Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Monday. PW/Tennent photos provided courtesy of Michael Rice. To view a gallery of photos, visit the photo gallery: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f12122253
SOL Liberty/Freedom Crossovers
Hatboro-Horsham 7, Upper Moreland 3
Trailing 3-1 after four, the Hatters exploded with three runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to pull away from archrival Upper Moreland in the annual Battle of the Borders crossover game on Monday.
“I was proud of how our entire team stayed within ourselves and didn’t let a rivalry and big game change our heartbeat,” said H-H coach Pete Moore. “We talked about staying in our routines and breathing when the moments got big, and our guys executed that part of the game very well.”
UM started quickly with a run in the first on an RBI double by Patrick Kilgus, and then after H-H tied it in the third, the Golden Bears added two in the fourth, taking advantage of a couple of errors and an RBI single by Nate Kelly.
From that point, however, Hatters starter Jamie O’Neill held the Bears at bay to give his offense the chance.
“Sophomore Jamie O’Neill was terrific on the mound again today,” Moore said. “He just pounds the zone with all of his pitches and has grown to have a bulldog mentality on the mound. He threw 72 percent strikes today. I am really proud of how good he was in a really big game for us. He now has a 0.18 ERA this year, allowing just 1 earned run in 39 2/3 innings pitched on the year. That’s remarkable.”
Noah Schlosser led off the Hatters’ fifth with a single and then he stole second. An RBI single by Aiden Eckley made it 3-2, and Eckley advanced to second on an error. Trey Porter then singled to tie the game. An error on a ground ball led to Porter scoring to put H-H in front by a 4-3 score.
The top of the order struck again in the sixth. Schlosser reached on a hit-by-pitch with one out, followed by an Eckley single and an intentional walk to Porter.
Schlosser then stole home and the two runners behind him advanced as well. Jackson Bumpus singled to score both runs and make it a 7-3 game.
“The top of our order was outstanding for us today,” Moore said. “The top three guys in our order – Schlosser, Eckley and Porter – all had 2 hits each today. They created chaos on the bases as well, combining for nine of our team’s 12 stolen bases.
“Trey Porter continues to prove that he is the best player in the area. He reached base all four times and stole four bases. Teams can pitch around him if they want, but he is going to turn walks into doubles or triples by stealing bags.
“Noah Schlosser hit an impressive home run in the third inning through some strong wind to tie the game at 1-1.Freshman third baseman Kenny Lutz also had two hits and two stolen bases. He was brought up to the JV team as a catcher, but our JV coaches, Bill DeBoer and Andy Fisher, had him getting some work at third as well and suggested we take a look at him there. He’s done a great job for us. He’s very talented and coachable.”
Sean Townsend was 2-for-3 with two doubles for UM.
“Sean Townsend was very good for Upper Moreland today,” Moore said. “He’s always a tough out at the plate and played a solid shortstop today. You can tell he is a competitor and isn’t afraid of big moments. Jim Fasano and his staff are doing a great job with that program.”
Also for UM, Patrick Kilgus had an RBI single in the first inning,
H-H (9-3, 6-3 SOL), which has won four straight, plays at Cheltenham on Wednesday, before returning to division play Friday at Wissahickon.
UM (6-5, 5-4 SOL) hosts Plymouth Whitemarsh on Wednesday.
UM 100 200 0 – 3 9 2
HH 001 033 x – 7 9 4
Wissahickon 6, Lower Moreland 4
Josh Palutis’ two-out triple tied the game and ignited a sixth inning rally for Wissahickon, which battled back to defeat Lower Moreland in a tough crossover game on Wednesday.
“Good teams are always finding ways to win, even when they don’t have their A game and the hits just aren’t falling,” said Trojans coach Andy Noga. “I was really proud of our guys today for doing just that. I thought we swung it pretty well today, but we just kept barreling balls right at their guys for most of the game. Our guys stayed locked in and finally were able to break through in the sixth.”
Wissahickon took advantage of three straight walks to load the bases in the top of the second, and then went in front 2-0 on a two-run single by Luke Frank. An RBI groundout by Jack O’Donnell later in the inning made it 3-0.
