Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Thursday.
SOL American
Springfield 6, Hatboro-Horsham 4
In probably the biggest upset in the SOL this season, Springfield knocked off Hatboro-Horsham and proceeded to knock the Hatters out of tie for first place in the American Conference.
“The kids are starting to play good baseball,” said Spartans coach Dennis Primavera. “They’re starting to buy into what we’re trying to tell them and teach them. It’s a credit to the kids. Every night, it’s somebody else, which is encouraging.”
The Spartans led this game from start to finish, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning, and it was 5-0 before the visiting Hatters mounted a rally in the fifth.
The first inning saw Morgan D’Amico score a run with a fielder’s choice ground out, which was followed by three straight singles – by Mitchell McCann, Brian Murphy and Ryan Deal – the final of which drove in another run to make it 2-0. The final runs of the inning scored on an error and then a wild pitch. Another wild pitch in the bottom of the third plated an addition run for Springfield.
Hatboro-Horsham would creep to within a run, with three in the fifth and one in the sixth. Jimmy Tooley had an RBI double, Jake Bianchini drove in a run with a sac fly and Anthony Bruno added a RBI single.
An inning later, a double by Ryley Robinson made it 5-4, but the inning ended as the potential tying run was thrown out at third base.
After an RBI single by McCann upped the lead back to 6-4, Springfield reliever Kevin Keown worked around a pair of walks and struck out the final two batters to end the game and record the save.
Starter Ethan Hamilton went the first four innings to pick up the win. Offensively, Springfield was led by McCann, who went 3-for-4 with an BI, while Deal was 2-for-3 with a RBI.
“Ethan Hamilton has been playing well all year, keeping us in games,” Primavera said. “He kept us in the game until the fifth when I think he got tired.”
Tooley, Bruno and Lucas Walker had two hits each for Hatboro-Horsham.
The loss drops the Hatters (12-5, 8-3 SOL) a game back of Plymouth Whitemarsh in the SOL American standings with three games remaining. H-H plays at Cheltenham on Tuesday.
Springfield (5-8, 4-6 SOL), which has won three out of its last four games, takes on Penn Charter in a nonleague game on Sunday (2:30 p.m.)
“Our seniors are starting to come around,” Primavera said. “For some reason, Springfield does this every year since I’ve been here – we’re late starters.
“We’ve been in every game this year except one. We’ve had four extra-inning games where we’ve had a chance to win. The other three, we lost the game in the last inning.”
Hatboro-Horsham 000 031 0-4
Springfield 401 001 x-6 8 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh 5, Abington 1
Brett Bottinger pitched a complete-game, two-hitter as Plymouth Whitemarsh got past Abington on Thursday. The win, combined with a Springfield win over Hatboro-Horsham, puts the Colonials in first place in the SOL American Conference.
Bottinger allowed just one earned run, walked one and struck out five in a 77-pitch effort.
“Sometimes you can tell from his first few pitches of the game what your pitcher is going to have on a given day,” said PW coach Chris Manero. “Watching Brett today, that was certainly the case. He was impressive. He located everything right from the start and threw first-pitch strikes to almost every hitter. I don’t think he could have been much more efficient.”
Offensively, PW was led by Anthony Tomassetti, who went 2-for-4 with two home runs and two RBIs.
Tomassetti’s first home run put the Colonials in front 1-0 in the second inning. They tacked on two in the fourth on an RBI triple by Joe Jaconski and a RBI single by Kevin Reilly. Tomassetti then made it 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth with another solo shot.
As a team, PW had 11 hits total.
“When seniors like Brett and Anthony step up and have a game like they did today, it just makes you feel great to be their coach,” Manero said. “These guys have worked so hard in our program for four years and their success this season is not only well earned, but very much deserved.”
Joe DiMaria had a triple for Abington, while Kevin Worek had its only RBI of the game on a groundout in the top of the seventh.
PW (9-6, 9-2 SOL) has a one game lead in the conference with three games remaining, starting with a road game at Upper Dublin on Tuesday. Abington (3-12, 2-9 SOL) is scheduled to host Central Bucks South in a nonleague game on Friday night at Roslyn Field.
Abington 000 000 1- 1 2 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh 010 211 x- 5 11 0
Upper Moreland 5, Upper Dublin 3
Red-hot Upper Moreland jumped ahead by four runs after three innings and held off Upper Dublin 5-3 for the Golden Bears’ fifth straight win.
Ben Paul and Ryan Gibbs had two hits and two RBIs each to lead the way for the Bears on Thursday.
Jack Dombrowski and Paul led off the game with singles, and Paul ended up scoring later in the inning on a double play. UM then added three in the third, which include a RBI groundout by Paul and a two-run single by Gibbs.
Starter Colin Bates did the rest for the Bears in a 97-pitch, complete game effort. He did not allow an earned run, while scattering three hits and one walk, and striking out seven. He also pitched his team out of trouble in the sixth, as UD crept to within 4-3 and then recorded a 1-2-3 seventh inning to finish off the game.
Elijah Peck, Kyle Rizzo and Sean Curran had hits for Upper Dublin. Curran, who doubled, also pitched out of the bullpen and did not allow an earned run over 4 2/3 innings and struck out eight.
Upper Moreland (7-4, 6-4 SOL) has a nonleague game Friday scheduled at William Tennent.Upper Dublin (8-7, 5-5 SOL) hosts Souderton in a nonleague game on Friday.
Upper Moreland 103 000 1-5 7 4
Upper Dublin 000 102 0-3 3 2
Wissahickon 7, Cheltenham 1
Bobby McFarland went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple and three RBIs, as Wissahickon snapped a five-game losing streak with an impressive 7-1 win over Cheltenham.
