Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Friday.
SOL Colonial Division
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 12, PENNRIDGE 2
The Patriots excelled in all phases of the game Friday night. They played flawless defense for seven innings, received solid outings from their pitchers, and they hit the cover off the ball, pounding out 11 hits.
“We’re playing really good baseball now,” East coach Kyle Dennis said. “The guys are really swinging the bats incredibly well, and we’ve hit a variety of different types of pitching, so I’m really proud of the guys making the adjustments that they are and just hitting the baseball hard. When you hit it hard, good things will happen.”
Included in East’s 11 hits were home runs by Matt Rowland, Joey Wilga, Ryan Zosulis and Chase Harlan. Rowland also had a double.
“We were fortunate to put four balls out tonight,” Dennis said. “Matty Rowland had a phenomenal day. He actually – on a controversial call – hit another home run that was ruled foul by the umpire, so he almost had a day with two home runs. He ended up with a home run and double for us. He broke things open for us in the fifth inning. Up and down the lineups, guys really hit today. Hitting is contagious.”
The Patriots broke a 2-2 tie with three runs in the fourth and four more in the fifth. Harlan led off the fourth with a single, and Wilga brought him home with a home run to right field. Thomas Cano-Piszel and Zosulis followed with back-to-back singles, and Cano-Piszel scored on Jared Laff’s fielder’s choice to give the Patriots a 5-2 lead.
In the fifth, Jack Mislan led off with a single, and Nolan Behm walked. Harlan’s ground single to left plated Mislan, and a walk to Wilga loaded the bases. Cano-Piszel’s sac fly plated Behm, and the Patriots added two more runs when Rowland lined a double to center field, giving the Patriots a 9-2 advantage on their way to the big win.
Sophomore Mike Scafidi earned the win on the mound, scattering seven hits and allowing two runs while striking out three and walking three in five innings.
“Mike Scafidi has been coming out of the bullpen a lot for us,” Dennis said. “Maybe this was only his second start of the year, but we used a lot of pitching in the first two games this week. We have a ton of confidence in Mike. If you’re going to put a sophomore out there under the lights at Pennridge, it’s a lot to ask of him, but he pitched well.
“He’s not a strikeout guy. He’s going to pitch to contact, and that’s what he did, and our defense played clean and made all the plays behind him. When you pitch to contact and you play defense, you can give up seven hits.”
Chase Fulford struck out one did not allow a hit in a scoreless inning of relief, and Chase Harlan tossed a scoreless seventh, striking out one and allowing one hit.
“Chase Fulford has been playing short for us a lot,” Dennis said. “He’s a great pitcher – we just haven’t had opportunities to use him too much because he’s so valuable at shortstop. Tonight was a great night to give him an opportunity on the mound and get some work there. Hopefully, things keep rolling and we’re going to need him down the line.
“We were able to get Chase Harlan on the mound. That’s something we’ve been trying to do all year, but we haven’t been in many save situations. We said – tonight, no matter what the score is we’re using him, and we got two shutdown innings out of those guys.”
Rowland’s 3-for-4 included a double, home run, four RBIs and a run scored. Harlan was 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and three runs. Zoulis was 2-for-3 with a two-run home run in the seventh and two runs scored.
For the Rams, Nick Leight was 3-for-4.
Central Bucks East (6-12, 6-8 SOL) will travel to North Penn on Monday, and Pennridge (1-17, 1-13) will be on the road at Central Bucks West.
Central Bucks East 020 340 3 12-11-0
Pennridge 011 000 0 2-8-0
SOL Liberty/Freedom crossover
ABINGTON 6, LOWER MORELAND 1
Jack Hoetzel tossed a gem for the Ghosts in Friday’s crossover game.
Just one out separated him from a complete game when he surpassed the 100-pitch mark. Pat Barrett – who entered the game – needed just three pitches to close it out when a Lions’ baserunner was gunned down attempting to steal.
Hoetzel allowed just four hits and one run while striking out eight and walking two in 6 2/3 innings.
The Ghosts got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second. Jake Kaplan drew a leadoff walk and scored when Chase Goodson tripled. Goodson also scored on the play, thanks to an error, and the Ghosts led 2-0.
The Lions made it a 2-1 game when Kevin Cronin singled to plate Xavier Gonzales, who legged out a bunt single. The Ghosts got that run back when they scored an unearned run in the third.
