Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Monday.
SOL NATIONAL CONFERENCE
BENSALEM 6, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0
The Owls are making a statement.
Three days after knocking off the defending state champions, the Owls silenced an Indian squad that brought a 4-1 record into Monday game. They spread out their run scoring as they out-hit North 7-4.
Nicholas Dean, who notched the win, pitched well for Bensalem, tossing five scoreless innings in the start and surrendering just two hits. He struck out six and walked two. Nick Fossile threw two scoreless innings to polish off the win. Bensalem, which scored in four of seven innings, got the only offense it would need on Stephen Aldrich's RBI single in the first inning.
Dean aided his own cause with a hit, RBI and run scored offensively. Keith Parrish had two hits and drove in a pair of runs for the Owls, who also got two hits and an RBI from Brian Swentkowski
The Indians were led by Jared Leuz's 2-for-3 showing while Matt Shenot clubbed a double for CR North.
Bensalem (4-0, 3-0 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Thursday, and Council Rock North (4-2, 2-1) will be on the road at Neshaminy on Monday.
BENSALEM 101 200 2 – 6
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 000 000 0 – 0
HARRY S TRUMAN, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 2
The Tigers saved their best for late, using a five-run sixth inning to turn the tables on the Golden Hawks.
“We didn’t have a lot of success last year, so this game was very important for the future of our season,” said Truman coach Tim Monaghan, whose Tiger squad won just one league game last year. “We kind of thought – just internally with the coaches – that this game could really set the tone one way or the other for the rest of the year.
“For the guys to battle through some adversity, get behind, claw and scratch back and then be able to put a good team like Council Rock South away and not let them linger around – it says a lot about where this group of guys has grown over the last couple of years to where we think they’re going to be very competitive throughout the season.”
Truman, which trailed 2-1 after four innings, tied the game when Evan Profy scored on a passed ball in the top half of the fifth. Profy, the Tigers' leadoff man, had a sterling day at the plate going 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI.
As a team, the Tigers mauled nine hits with three coming in the decisive fifth inning outburst. TJ Brasier led off the frame with a base hit, and the Tigers had a pair of runners in scoring position after a two-base error on Wayne Pekarski’s bunt. An intentional walk to Tim Foley loaded the bases, setting the stage for Mike Finsel's line drive single that plated a pair and broke the tie. Pinch hitter Dale Summers hit a full count pitch to center field, plating a run. Finsel scored on Profy's RBI single later in the inning. The fifth run of the inning scored on an error, and the Tigers led 7-2.
Finsel had a team-high three RBI and pitched the last 3.2 innings of the game to pick up the win. He did not allow a hit.
“Mike Finsel has been great,” Monaghan said. “He’s come in relief in two of our games that count towards the playoffs and he’s given up one hit in six or seven innings.
“He’s pitched our toughest innings, and he had the big hit offensively to put us ahead for good. Mike just had a great day. He came in and threw strikes. He didn’t surrender a hit and just kind of mowed them down and really started to calm things down on the defensive end and gave us a chance to win the game.”
Tyler Chew got the start for Truman and set the tone, throwing 3.1 innings and allowing just a single earned run.
Brasier (2-for-4) and Foley (2-for-3) also had multi-hit games for the Tigers.
Harry S Truman (2-2, 1-1 SOL) will travel to Bensalem on Thursday, and Council Rock South (0-2, 1-4) is off until Monday when the Golden Hawks will travel to Pennsbury.
HARRY S TRUMAN 010 015 0 – 7
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 001 100 0 – 2
SOL American Conference
UPPER DUBLIN 3, CHELTENHAM 2
The Cardinals rode strong pitching to a tight win over the hosting Panthers.
Sean Curran struck out four in three innings as the starter and got a big pick-up from reliever Elijah Peck who rang up five more hitters in four scoreless innings to keep UD in front.
“Both Elijah and Sean did really well,” coach Ed Wall said. “Sean is a sophomore, and this was his first varsity start. Obviously, we’re really pleased with his outing.
“The conditions – it was actually snowing when we were there today. It was unbelievable. For being so cold, he had great command. He started to tighten up a little bit, and we decided to bring in Elijah.