But LM answered, starting with a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the second by Donato Incollingo and then scored two in the third on a steal of home by Tolan Stahl and then a squeeze bunt by Xavier Gonzales.
The Lions went in front 4-3 on an error.
After not scoring in the fourth and fifth, Wissahickon finally put some hits together in the sixth, starting with Palutis’ RBI triple. O’Donnell put the Trojans back in front with an RBI single and then Justin Miller followed with an RBI double.
“I was really impressed with Justin Miller,” Noga said. “He had four great at bats today; the first two resulted in fly outs, but he was eventually rewarded and really was a major factor in our win. “Josh Palutis keeps blistering the ball for us, that triple there was a huge momentum swing.”
Adam Hajdak earned the win on the mound, and Gabe Malloy worked around a pair of walks to record a scoreless seventh to pick up the save.
“I thought Adam Hajdak didn’t have his best stuff, but he did a tremendous job of battling through with what he had, and kept us in that game for six innings,” Noga said. “This was a big get for us and a great start to a big week with three important games here as we transition into May.”
Wissahickon (9-3, 7-3 SOL) hosts Springfield in its final crossover game on Wednesday.
Lower Moreland (4-7, 2-7 SOL) plays at Upper Dublin Wednesday.
Wissahickon 030 003 0 – 6 9 1
LM 012 010 0 – 4 4 0
Plymouth Whitemarsh 6, William Tennent 4
On Senior Day, the Plymouth Whitemarsh seniors stepped up when they needed to as the Colonials grabbed the lead in the third inning on the way to the 6-4 win over visiting William Tennent It was the team’s sixth straight win.
“Today was our senior day, and I couldn’t be happier for this group of guys who have been such a big part of our program over the last four years,” said PW coach Chris Manero.”They are fun, they love the game, they enjoy being around each other, and they have been a part of a lot of wins in our program.
“Two of our seniors, Lincoln Sharpe and Tyler Gartland had big days at the plate and picked up some timely hits for us. Garltand, Nick DeLucca, and Luke Caucci also energized our offense with three triples.”
Tennent took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning, thanks to two-out RBI singles by Jackson Archibald and Lucas Kimbrough. The Colonials evened the score with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. Tyler Gartland, who singled to lead off the inning, scored when DeLucca lined a triple to right field. DeLucca scored on Luke Gartland’s groundout.
The Colonials scored a pair of runs in the third inning. Gavin Rocks grounded a one-out single to center and stole second. With two outs, Lincoln Sharpe’s single plated Rocks, and Sharpe scored when Tyler Gartland lined a triple to center field.
Tennent trimmed PW’s lead to 4-3 with a run in the fifth, but the Colonials regained their two-run advantage in the bottom of the frame on Sharpe’s RBI single that plated Caucci, who had tripled to center.
Johnny Giordano hit a home run in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 6-3 game before the Panthers scored one run in the top of the seventh for the 6-4 final.
Sharpe went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, while Gartland was 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI.
On the mound, Matt Krawitz picked up the win, allowing three runs on five hits, but didn’t walk a batter and struck out eight. Cooper Jones recorded the final out of the game after Tennent had scored one and loaded the bases with two out in the top of the seventh.
“Matt Krawitz gave us a solid start, and our pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts,” Manero said. “That gave us a big boost for sure.”
PW (10-2, 9-1 SOL) next plays at Upper Moreland on Wednesday.
Tennent (3-9, 2-7 SOL) plays at Abington Wednesday.
Tennent 020 010 1 – 4 5 1
PW 022 011 x – 6 9 0
SOL Colonial/Patriot Crossovers
North Penn 6, Bensalem 1
Jack Picozzi went the distance and North Penn executed at the plate in a big fourth inning as the Knights won their seventh straight game in besting visiting Bensalem in a crossover game on Monday afternoon.
“Jack Picozzi threw real good game for us,” said NP coach Kevin Manero. “We were hoping for a complete game out of him for a while. Today, he was a lot more efficient with the pitch count, it was a fast-paced game, and he threw a lot of strikes.
“(Bensalem’s Dan McShane) threw a of strikes, we kept things moving. It was just a real good, clean baseball game.”
