Jarrad Saffren recaps all of Tuesday’s SOL baseball action. Wissahickon/Plymouth Whitemarsh photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. CLICK HERE to go directly to the baseball gallery of photos.
By Jarrad Saffren
It’s already May. There are only two weeks left in the high school baseball regular season. That actually went really fast.
The first District One Power Rankings came out on Sunday. Most Suburban One League teams are still very much in the hunt for something.
So all 11 games had district playoff implications. Ten were league games. One was a crossover game that counted toward the power rankings.
The results and recaps are below.
SOL National
Council Rock South 2, Council Rock North 1 (8 innings)
Council Rock South’s Matt Smith lined the ball through the hole into right, a single. Council Rock North pitcher Joe Preciado threw a ball way outside that skipped past the catcher. Smith charged to second.
“Right when I saw the catcher missed it, I was gone,” Smith said. “I was even thinking third once I got to second.”
CR South had the winning run in scoring position. Then Eric Jeronis barreled the ball to right. It hit the grass and deflected off the right fielder’s glove. Smith sprinted home from second to give South a 2-1 win over its rival, its first since 2015.
“I try to come up with a plan every time I come to bat. In the on-deck circle, I envisioned hitting a nice little single over a middle infielder’s head. That’s exactly what I did,” Jeronis said. “I got a fastball away. I thought in that count I would get that pitch.”
South took a 1-0 lead in the home third. John Crane, who went 3-for-4 with two doubles in the game, lofted a double over the left fielder’s head, scoring Evan Fisher.
North tied the game in the top of the seventh. Tyler Marlow led off with a double down the left field line. Carl Nowmos bunted him to third. And Cavan Tully drove him in by bouncing into a fielder’s choice to second.
North had a great chance to take the lead in the top of the eighth. The first two Indians batters got on. The next batter bunted down the third base line. South third baseman Josh Kim charged, fielded, turned and fired to third for the force out. The next batter lined the ball to Smith at short. He caught it and stepped on the second base bag, doubling off the runner.
That, all of it, the runs and the defense, set the stage for the dramatic finish. So did stellar pitching on both sides.
South starter Brendon Carter allowed no runs in five innings, lowering his season earned run average to 2.67.
“My fastball and slider were going well,” Carter said. “To get ahead in counts early, like I did, definitely helped. It makes you confident.”
“Brendon has had a number of really good starts this year. He brought it from the get-go today,” coach Ted Kirner said. “He kept them off-balance with his off-speed and was able to jam them with strikes early on. He also kept his composure and worked out of jams when we made errors.”
North left five runners on against Carter, four in his last two innings.
Zach Mayer earned the win for South, giving up one run in three innings. “Zach kept his composure in tight situations,” Kirner said.
Preciado, despite taking the loss, surrendered just one run in 4.1 innings.
CR South improved to 5-4 in games that count toward the power rankings. The Golden Hawks are 19th in the District One Class 6A Power Rankings. Twenty teams make the District One 6A playoffs.
“We had an uphill climb the last two weeks if we lost today,” Kirner said. “This sets us up nicely.”
South (7-6, 5-3 SOL) plays Harry S. Truman Thursday at 3:45.
CR North fell to 7-3 in games that count toward the rankings. The Indians are eighth in the District One 6A rankings. Twelve teams earn first round byes. North (9-6, 6-3 SOL) hosts Bensalem Thursday at 3:45.
Council Rock North 0-0-0-0-0-0-1-0 1
Council Rock South 0-0-1-0-0-0-0-1 2
Pennsbury 14, Abington 1
Pennsbury bounced back from a shutout loss to Bensalem in its last league game, on April 28.
“The loss to Bensalem was a wake-up call. Our two league losses were 1-0 and we only had three or four hits in those. A bunch of our wins were low-scoring, close games, too,” Pennsbury coach Joe Pesci said. “We had to come back and prove we could score runs. Pitching and defense has kept the runs down. To finally give them run support was great.”
Eight Pennsbury players scored at least one run. Six drove in at least one run. Nick Price and Tyrone Hodges had the biggest games. Price scored three runs and knocked in three more.
