucci (2-for-2, 2 SB, RBI, R) and Eagland (2-for-2, 2B, RBI, R).
“We did do a nice job today of spreading hits around the lineup,” Manero said. “We have hitters that are capable of big days at the plate. The wind and the cold can certainly take some of that away, but I liked how we battled through that today.
“Right now, in addition to the depth in our pitching staff, we also see a lot of depth in our position players. We’ve brought a couple of guys off the bench the last two days, we’ve switched a few spots in the lineup, and I look forward to giving a bunch of different players opportunities to show us what they can do here in the first half of the season.”
Nate Cairnes collected the Cardinals’ lone hit and finished the day 1-for-2 with a run scored.
Eddie Stoffel and Austin Dahl combined for three shutout innings in relief for the Cardinals to close out the game.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (3-2, 3-0 SOL) will travel to Wissahickon Tuesday for a key division contest. Upper Dublin (3-2, 2-1) will host Hatboro-Horsham Tuesday.
Upper Dublin 000 002 0 2-1-2
Plymouth Whitemarsh 103 000 x 4-7-0
QUAKERTOWN 3, HATBORO-HORSHAM 2
Hits were in short supply for both sides, but the Panthers rode the standout performance of Cooper Natisin on the mound and at the plate to the hard-earned SOL win under the lights at Memorial Park.
“It was a great hard fought game with a lot of great intensity from both sides,” Quakertown coach Jon Pallone said.
Natisin found himself in a pitching duel with Stephen Plefka. Both pitchers allowed just three hits, but the Panthers turned those hits into three runs.
The Panthers staked Natisin to a 1-0 lead with a run in the bottom of the first when Dan Qualiteria scored on a successfully executed squeeze by Natisin.
The Hatters took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth. Jamie O’Neill tripled to lead off the inning and scored on an error. The Hatters used small ball to tack on their second run.
In the bottom of the inning, the Panthers answered. After the Panthers’ leadoff batter reached first on a passed ball on a third strike, Qualteria singled. Both runners advanced on Cole Reich’s groundout, and both scored when Natisin helped his own cause with a single to center, giving the Panthers a 3-2 lead that stood the rest of the way.
Matt Marsten relieved Natisin with one out in the sixth and did not allow a hit in 1.2 shutout innings in relief to earn the save, striking out three and walking one.
“Matt Marsten did a great job closing the door,” Pallone said.
Natisin, who notched the win, allowed three hits and two runs (one earned) in 5.1 innings. He struck out five and walked two.
Plefka threw all six innings, allowing three hits and three runs (two earned) while striking out seven and walking three.
“Plefka really battled out there,” Pallone said. “It was a great duel with the two lefties (Plefka and Natisin).
“Cooper went out there and did a lot of good things for us today. Not only was he aggressive on the mound. He had an excellent sacrifice in the first inning to bring in a run. He also had a clutch 2-RBI single in the bottom of the fifth.”
Qualteria was 2-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored out of the leadoff spot for the Panthers.
“Danny Qualteria had a great day at the plate with a two-hit day and a leadoff triple to start us off,” Pallone said.
Quakertown (2-2, 1-1 SOL) will travel to Abington on Tuesday, and Hatboro-Horsham (1-3) will be on the road at Upper Dublin Tuesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 000 020 0 2-3-0
Quakertown 100 020 x 3-3-2
SOL Freedom Division
SPRINGFIELD TWP 4, LOWER MORELAND 3
The visiting Spartans saved their best for last.
Down to their final out in the top of the seventh and trailing 3-1, the Spartans rallied. Nolan Kidwell, Jack McKittrick and Owen Hastings hit back-to-back-to-back two-out singles to load the bases for Matthew Caruso, who ripped a bases-clearing triple to left field that put the Spartans on top 4-3.
Ethan Shore closed it out with a 1-2-3 seventh to notch the win. Shore allowed one hit in 2.1 shutout innings in relief, striking out a pair and walking one.
“We are getting decent pitching, but I’m not happy with our offense and approach at the plate,” Springfield Twp coach Dennis Primavera said.
The Spartans had eight hits in the win but only four through the first six innings. Two of those four hits came in the first inning when Hastings – who led off with a single – scored when Caruso followed with a double to right to put the Spartans on top 1-0.
But not for long.
The Lions evened the score in the bottom of the inning when Drew Dorval, who was hit by a pitch and moved up to second on a passed ball, scored on Mason Tammaro’s two-out single.
In the bottom of the second, the Lions scored an unearned run when Gavin Blumhardt, who doubled, scored. They upped their advantage to 3-1 in the fifth, capitalizing on two walks, a hit batter and an RBI single to left by Blumhardt. That score stood until the Spartans’ dramatic two-out rally in the seventh.
Caruso’s productive day led the Spartans and included a 2-for-4 effort with a double, triple and four RBIs. Hastings was 2-for-4 with two runs scored out of the leadoff spot, and Kidwell was 2-for-3 with a run scored.
For the Lions, who managed just four hits, Tammaro was 2-for-3 with one RBI and Blumhardt was 2-for-3 with a double, RBI and run scored.
Springfield Twp (1-2 SOL) will travel to Upper Moreland on Saturday for a noon game, and Lower Moreland (1-3, 1-2) will host William Tennent on Tuesday.
Springfield Twp 100 000 3 4-8-2
Lower Moreland 110 010 0 3-4-1
Non-league
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 6, SUN VALLEY 3
The Indians pounded out 11 hits and four pitchers combined for a two-hitter in Friday’s non-league road win.
John Mulder started and allowed just one hit and two runs (one earned) in four innings. He walked three and struck out four. Nik Costanzo allowed a run in an inning of work, and Will Godonis closed it out with two shutout innings. He did not allow a hit and retired all six batters he faced, striking out three.
The Indians scored a pair of runs in the top of the second – this despite managing only a leadoff single by Preston Martin. The Vanguards scored a run in the bottom of the third to make it a 2-1 game and evened the score with a run in the fourth.
In the top of the fifth, the Indians regained the lead, capitalizing on a pair of walks. Sun Valley knotted the score in the bottom of the inning.
The Indians won it with a three-run seventh. Leor Kedar got things started with a one-out double to left and advanced to third on an error. He scored the go-ahead run when Will Scibona singled to center. Nick DiGiacomo singled, and with two outs, Preston Martin lined a double to center that plated a pair and gave the Indians their final margin of victory.
DiGiacomo led the Indians with a 4-for-4 effort that included a double and run scored. Martin was 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored. Kedar was 1-for-3 with a double and two runs scored out of the leadoff spot. Jack Ploppert was 1-for-3 with a double and run scored.
“John Mulder threw four strong innings to hold Sun Valley to just one hit,” Rock North coach Matt Schram said. “Our bats woke up in the second half of the game with Nick DiGiacomo having a four-hit day, and Preston Martin with a clutch two-out double to give us the three-run cushion. A win is always a good remedy after a tough loss.”
The Indians were coming off a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Neshaminy that saw the Redskins earn the walk-off win.
Council Rock North (4-2, 1-1 SOL) will face Council Rock South on Saturday at Arm & Hammer Stadium (home of Trenton Thunder) at 7 p.m.
Council Rock North 020 010 3 6-11-1
Sun Valley 001 110 0 3-2-4
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