Picozzi threw 87 pitches over seven innings, gave up four hits and walked just one, while striking out six.
“He has real good late life on the ball,” Manero said about Picozzi. “He’s a real good command pitcher when he’s got his release point connected. When he stays connected, the ball just explodes out of his hand. You can see the pop on the ball. It’s a big difference than when he doesn’t have it, when it’s disconnected.”
With three scheduled games this week, having his starters work deep into game is something Manero and the North Penn coaching staff has been stressing.
“It’s a big thing for us,” he said. “We want to keep our pitches per-inning down and really run deep in games. Hopefully, with three games this week, we can do that. Two of our last three games have been complete games, and with very good pitch counts – under 90. They’ve been getting after hitters and hitting their spots.”
Offensively in the four-run fourth, North Penn – trailing 1-0 – loaded the bases with nobody out, thanks to walks to James Mangine and Justin Egner and a bunt single by Mario Sgro sandwiched in between. Sophomore Kevin Brace singled home two runs to put the Knights in front, Picozzi followed with an RBI single, and another scored on a Ben Farley sac fly.
They added two more insurance runs in the fifth, as Brady Dolger had an RBI single and Mike Cliver an RBI fielder’s choice.
“We strung a couple of hits together in the fourth inning,” Manero said. “We had bases loaded and nobody out and then had a couple of timely hits. We had good execution with small ball, ran the bases well and Kevin Brace had multiple hits out the 2-spot. He’s playing well beyond his sophomore year right now and has a spark plug for us at the top of the order.”
McShane, who pitched the first four innings for Bensalem, also drove in the Owls’ only run, a RBI groundout in the second inning.
North Penn (11-1, 9-1 SOL) is scheduled to play at Harry S. Truman on Wednesday.
Bensalem (4-8, 2-7 SOL) hosts Pennridge on Wednesday.
Bensalem 010 000 0 – 1 4 1
North Penn 004 002 x – 6 6 1
Neshaminy 5, Central Bucks East 3
Trailing 3-0, Neshaminy’s bats finally woke up in the bottom of the fifth, as it scored two runs and then added three more in the sixth to post a 5-3 win over CB East at home on Monday in a crossover game.
Anthony Trommer went 2-for-2 for Neshaminy, including a key RBI double in the critical sixth inning.
“We showed great resiliency today, being able to come back after going down 3-0,” said coach Dan Toner. “Took us until the end of the game to get going today, but everyone stepped up when they needed to.”
CB East scored its first in the third, as Ty Pan scored on a wild pitch. Two innings later, the Patriots made it 3-0, as one run scored on an RBI groundout by Jared Laff and another on a Nolan Behm RBI single.
Behm went 3-for-4 for the game, and starting pitcher Xavier Sjostedt was sharp through four innings before running out of steam in the sixth.
Brandon Lall led off the Neshaminy fifth with a walk. Mike Morrow singled and Trommer walked to load the bases. Rob Del Buono cut the deficit to 3-2 with a two-run single.
One inning later, Mike Amrheim led off with a single, stole second and scored on an error. Lall then put Neshaminy in front with an RBI single and Trommer’s one-out double made it a 5-3 game.
“Trommer, Del Buono and Morrow have been coming through all year for us and they did so again today,” Toner said. “Mike Amrhein did a fantastic job getting on base and being able to steal a bag late in the game to get into scoring position.
“Brandon Lall, a freshman, has been thrown into the fire at (first base) with junior Stone Powell being injured and has done a real nice job. Brandon was able to get the go-ahead RBI. He’s playing well above his age.”
On the mound, Ryan Fox went the first 4 2/3 innings for Neshaminy, before giving way to Steven Martin, who threw 2 1/3 shutout innings of relief to earn the win.
“Ryan Fox started the game for us and did a very nice job keeping us in the game,” Toner said. “Steve Martin entered the game and closed it out for us, like he has all year long.”
Neshaminy (10-4, 7-4 SOL) winners of four straight games, hosts CB West on Wednesday.
CB East (2-11, 2-7 SOL) hosts Council Rock South on Wednesday.
CB East 001 020 0 – 3 5 3
Neshaminy 000 023 x – 5 6 0
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