“He’s been getting some spot innings in relief, and we’re really confident in his stuff, and we knew he was going to throw strikes and get us through the game as fast as we could. He’s the type of kid that has great command and great movement, and he really uses those things to his benefit. He keeps hitters on their heels, and it really changes how they typically approach an at-bat. It’s a lot of fun to watch him out there dealing.”
The Cardinals collected eight hits, including Garrett Breslin's RBI single in the second inning for the first run. Breslin was 2-for-2 on the day.
“That was a big hit,” Wall said. “That was a two-out, two-strike line drive to left center. He squared up really well.”
Cheltenham's pitching was just as stout, with starter Alex Bugg slinging five innings with six strikeouts. The Panthers weren't able to keep pace offensively however, with Dale Jacobs and Lukas Nakkula providing the only two hits.
Joey Monaghan provided the eventual winning run on his two-run single in the top of the third inning. The first baseman, who went 2-for-3, drove in Julian Gimbel and Riley Brink to give UD a 3-0 lead. His clutch hit also came with two outs.
“We’ve been struggling with the bats, and we were pretty pumped up that we had that big RBI the inning before,” Wall said. “We all came in and said, ‘Let’s go for multiple RBIs here. Let’s extend the lead.’ Joey came up big.”
Cheltenham scored both runs in the bottom of the third and got the tying run on base in the seventh, but couldn't bring the runner home.
The win was the first of the young season for a Cardinal squad that is anchored by a solid group of seniors.
“They’re all great kids, great leaders,” Wall said. “They’re trying to find their way through this because for a lot of them this is their first time starting because last year we had a lot of seniors that graduated.
“They’re learning how to bring it out on the field. We were playing two thirds of the game really well – pitching and defense. We just need to get our bats heated up. I was really proud of our effort today. We started to hit the ball hard.”
Upper Dublin (1-2, 1-2 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Tuesday, and Cheltenham (3-2, 0-2) will be on the road at Quakertown on Thursday.
UPPER DUBLIN 012 000 0 – 3
CHELTENHAM 002 000 0 – 2
HATBORO-HORSHAM 5, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 3
The Hatters used a couple of late runs to break open a tie game and secure a win in their conference opener.
“It was big for us to come out in our first league game of the year – it’s a lot better to look at the standings after your first game and be 1-0 than it is 0-1,” coach Pete Moore said. “We have a lot of young guys in our lineup
“We had very senior-laden lineup last year, and we lost eight guys from our lineup. Today we had four sophomores in the starting lineup.”
Knotted 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth, Hatboro-Horsham sophomore Anthony Bruno – whose two-out, two-strike single plated a pair in the second – hit a sac fly to score Jake Mayson with the go-ahead run.
“He came up big for us today with good situational hitting,” Moore said. “Anthony has really opened our eyes this year and is really doing a good job this season.”
Benny Wilson's groundout brought in an insurance run.
Alex Crim started for the Hatters and went five innings, allowing three runs – all unearned and all in the second inning, but it could have been worse.
“There was a fly ball to center field, and our senior centerfielder – Jake Mayson – threw the kid out at the plate for a double play, so that was big. He also was 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored and really was a sparkplug for our offense.”`
Sophomore Eric Thron closed it out with an impressive two-inning stint, allowing just one hit while striking out one and walking one.
“His first inning I think he threw seven pitches,” Moore said. “We had another kid, a sophomore closer, that we were going to go to, but Eric’s first inning was so strong we decided to go right back to him again for the seventh inning.
“The other factor that led into that was the fact that we have four league games in four days this week, so we figured if we could save someone from throwing at all it could be a good thing.”
The visiting Spartans scored first, putting up a pair of runs in the second inning only for the Hatters to respond with three in the home half of the frame. Springfield tied the game in the fifth.
Hatboro-Horsham (1-2, 1-0 SOL) will be on the road at Quakertown on Tuesday, and Springfield Township (1-1 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday.
SPRINGFIELD TWP 020 010 0 – 3
HATBORO-HORSHAM 030 002 x – 5
Non-league
PENNSBURY 3, SOUDERTON 2
The Falcons turned some heads-up base running into a walk-off victory.
