By Scott Huff
Down the backstretch …
Suburban One League National Conference
Council Rock North (11-1) can now focus on Council Rock South (10-2) in the battle for conference supremacy as the Indians blasted Bensalem (5-8) – 14-5. The game will be played Saturday morning at 10 am at the Northampton Field.
“As soon as the game was over, the players were all talking about the game with South,” said CR North head coach Matt Schram. “We kept after them about keeping focused on Bensalem, but once we got that final out we could turn our focus to South.”
The Indians scored in every inning by the first inning and pounded out 13 hits against the Owls. Rock North also played errorless defense and gift-wrapped a win for Jake Drossner.
Dan Denton had a spectacular day at the plate with a perfect 4-for-4 outing with five RBI.
“Dan has definitely been our power source the last four or five games,” said Schram. “I was impressed with the way that we put runners on in every inning, and we scored in all but one of those innings. We came out swinging.”
CR North will have a rested Darren Lauer and Pat O’Leary ready for the Golden Hawks on Saturday.
Council Rock North Indians 021 441 2 - 14 13 0
Bensalem Owls 000 500 0 - 5 4 2
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Council Rock South (10-2) can now focus on Council Rock North (11-1) in the battle for conference supremacy as the Golden Hawks flew to an 8-4 victory over Pennsbury (5-8).
“We have done a nice job this season with playing one game at a time and not getting ahead of ourselves,” said CR South head coach Greg Young. “Now we can look to Saturday and prepare ourselves for a fun day.”
The Hawks had a nice effort turned in by ‘closer’ Ryan Fleming. Fleming – a sophomore – threw two innings of scoreless relief behind winning pitcher Jeff Miller.
“We don’t really have a closer – we have a number of pitchers who could fill that role,” said Young. “But Ryan has come on at the end of the season, and he has earned the opportunity to pitch in important games.”
The Rock South offense featured hitting by senior Ryan Downs (two hits – two RBI); senior Jeff Thomas (two hits – two RBI); and Billy Fleming (two hits – double & triple).
“We did a good job of playing some small ball,” said Young. “We were able to move runners around and score some runs.”
Pennsbury Falcons 000 220 0 - 4 7 3
CR South Hawks 050 003 x - 8 11 0
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Neshaminy (5-8) stopped the bleeding on a six-game conference losing streak as the host Redskins defeated Truman (8-5) – 9-4.
“I have avoided going over bridges lately,” said Neshaminy head coach Dennis Cox. “We have some nice, young, athletes. And today was the best hitting that we have done all season – even the outs were hard hit outs.
“I knew going into the season that we were going to struggle at times,” added Cox. “We played two freshmen and three sophomores, and that’s a lot for young kids on the varsity level.”
The highlight of the pitching for the Skins was the tandem of sophomore Justin Andrews and freshman Cole Creighton. Andrews earned the win while Creighton earned the save with two scoreless innings of relief.
The offense was showcased by a three-run homerun off the bat of senior Darren Heisse in the sixth inning.
Truman Tigers 103 000 0 - 4 5 0
Neshaminy Redskins 040 113 x - 9 9 0
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Abington (5-8) won its second straight conference game as the host Galloping Ghosts edged William Tennent (2-11) – 10-8.
Abington unveiled its sophomore closer – Eric Tidwell – who threw a 1-2-3 seventh inning to close out the win. Tidwell struck out two of the three batters.
“We were going to groom Eric for that closer role, but with all the injuries to our pitching, we didn’t have too many closing opportunities,” said Abington head coach Dave Torresani. “We have a very young team, and winning these games at the end of the season will be a confidence boost going into next year.”
Dale Hoover and Mike Collins each had two RBI for the Ghosts, while Sean Gannon and Chris Ruhl each collected two hits.
“We played some small ball – a lot of singles and bunts,” said Torresani. “But we got some key hits, and we were able to come up with the win.”
William Tennent Panthers 005 003 0 - 8 8 3
Abington Ghosts 044 200 x - 10 9 2
Suburban One Continental Conference
North Penn (8-5) regained sole possession of second place in the conference as the Knights hammered visiting Souderton (4-9) – 11-0. NP entered the game tied with both CB South and CB East for second place – but both lost.
“We want to be able to finish off the season in second place, and that means beating Hatboro-Horsham (6-7) on Monday,” said North Penn head coach Bob McCreary. “And in this conference – that’s not easy. Nothing is ever easy in the Continental Conference.”
The Knights received an excellent game from starting-winning pitcher Bobby Reddick. Reddick gave up just a single hit and struck out four hitters.
The North Penn offense – which scored seven runs in the fourth inning and pounded out 12 hits during the game – featured a perfect 3-for-3 day at the plate by sophomore first baseman Eddie Posavec. Posavec – who doubled – drove home three runs for the winners. Ryan King went 2-for-3 with a triple and three runs scored.
“We fielded the ball well, and we seemed to put it all together on offense today,” said McCreary. “This was a nice win.”