“We put Nick in the two-hole because he makes contact and can bunt,” Pesci said. “He was being hit for early in the year. We liked what we saw in practice and he’s really been performing.”
Hodges also scored three runs and drove in three more.
“We moved Tyrone back up to the leadoff spot. He hit there most of the year last year. We moved him down to see better pitching,” Pesci said. “He has the highest on-base percentage on the team, so we said, ‘Let’s put him up there.’ He’s also an athlete and runs the bases well. He was a spark plug today. It worked.”
Justin Massielo also had a game for the Falcons, with two RBIs, two hits and a run. Kyle Dear and Vaughn Ward both scored a run and knocked one in. Ryan McCarty had two RBIs.
Jake Martell and Justin Ward each scored two runs. Pennsbury scored at least two runs in the first four innings, winning by the ten-run rule in the fifth.
The Falcons also pitched in this game. Billy Bethel fanned six in three shutout innings. Nate Derry allowed one run in two innings.
Pennsbury (9-5, 6-2 SOL) improved to 7-2 in games that count. The Falcons are seventh in the D1 6A power rankings.
They play Souderton Thursday at 3:45.
Abington (3-12, 1-8 SOL) plays Neshaminy Thursday at 3:30.
Abington 0-0-0-0-1-X-X 1
Pennsbury 3-2-6-3-X-X-X 14
Neshaminy 7, Bensalem 1
Zach Boop did not have his best outing of 2017. He threw 96 pitches in six innings, did not pitch the seventh and only struck out four. But he still gave up no runs in six innings, earning the win, improving to 6-0.
“He let his counts get deep today and got behind a little. But he did exactly what he needed to do to win,” coach Dan Toner said. “He was still getting guys to put the ball in play and our defense made the plays.”
Boop has been throwing a lot of pitches all season. Toner is not worried about it.
“We have him on a good plan where he’s been getting eight days rest between a lot of starts,” Toner said. “He has only had to come back once or twice in the same week.”
Kyle Rovny closed the game for Neshaminy, allowing no runs in one inning. He relieved Zach Tredway with no outs, the bases loaded and a run across in the seventh. Then he retired the next three batters.
“Rovny attacked the strike zone and let them put the ball in play,” Toner said. “So he did a real nice job as well.”
Neshaminy took a 2-0 lead in the first and held that lead for three more innings. Toner’s club pulled away in the fifth, adding three runs.
Evan Matthews and Ed Parry both had two RBIs. Tredway and Chris Cavallaro both scored two runs. Anthony Rapposelli scored a run and drove one in. Brian Nicolas scored two runs.
Keith Parrish knocked in Bensalem’s only run. Greg Janowski scored it.
Neshaminy (12-2, 7-1 SOL) is now 9-1 in games that count. The Redskins are second in the D1 6A power rankings.
Bensalem fell to 4-5 in games that count. The Owls are 20th in the power rankings.
Neshaminy plays Abington Thursday at 3:30. Bensalem (7-6, 4-5 SOL) takes on CR North Thursday at 3:30.
Bensalem 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 1
Neshaminy 2-0-0-0-3-2-X 7
SOL Continental
North Penn 9, Central Bucks West 5
North Penn built a 5-1 lead through two innings. Central Bucks West scored four runs in the top of the third to tie the game. Then the Knights took a 7-5 lead in the bottom of the fourth and never trailed again.
Zack Miles had a bat or foot in seven of North Penn’s nine runs, driving in five, scoring two. His coach—Kevin Manero—said he is batting over .500 this season. Miles is only a sophomore.
“Zach is having a great year. He’s seeing the ball real well, squaring it up,” Manero said. “Last year he played a whole season as a freshman and got a lot of experience in high school baseball. Now he’s letting the ball get deeper in the zone. He was getting out on balls early last year.”
Miles bats third for North Penn. The two hitters in front of him—leadoff man Tyler Siddal and second batter Ryan Bealer—enabled his five RBI game Tuesday. Siddal and Bealer scored three and two runs Tuesday, respectively. Bealer also drove in a run.
“Tyler Siddal has great tools and is a good sparkplug at the top of the order. Bealer has speed out of the two spot,” Manero said. “They are getting on and then Miles and (Corey) Stouffer are driving them in.”
