On a day that included a whole lot of postponements, two SOL baseball games were played on Friday. UD/PW photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL Liberty Division
UPPER DUBLIN 11, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 4
Tristan Cairnes did it all for the Flying Cardinals.
The UD senior turned in another stellar outing on the mound, allowing just two hits and one run in six innings while striking out six and walking two. The outing came on the heels of a two-hit complete game win over Abington (8-1).
If that wasn’t enough, Cairnes also had a superb day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs.
“He was fantastic again,” UD coach Ed Wall said. “We definitely appreciate his efficiency out there and how he just attacks hitters and just puts the pressure on them. That’s two really good outings for him, and we’re really proud.
“He did a whale of a job at the plate too. The first inning he crushed a double off the top of the fence, and he backed it up with another double later on. Three RBIs – it was definitely key.”
The Cardinals were clinging to a 2-1 after four innings but then scored three runs in the fifth and five more in the sixth.
“Even though we had those two big innings, you never feel as though the game’s over just because of who they are,” Wall said. “Their pitcher (Alex Wilkie-Viscio) is tough. He had a lot of good movement, he’s quick to the plate. They have their own firepower too with (Jesse) Jaconski and (Luke) Caucci. Those two guys are tough. It’s a big win obviously for us.”
Highlighting the Cardinals’ three-run outburst in the fifth were an RBI double to center by Cairnes, a run-scoring single by Nick Harley and an RBI double by Leo Soriano.
In the five-run sixth, the Cardinals benefitted from back-to-back walks to open the inning, and a single by Lombardo loaded the bases. Cairnes delivered an RBI single, Ethan Madnick’s sacrifice fly to right plated a second run, and a third run crossed the plate on David Sharp’s RBI single. Leo Soriano followed with an RBI single, and the final run scored on a bases-loaded walk that put the Cardinals on top 10-1.
The Cardinals upped the lead to 11-1 with a run in the top of the seventh before the Colonials – with one powerful swing of Logan Sharpe’s bat – plated three runs in the bottom of the inning for the 11-4 final.
“Aidan (McCarthy) made a good pitch to Lincoln Sharpe, but man, Lincoln had it timed up,” Wall said of Sharpe’s three-run home run. “Aidan came in there and did a pretty good job for Tristan there at the end.”
Also for the Cardinals, Harley was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two walks.
“Nick Harley has been doing a fantastic job at the plate and playing first base for us this year,” Wall said. “He’s definitely saved our infielders a couple of times and helped us get out of innings, shorten innings.”
Soriano had two big hits, and two RBIs, and Jared Levis was 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored out of the nine hole.
“Jared Levis – I think he saw 23 pitches or something like that in the game,” Wall said. “Out of the nine spot, he was 1-for-2 with a walk and a big single. I’m surprised he didn’t score an RBI somewhere in there. He’s the guy that really turns the lineup over and has been doing a fantastic job.
“It felt like a five-minute at-bat where he just sat up there. I think (coach Chris) Manero had to open up another box of balls. It was foul ball after foul ball. He just kept spoiling them. It was a really good at-bat. We’re getting some really good production all the way up and down the lineup.”
For the Colonials, who collected just four hits, Luke Caucci tripled out of the leadoff spot and scored on a groundout in the bottom of the first.
Upper Dublin (3-2, 3-1 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Monday, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (3-2, 0-2) will host Abington on Monday.
Upper Dublin 002 035 1 11-11-1
Plymouth Whitemarsh 100 000 3 4-4-3
Non-league
HATBORO-HORSHAM 5, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 4
The Hatters rallied from an early 3-1 deficit to knot the score 4-4 in the fourth. Neither team scored again until the bottom of the eighth inning when Jack Elwell ripped a one-out triple to right that plated teammate Trey Porter for the walk-off win.
“Trey was 3-for-4 today, so with one out in the eighth, he hit a ball in the right center field gap, and when the outfielder bobbled the ball, he took off and went to second, so he was on second with one out, and Jack hit a laser over the right fielder’s head that scored Trey from second base,” HH coach Pete Moore said. “To be honest, I didn’t think we played great, but the good thing was we found a way to win.
“As this team has matured from last year to this year, we’re able to find ways to win right now even when we’re not playing our best game, and I think that can be an indicator of a good team. Of course, you want to play your best game every time out, but it’s not going to happen, but we battled and competed, and we ended up with a win.”
While Elwell and Porter stole the spotlight with their eighth inning heroics, the star of the game was winning pitcher Ryan Toporowski. In his debut on the mound, he threw 4.1 innings of scoreless relief, allowing just one hit while striking out five and walking one.
“The most outstanding thing today was Ryan Toporowski,” Moore said. “Ryan is our everyday shortstop, and this fall I went to him and said, ‘I’d like you to start pitching for us this year because you compete in everything you do, and we need guys that compete.’
“So today was literally the first time he ever threw on a 60/90 field, and he’s a senior in high school. He hasn’t thrown since Little League, and he threw four and one third innings of shutout baseball in relief today. He came in with the bases loaded and two outs and got a strikeout to get us out of an inning and just rolled from there.
“He’s a soccer player, and he’s going to play soccer for Widener, but every time he steps on the field, you know you’re going to get the best you can out of him. I wanted to see what would happen if he got back on the mound. He used to be a very good pitcher, and when he transitioned to the bigger field, he’d just given it up. He was just really impressive today. It was great to see.”
The Titans put a pair on the board in the top of the first, thanks to singles by Colin Mitchell, Braeden Black and JT Anderosky (RBI) as well as an RBI groundout by Logan Hinds. The Hatters made it a 2-1 game with a run in the bottom of the inning. Porter led off the inning with a single, and one out later, he raced home on an RBI groundout by Will Bruner.
In the third inning, the Titans upped their lead to 3-1 when Mitchell, who doubled to left, scored on a double play. Once again, the Hatters answered, this time scoring three runs in the bottom of the inning to go on top 4-3.
Porter got the rally started by lining a two-out double to right. Elwell drew a walk, and Bruner followed with an RBI single. A second run crossed the plate when Cole Fisher was safe on an error, and Nick Catherine’s RBI single gave the Hatters their first lead.
CB South evened the score in the top of the fourth, thanks to an RBI single by Bryce Bell, and that 4-4 score stood until the top of the eighth.
For the Hatters, Porter was 3-for-4 with a double, stolen base and three runs scored out of the leadoff spot.
Mitchell (2-for-2, 2B, 2 runs) and Black (2-for-4, run, SB) both had multi-hit games for the Titans.
“We really loaded up the teams that we played in the non-league games and scrimmages, so we saw very good talent and competition before we got into league play,” Moore said. “We’ve held our own against those teams. It’s an exciting position for us to be in right now.
“We’re not that good that we can show up and just win. We know we have to go out and grind things out, and the kids are buying into that.”
Moore tipped his hat to Cory Snyder for making the field playable on a day when most teams were unable to get on their fields.
“He’s amazing,” the Hatters’ coach said. “He really goes above and beyond and does great work with our fields.
“Our varsity field – there was really nothing you could do. Our infield grass was saturated, but he was able to get the jayvee field ready for us, so we were able to play the varsity game on the jayvee field. One of my assistant coaches, Matt Cavagnaro, came out and helped him get it ready. We were excited to get out on the field and have an opportunity.”
Hatboro-Horsham (3-2, 2-0 SOL) will host Quakertown on Monday, and Central Bucks South (0-3, 0-2) will travel to North Penn on Monday.
Central Bucks South 201 100 00 4-9-2
Hatboro-Horsham 103 000 01 5-7-2
CHELTENHAM 14, JENKINTOWN 10
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