Souderton Big Red 000 00 - 0 1 1
North Penn Knights 310 7x - 11 12 0
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Quakertown (3-10) stunned visiting Central Bucks East (7-6) with a walk-off 8-7 victory over the Patriots. The Panthers scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure the win.
“We finally were able to put things all together,” said Quakertown head coach Steve Cherrybon. “We have been hitting the ball hard all year – but it seems like we hit the ball right at people. In the seventh inning it seemed like every thing we hit fell.”
Colin Utterback and Doug Barndt each drove home two runs in the seventh inning, while Barndt scored the game winner on a single by Eric Sloss.
The win was earned by 6-foot, 7-inch junior Cody Stoneback who threw six and two-third innings of relief.
“Cody is a big kid who throws hard,” said Cherrybon. “He was injured for most of the year, and we missed him.”
Central Bucks East Patriots 100 202 2 - 7 7 1
Quakertown Panthers 000 120 5 - 8 12 3
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Hatboro-Horsham (6-7) inched its way toward .500 as the Hatters topped host Central Bucks South (7-6) – 9-8.
“Every game in this conference counts,” said Hatboro-Horsham head coach Pete Moore. “When we look back on the season, one or two plays in any given game can turn your whole season.”
The Hatters had a terrific game at the plate by junior Casey Saverio. Saverio collected four hits - ripped two homeruns – and had six RBI. Saverio gave the Hatters the lead with his three-run homer in the seventh inning.
Matt Hollenbeck threw three and two-third innings of relief to earn the victory. Hollenbeck had four strikeouts.
“We had three games this week and we were used Matt a lot in relief,” said Moore. “He did a great job out of the bullpen.”
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters 004 001 4 - 9 10 2
CB South Titans 240 110 0 - 8 9 1
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SOL Continental Conference champion Pennridge (11-2) ‘mercy-ruled’ Central Bucks West (6-7) – 10-0.
“We were happy to get out of the game in the fifth inning,” said Pennridge head coach Tom Nuneviller. “We were in a lot of tough games this year, and we have been able to win a lot of close games.”
Pennridge received a complete game – one-hit – pitching effort from senior Oscar Mikols. Mikols was able to strike out nine hitters in his five innings of work.
The Ram offense was fueled by Cody Zickler, who had three hits – which included a homerun – and two RBI.
“We have a rival game with Quakertown on Monday,” said Nuneviller. “And then we get ready for the district playoffs.”
Central Bucks West Bucks 000 00 - 0 1 1
Pennridge Rams 25012 - 10 13 0
Suburban One League American Conference
Upper Merion (9-8) had a wonderful pitching performance turned in by junior Peter Lopez as the Vikings sailed to a 2-1 victory over host Cheltenham (7-11).
The loss ended the regular season for the Panthers, while Upper Merion hosts Upper Dublin (6-10) in its regular season finale.
Lopez – who started his first game of the season – threw a complete game and permitted just three hits. Lopez also delivered the game-winning single in the top of the seventh that scored pinch runner Joe Takahashi.
“Peter pitched in tough luck early in the season with concussions,” said Upper Merion head coach Jason Darnell. “And with (Ray) Gambone and (Justin) Cunnane, he really hasn’t had all that many opportunities to throw this season.
“I feel pretty confident with our pitching as we get ready for the (Class AAA) district playoffs,” added Darnell. “Upper Moreland and Holy Ghost Prep are the only (Class AAA) schools right now that have better records than us.
“The teams in this league continue to beat up on each other,” continued Darnell. “Games like that will get us ready for the playoffs.”
Upper Merion Vikings 100 000 1 - 2 5 1
Cheltenham Panthers 001 000 0 - 1 3 2
In the Rear View Mirror
On Wednesday, Norristown (7-8) overcame huge deficits of 10-1 and 15-9 to defeat visiting Plymouth Whitemarsh (9-7) – 16-15.
The Eagles scored seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to secure the win. The biggest hit of the inning came when Patrick Campion blasted a grand slam homerun.
Norristown has three conference games left in the season - the Eagles visit Upper Dublin (6-10) today – and will host both Plymouth Whitemarsh and Upper Moreland (12-3) in the final two games.
Plymouth Whitemarsh has two conference games left in the season – the Colonials host Upper Moreland (12-3) today – and have a season ending game at Norristown.
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On Wednesday, Upper Moreland (12-3) scored in five of six innings as the Golden Bears defeated visiting Cheltenham (7-10).
Mike Janus was the winning pitcher for Upper Moreland.
Upper Moreland – which has clinched the conference title – has three conference games remaining. The Golden Bears will at Plymouth Whitemarsh (9-7) today – and has conference games with Wissahickon (7-10) and at Norristown (7-8).
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On Wednesday, Upper Merion (8-8) rallied to defeat Wissahickon (7-10).
Ray Gambone was the winning pitcher for the Vikings.
Wissahickon will close its regular season next week when the Trojans travel to Upper Moreland (12-3)
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