Stouffer did not drive in any runs Tuesday. But he scored one. North Penn’s Billy Collins, Joe Picozzi and Dan Drop all had one RBI.
North Penn starter Danny Kirwin pitched a complete game and earned the win.
CB West’s Matt Cooper had two RBIs, two hits and a run. Thomas Philipps, Trevor D’Arcy and Chris Heller all had one RBI. Daniel Clayton scored two runs. Steven Gebre stroked two hits and scored a run.
North Penn improved to 6-2 in games that count toward the rankings. The Knights are sixth in the D1 6A power rankings.
North Penn (11-2, 5-2 SOL) hosts William Tennent Thursday at 3:45. CB West (4-7, 2-5 SOL) plays Central Bucks South Thursday at 5:45.
Central Bucks West 1-0-4-0-0-0-0 5
North Penn 3-2-0-2-0-2-X 9
Central Bucks South 4, Pennridge 0
Two CB South pitchers—starter Sam Thompson and reliever Alex Bendzlowicz—combined for the shutout.
Thompson pitched 2.1 innings. He left the game with one out in the third after getting hit on the hand by a line drive. Bendzlowicz completed the last 4.2 innings, allowing no hits and no walks.
“Bendo came in and was really good. Both pounded the mitt,” Titans coach Brian Klumpp said. “Once Sam got out of a bases loaded jam in the first, he settled in nice. He spotted up his fastball early in the count.”
Thompson and Bendzlowicz have been pitching well lately. So Tuesday was no surprise.
“Sam pitched really well against (Central Bucks) East when we lost in eight innings (1-0 on April 26),” Klumpp said. “Alex pitched really good against Souderton (a 2-1 loss on April 28). Especially with the way Andrew Dietz has been throwing, we feel like we have 4-5 guys we can go to in any situation.”
Four Titans players—Ben Berger, Chris Farrell, Tommy Dugan and Dietz—drove in a run. Berger, Dietz, Dan Tecce and Devin Farrell all scored a run.
CB South is now 3-5 in games that count. The Titans are 22nd in the rankings, two spots behind the last playoff spot.
Pennridge dropped to 3-6 in games that count. The Rams are 21st in the same rankings.
CB South (7-5, 3-5 SOL) hosts CB West Thursday at 5:45. Pennridge (5-9, 3-4 SOL) plays CB East Thursday at 3:45.
Central Bucks South 1-2-0-0-1-0-0 4
Pennridge 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0
Souderton 10, Central Bucks East 3
Souderton improved to 5-3 in games that count toward the power rankings. The Indians are 14th in the rankings.
They are also on a tear. Tuesday was their eighth win in 10 games.
Souderton jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first. Thylar Summarell doubled home Brendan Kreag. Brett Moyer hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Luke Barnum.
Souderton doubled its lead to 4-0 in the second. Barnum doubled to right, plating Jack Despain and Kreag.
The Patriots never got close after that.
Souderton’s first five batters—Despain, Kreag, Barnum, Summarell and Moyer—carried the offense. Despain scored two runs. Kreag had three runs, two RBIs and two hits. Barnum had two runs, two RBIs and a hit. Summarell scored a run and drove one in. Moyer had three RBIs, three hits and a run.
Derek Freed and David Gulibon each knocked in a run for the Indians. Kyle Lennon also scored one.
Cameron Komonchak and CJ Gillmer both drove in a run for CB East. Jimmy Wiegers, Dillon Bergmann and Will Masterson all scored a run.
CB East reliever Jared Thompson gave up no earned runs in three innings.
Souderton (9-6, 5-3 SOL) plays Pennsbury Thursday at 3:45.
CB East fell to 4-5 in games where power points are up for grabs. The Patriots are 15th in the D1 6A power rankings.
CB East (8-6, 4-4 SOL) hosts Pennridge Thursday at 3:45.
Central Bucks East 0-0-0-1-0-0-2 3
Souderton 2-2-0-0-1-5-X 10
Central Bucks East 9, Souderton 8 (Resumed Game)
On April 5, the contest pitting East against Souderton was halted after 11 innings because of darkness with the two teams deadlocked 6-6. When play resumed on Tuesday, neither team scored in the 12th, and the Indians appeared to have the upper hand when they plated two runs in the top of the 13th. The Patriots, however, responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning, thanks to a three-run double by Cameron Komonchak.