That 3-1 score stood until the bottom of the sixth. Logan Moss led off the inning with a walk, and he scored when Kaplan tripled to left field. Goodson’s sacrifice fly plated Kaplan, and an RBI single by Calvin Judge gave the Ghosts their final margin of victory.
Leading the Ghosts at the plate was designated hitter Alex Dardaris, who was 2-for-3 with a double and run scored. For the Lions, Cronin was 2-for-3 with an RBI out of the leadoff spot.
Abington (11-6, 10-4 SOL) will travel to Wissahickon on Monday, and Lower Moreland (7-9, 5-9) will host Springfield Township on Monday.
Lower Moreland 001 000 0 1-4-2
Abington 021 003 x 6-7-2
Non-league
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 3, HATBORO-HORSHAM 1
The Titans recognized their team’s 14 seniors and then went out and celebrated with a non-league win over the visiting Hatters. The game doesn’t count in the standings, and it also carries no weight in the district power rankings, but Titans – sparked by the strong showing of Bryce Bell on the mound – put on quite a showing for their fans.
“Great starting pitching by Bryce Bell,” South coach Kevin Bray said. “It was a great collective effort by our seniors on Senior Night.”
Bell allowed just one hit in five shutout innings. He struck out three and did not walk a batter, but he was not involved in the decision. Eli Gaeckel, who earned the win, allowed two hits and one run, and Brett Barrett struck out the side in a scoreless seventh to earn the save.
The Titans put a run on the board in the bottom of the first when Owen Wheeler, who doubled, scored on Hunter Petrich’s single.
In the top of the sixth, the Hatters evened the score. Trey Porter drew a leadoff walk, and Noah Schlosser followed with a single. Porter scored the tying run when Aidan Eckley lofted a sacrifice fly to center field.
The Titans scored a pair in the bottom of the sixth. Flynn Carroll lined a one-out triple to right, and he scored on a Hatters’ miscue. Another costly error resulted in a second run for the Titans.
Central Bucks South (10-7, 7-6 SOL) will host Harry S Truman in a crossover game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Hatboro-Horsham (10-7, 7-6) will be on the road at William Tennent for a crossover game Saturday at 11 a.m.
Hatboro-Horsham 000 001 0 1-3-3
Central Bucks South 100 002 x 3-6-1
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 15, QUAKERTOWN 5 (6 innings)
Kevin Bukowski had himself a day.
The Bucks’ leadoff batter hit for the cycle, drove in six runs and scored four. His perfect 4-for-4 day led the Bucks’ 13-hit attack in Friday’s non-league win.
“Kevin Bukowski just had a monster game,” West coach Brian Weaver said. “I don’t know the last time a player hit for the cycle for West. He was pretty selective at the plate today, and the ones he picked out, he really drove them. He’s a linchpin for our squad, so when he’s going, it gets everyone else going. We had a bunch of guys reach base twice, so we were fortunate that we could keep the pressure on in most innings.”
Bukowski’s day began innocently enough with a single to lead off the top of the first, but it ignited a four-run outburst by the Bucks that also included singles by Sam Greer (RBI), Gavin Shiffler (RBI) and Alex Valdes (2 RBIs).
The Panthers made it a 4-2 game with a pair of runs in the third. Joey Pizzi drew a leadoff walk and Chris Parrillo followed with a single. Pizzi scored on a wild pitch, and a one-out single by Brayden Schuler plated Parrillo.
Bukowski’s two-run triple highlighted a three-run fourth inning, and in the five-run fifth, Bill Zentmayer had a leadoff triple, and Bukowski had an RBI double. That left the Panthers’ leadoff batter needing only a home run for the cycle. He got that in the sixth when he hit a three-run shot to left field that put the Bucks on top 15-5.
Also for the Bucks, Greer (2-for-2, RBI, 1R) and Valdes (2-for-2, 3 RBIs, 2R) had multi-hit games.
“Alex Valdes continued to get the job done,” Weaver said. “He was on base all four times today and has quietly turned himself into an indispensable guy. He works like crazy at the game, and as the season has unfolded, he has gotten better and better.”
Will Hoganauer threw three innings and earned the win, allowing two hits and two runs while striking out five and walking three.