Tied 2-2 in the seventh inning, Grady Minnes led off the home half of the frame by wearing a pitch to take a base. Walks to Sam Ruta and Justin Massiello loaded the bags for Kyle Dear, who worked a 1-1 count before a wild pitch gave Minnes the opening to zip home and score the game winner.
Pennsbury opened the SOL crossover game, which counts toward district rankings, with a pair of runs in the first inning. Both scored – in what would become a theme – on wild pitches. Minnes worked a leadoff walk and eventually scored on a wild pitch with two out while Ruta would also come in on an errant pitch a few batters later.
Souderton tied the game in the third inning on RBI singles by Luke Barnum and Blase Scalfani. Scalfani got the starting nod on the hill for the Indians. He did not allow a hit in three innings but was charged with two runs – both unearned.
Christian Buchler got the start for Pennsbury and allowed three hits and two runs in 4.2 innings, fanning six and walking four. Ricky Palmer got the win in his 2.1 shutout innings of one-hit relief.
Pennsbury (4-2, 1-1 SOL) will be on the road at Neshaminy on Thursday, and Souderton (2-1, 1-0) will travel to Pennridge on Thursday.
PENNSBURY 200 000 1 – 3
SOUDERTON 002 000 0 – 2
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 7, ABINGTON 6
Jacob Nunez didn't wait to play hero for the Colonials.
On the first pitch of his sixth inning at-bat, Nunez singled home what would be the game-winning run in a contest that saw both teams trade bunches of runs.
The host Galloping Ghosts rocketed out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with Christian Lavialle's two-run double the exclamation point. Lavialle, the Ghosts' No. 8 batter, had two hits to lead Abington's six-hit effort offensively.
PW came back in a big way during the top half of the third inning. Nunez started a six-run frame for the Colonials with a two-run double and scored on Stephen Longo's RBI single. Brad Krenicky put PW up with a two-run single with Ryan Kane's sac fly plating Longo to cap the scoring spree.
Abington rallied back for two runs in the home half of the fourth inning to tie the game 6-6.
Nunez, who led PW with three RBI, was one of four Colonials to record two hits. PW, which totaled 11 hits, got multiple-hit games from Longo, Mike Orensky and Kevin Reilly.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (4-2, 2-1 SOL) will host Springfield Township on Tuesday, and Abington (1-4, 0-1) will host Neshaminy on Tuesday.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 006 001 0 – 7
ABINGTON 400 200 0 – 6
PERKIOMEN VALLEY 6, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 5
The Bucks and Vikings traded hits and runs all afternoon in a game that came down to whoever had the last at-bats.
Given that PV was the home team, they got the last crack and made the most of it. AJ Hansen provided the Vikings a walk-off win. The Vikings rallied for a game-tying run in the sixth inning as well.
CB West started the game when Tyler Dalzell singled in a pair of first inning runs. PV came back with three in the home half of the frame and added another in the second for a 4-2 advantage. CB West wasn't done however.
A wild pitch in the third inning allowed Matt McCarthy to score, followed by Dalzell's fifth inning sac fly plating Mike Gama for the game-tying run. West took a 5-4 edge an inning later via a fielder's choice that allowed Trevor D'Arcy to score.
D'Arcy went 3-for-5 and scored two runs while Dalzell had a team-high three RBI. McCarthy scored the other three runs for the Bucks, who also received an RBI from Matt Cooper Six different pitchers took the hill for West. Danny Miller, Dom Dicicco and Brian Gilvary each threw a scoreless frame.
Central Bucks West (0-5, 0-2 SOL) will host Central Bucks East on Thursday.
PERKIOMEN VALLEY 310 001 1 – 7
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 201 011 0 – 5
PENNRIDGE 11, NESHAMINY 11 (Suspended game)
The Rams and Redskins combined for 28 hits and 22 runs, but eight innings could not determine a winner. Play was suspended prior to the start of the ninth in the crossover matchup due to darkness and will be resumed at a time and date to be determined.
SPRING-FORD 7, NORTH PENN 0
About the Author