Komonchak finished the game 3-for-6 with three doubles, four RBIs and two runs scored. Matt Ernst was 4-for-6 with one RBI and two runs scored, and CJ Gillmer was 2-or-5 with a run scored. Collin Sheehan had a pair of RBIs.
For the Indians, Brett Moyer led the way with two home runs, five RBIs and two runs scored. Luke Barnum was 3-for-5 with a double, RBI and two runs scored. Jack Despain (2-for-4, 2B, two runs), Derek Freed (2-for-6, 2B, RBI, two runs) and Thylar Summerall (2-for-7, 2B, RBI) also had multiple hits.
Tyler Quinlan earned the win for the Patriots, allowing two runs in two innings.
Souderton 4-0-0-0-0-0-2-0-0-0-0-0-2 8-12-3
Central Bucks East 2-0-2-0-0-2-0-0-0-0-0-0-3 9-14-2
SOL American
Hatboro-Horsham 2, Upper Moreland 0 (11 innings)
In the top of the 11th, Eddie Schultz walloped a two-run homer, putting Hatboro-Horsham up 2-0. Schultz swung at a high, 1-0 fastball and “got all of it,” Hatters coach Pete Moore said.
“He was looking for something he could elevate to score the runner from third and he just crushed it,” Moore added.
The home run ensured that Hatboro-Horsham would not waste a dominant pitching performance. Two Hatboro-Horsham hurlers—starter Colin Kennedy and reliever Alex Crim—combined for an 11-inning shutout.
Kennedy allowed two hits in eight innings, striking out nine. Crim tossed three scoreless innings, fanning five.
“Kennedy dominated. Colin’s breaking ball was sharp. He was spotting his fastball on both sides of the plate,” Moore said. “Alex dominated the strike zone and attacked hitters. He throws four pitches. All of his pitches were doing exactly what he wanted them to do and he was using them in any count. He throws a fastball, changeup, curveball. He actually throws two fastballs, a two-seam and a four-seam.”
Kennedy has a 0.48 ERA in 29 innings this season. He has struck out 36 and allowed just 15 hits. Moore calls pitches when Kennedy is on the mound, the only hurler he does that for.
“Last summer he played in the Perkiomen League. I caught Colin all summer. We had success and got comfortable with each other,” Moore said. “(Pitching coach) Andy (Noga) said, ‘You guys clicked in the summertime, why don’t you click in the spring as well.’ I got a feel for what he throws well in what situations.”
Hatboro-Horsham’s pitching staff has been great all season.
“Some people get tired of hearing it and seeing tweets about it. But our pitching is unbelievable,” Moore said. “I’ve been blessed to coach a lot of dominant pitchers. But this is the best we’ve had. We’ve allowed 36 hits in 64 innings.”
Brian Edgington and Kennedy pitched complete games in every league game before Tuesday. So Crim was never able to get his chance, until Tuesday.
“I’ve been telling a lot of people about Alex Crim, who we’ve been waiting to use in a league game. He finally got his opportunity today,” Moore said. “He’d be a No. 1 for some teams. It was great to see him get his chance.”
Upper Moreland starter Brandon Kohn allowed no hits and no runs in five innings. He also struck out seven.
Hatboro-Horsham improved to 7-2 in games that count. The Hatters are 12th in the power rankings.
Upper Moreland fell to 6-3 in such games. The Golden Bears are seventh in the District One Class 5A Power Rankings. Sixteen teams make the District One 5A playoffs.
Hatboro-Horsham (9-4, 7-2 SOL) plays Quakertown Thursday at 3:30. Upper Moreland (9-4, 6-3 SOL) hosts Cheltenham Friday night at seven.
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-2 2
Upper Moreland 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0
Quakertown 6, Upper Dublin 3
Quakertown won its first seven league games, earning the top spot in the first District One 6A power rankings on Sunday.
Then, on Monday, the Panthers suffered their first league loss, 9-1 to Plymouth Whitemarsh. They responded with a workmanlike win over the Flying Cardinals on Tuesday.