“Will Hogenauer came up huge for us today,” Weaver said. “He’s a great defensive outfielder and has done a lot of damage at the plate, but today we needed him on the bump, and he gave us three innings to start the game. Sounds like a small thing, but it’s the most we’ve asked of him this year and our bullpen needed somebody to set the tone.“
Parrillo had a big game for the Panthers, going 3-for-3 with an RBI and run scored.
“The bottom of Quakertown’s lineup did a nice job,” Weaver said. “We put Pizzi on base a couple of times with freebies, and Parrillo was 3-for-3 and set the table repeatedly for the rest of his team. They were pretty resilient in their at-bats.”
Central Bucks West (12-6, 8-6 SOL) will travel to Pennridge on Monday, and Quakertown (7-10 6-7) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Monday.
Central Bucks West 400 353 15-13-2
Quakertown 002 120 5-7-1
WISSAHICKON 13, UPPER MERION 3 (5 innings)
The visiting Trojans took a 3-0 lead into the fourth inning when they erupted for 10 runs to bring an early end to the game. The lopsided non-league win came on the heels of a pair of losses that saw the Trojans score just four runs in the two games combined.
“Offensively, it was good to see us break out a little after a couple tough games earlier in week,” coach Andy Noga said.
The fourth inning offensive explosion began with leadoff double by Jarret Federer. It was the first of 10 hits in the inning that included doubles by Justin Miller (2 RBIs) and Adam Hajdak (2 RBIs), two singles by Mark Selverian (RBI) while Brayden Ryan, Andy Yun (RBI), Josh Stonesifer (RBI), Ryan Kim (RBI) and Shane Henrick (RBI) each added a single.
“Jarret Federer continues to give us a presence in the middle of the lineup,” Noga said. “Our freshman catcher Josh Stonesifer gave us some quality at-bats in the leadoff spot including a big two-strike hit.”
Contributing multi-hit games in the win were Stonesifer (2-for-3, RBI, 1R), Miller (2-for-3, 2 2B, 3 RBIs, 1R), Henrick (2-for-3, 3B, 2 RBIs, 2R), Federer ( 2-for-3, 2B, TBI, 1R) and Selverian (2-for-3, RBI, 1R).
Gavin Malloy allowed just two hits in three shutout innings. He struck out two and did not walk a batter.
“Gavin Malloy set the tone on the mound, pounding the strike zone and trusting his defense,” Noga said. “Tyler Shilling in his first start at shortstop did a phenomenal job, including turning a big double play with our second baseman Andy Yun. Mark Selverian had a couple clutch hits for us to extend our lead later in the game.”
Wissahickon (12-5, 9-5 SOL) will host Abington on Monday.
Wissahickon 2-0-1-10-0 13-15-0
Upper Merion 0-0-0-3-0 3-7-1
SPRING-FORD 7, NORTH PENN 6
It was a game that pitted District 1 6A’s top two seeds, but neither team was interested in tipping their hand so a whole lot of non-regulars saw action.
The Knights trailed by three entering the final inning, but they made things interesting when – with two outs and two on – Jack Picozzi, a regular who made a late appearance in the game, hit a gapper that plated a pair. That’s where the rally ended as Picozzi was gunned down trying to stretch a double to a triple.
Earlier, the Knights erased a 2-0 lead with a three-run third that included a single by Alex Pyle, a bases-loaded walk to Ben Holdsworth and sac flies by Shane Drennan and Mason Coyne.
Spring-Ford answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning to go on top 6-3. The Knights cut that advantage to 6-4 in the fourth when Luke Chartrand, who tripled to center, scored on Baldemar Cantu’s groundout. The Rams got that run back in the fifth inning, and they took that 7-4 lead into the seventh when the Knights rallied.
North Penn (14-3, 12-2 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks South on Monday.
North Penn 003 100 2 6-5-1
Spring-Ford 204 010 x 7-5-1
LOWER MERION 10, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 0 (5 innings)
The visiting Spartans managed just two hits – singles by Matthew Caruso and Jake Gibson – in Friday’s non-league loss to the Aces. Three pitchers saw action for the Spartans.
Springfield Township (5-12, 5-9 SOL) will host Lower Moreland on Monday.
Springfield Township 000 00 0-2-1
Lower Merion 301 51 10-8-0
About the Author