“It was a big win. We gotta have short memory and learn from mistakes. The next game is always the most important game, that cliche. We got the timely hitting we haven’t been getting the last couple games,” Quakertown coach Jon Pallone said. “It’s tough to win so many games in a row. When you get so many wins, the ball bounces right, you get calls. PW came out and executed. The pitcher threw strikes and they hit. We didn’t play our best. You have to play your best every day in the Suburban One League. We played pretty well today. Threw strikes, ran the bases well, hit balls hard.”
Quakertown scored one run in the first and three in the second, taking a 4-0 lead. Upper Dublin never got close after that.
Matt Bukavich, Lake Friday and Chris Manns all had one RBI for Quakertown. Friday, Jake Reed, Jake Wooden, Dennis Pierce, Brian Robison and Drew San Angelo scored Quakertown’s runs.
Bukavich struck out six and allowed no earned runs in three innings. Robison pitched a scoreless inning.
Justin Horn and Michael Zicchinolfi each had one RBI for Upper Dublin. Matt Hebling, Albert John and Zicchinolfi all scored a run.
Quakertown (10-2, 8-1 SOL) hosts Hatboro-Horsham Thursday at 3:30. Upper Dublin (4-8, 2-7 SOL) battles Wissahickon Thursday at 3:45.
Quakertown 1-3-1-0-0-0-1 6
Upper Dublin 0-0-1-0-1-1-0 3
Cheltenham 7, Springfield Township 1
Cheltenham took a 3-0 lead in the first two innings. In the first, Alex Haasz singled to left, scoring Kieran Versaw-Barnes. In the second, Sam McTier and Jordan Rorer scored on an error.
That was all the Panthers needed, though they did score four more runs in the sixth. Lukas Nakkula and Joel White drove in three and two runs, respectively, for Cheltenham. Versaw-Barnes, McTier and Rorer all scored two runs. Anthony Mancinelli also scored a run.
Cheltenham starter Jacob Petrisko gave up one run in seven innings.
Noel Franczyk scored Springfield’s only run.
Cheltenham (3-10, 3-6 SOL) plays Upper Moreland Friday night at seven. Springfield (6-5, 3-5 SOL) is fifth in the District One Class 4A Power Rankings. Four teams make the District One 4A playoffs. The Spartans were 3-4 in league play when the rankings came out.
Springfield Township 0-0-0-0-0-1-0 1
Cheltenham 1-2-0-0-0-4-X 7
Wissahickon 8, Plymouth Whitemarsh 0
Wissahickon starter Logan Willans pitched a complete game shutout, allowing four hits and no walks.
Trey France blasted a three-run home run. Ben Maltin stroked a two-run double. Eddie Fortescue had three RBIs.
Steve Loden and Andrew Seitz both scored two runs for Wissahickon. Alex Tappen, Mike Steitz, Trey France and Asher Lovitz all scored one run.
Wissahickon scored six runs in the first inning and cruised the rest of the way.
Wissahickon (7-7, 4-4 SOL) hosts Springfield Wednesday at 3:30. PW (3-10, 2-7 SOL) plays Springfield-Delco Thursday at 3:30.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0
Wissahickon 6-0-2-0-0-0-X 8
Non-League Crossover
William Tennent 8, Harry S. Truman 6
William Tennent jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Harry S. Truman came back and took a 6-5 lead. Then Tennent scored three in the sixth to take an 8-6 lead.
“It was a hard-fought game,” Tennent coach Rick Penecale said. “They played good.”
Reliever Chris Sliwka saved the game for Tennent. Greg Delgado had two doubles, a single and four RBIs for the Panthers.
“Greg is one of the better hitters around,” Penecale said.
His brother Xavier Delgado stroked a triple that tied the game in the sixth.
“Xavier has had a lot of big hits this season,” Penecale said.
Then Cole Browne hit the go-ahead single that drove Delgado in.
Tennent improved to 6-3 in games that count. The Panthers are 13th in the District One 6A rankings.
Tennent (6-5, 5-3 SOL) plays North Penn Thursday at 3:45. Truman (1-10, 0-8 SOL) plays CR South Thursday at 3:30.
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