“We have had a rough go of things of late,” said Wissahickon coach Andy Noga. “We continued to show up at practice every day with the right attitudes and put in the work to get us out of this funk.”
The Trojans took the lead for good with a run in the third and added on with two in the fourth and three in the sixth. Overall, as a team they collected 12 hits.
Joe Hornig went 3-for-4 with a RBI, while Eddie Fortescue and Jackson Tappen had two hits each.
On the mound, Quinn Rovner was very good for Wissahickon, allowing just three hits and one earned run in a 79-pitch, complete-game effort. He struck out nine and did not walk a batter.
“I credit our three captains – Quinn, Eddie and Bobby – for leading the way today,” Noga said. “They set the tone and the rest of the guys followed their lead. It was pretty to see us go out there and execute for 21 outs.”
Cheltenham jumped ahead with a run in the bottom of the first as Kieran Versaw-Barnes doubled and later scored on a wild pitch. Lukas Nukkula and Lucas DiBenedetto had the Panthers’ other hits.
Wissahickon (5-9, 4-7 SOL) hosts CB East in a nonleague game on Friday. Cheltenham (4-7, 4-6 SOL) has a nonleague home game Saturday (10 a.m.) against Methacton.
Wissahickon 011 230 0-7 12 0
Cheltenham 100 000 0-1 3 2
SOL Continental
Quakertown 9, North Penn 7 (11 innings)
In a wild game with huge playoff implications, Quakertown rallied from five runs down in the top of the seventh, took the lead, lost the lead and then survived four extra innings, winning with Dennis Pierce’s two-run home run in the 11th.
“A true team win,” said Panthers coach Jon Pallone. “Many guys got in the game, those that didn’t get in were on charts, warming guys up, helping us recognize hitters’ tendencies to position fielders.
“Ben Eichorn did a great job keeping us in the game down five, and Dennis Pierce did as well as we went into extras.”
The Panthers entered the seventh trailing 6-1. Griffin Kelley was hit by a pitch to start the inning, and then Justin Butler singled. Brad Bryan drew a one-out walk, and a Nolan Byrnes single scored Kelley to make it 6-2. An Adam Ritter single scored another run, but a runner was thrown out on the base paths for the second out of the inning.
Down to their last out, Pierce drew a walk to load the bases for the Panthers, and Mason Hicks followed that up with a grand slam to left field to cap the improbable comeback and put the team up 7-6.
“One of my most exciting moments as a coach was Mason Hicks’ eight-pitch at-bat with two outs in the seventh and he hits a grand slam,” Pallone said.
But North Penn wasn’t done yet, as Alex Gilbert and Chris McLean drew one-out walks. A double by Jake Drelick scored one to tie it at 7, and put runners on second and third.
Pierce, who came into pitch to start the inning, recorded a strikeout and a groundout to end the frame and force extra innings. The right-hander would end up going four innings, throwing 93 pitches, allowing just the one unearned run and working around three hits and six walks.
Brandon Drolsbaugh was nearly as good for North Penn. He came on in the seventh, and ended up pitching scoreless eighth, ninth and 10th innings, working around a one-out triple by Sean Brennan in the 10th.
Brad Bryan started the 11th with a single and went to second on a sacrifice, but a pop-out put North Penn in position to get out of the inning. Pierce, however, had other ideas.
Andrew Nace set the Knights down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 11th to record the save.
Quakertown (10-4, 6-3 SOL) currently sits in the No. 21 spot in the District One power rankings, one game out of a berth into the district playoff field. Before returning to league play Tuesday at CB East, the Panthers have a nonleague game scheduled for Friday night against Southern Lehigh.
North Penn (6-8, 4-6 SOL) is currently at No. 26, and would have to win its remaining league games and hope for some good fortunate if it wants to qualify for the postseason. It has nonleague games scheduled for Friday (Archbishop Ryan) and Monday (Parkland), before returning to league play at CB West on Tuesday.
Quakertown 000 010 600 02-9 12 0
North Penn 500 000 100 00-7 14 1
Pennridge 5, Central Bucks South 4
Pennridge started quickly and received quality pitching to upset Central Bucks South 5-4 for the Rams’ first SOL Continental win of the season.
Anthony Helbling allowed three runs over five innings to pick up the win. Jimmy Petrik went the final two innings to pick up the save, and recorded the final out with two runners on base in the top half of the seventh.
After CB South jumped in front with two runs in the top of the first, Pennridge answered with two in the bottom half of the inning and then took the lead for good in the second.
The first started with a Paul Croyle single, a Ray Knight double, an RBI ground out by Nick Christ and then a RBI single from Petrik. In the second, singles by Sean Clayton, Jack Goddess and Kyle Moran started the inning, Croyle drove in one with a ground out and another scored on a passed ball.
Knight had a RBI sac fly in the five to make it 5-2.
For CB South, Jake Trachtenberg went 3-for-4 with a RBI, while Jake McKeown and Mike Marino finished with two hits each.
Pennridge (5-9, 1-8 SOL) plays at Lansdale Catholic in a scheduled nonleague game on Friday. CB South (8-5, 6-4 SOL) has a nonleague game at Abington on Friday night (7 p.m.).
CB South 200 010 1-4 9 1
Pennridge 220 100 x-5 8 1
SOL National
Pennsbury 6, William Tennent 2
It wasn’t easy, but Pennsbury slipped past William Tennent 6-2 Thursday and now has a two-game lead in the SOL National Conference with three games remaining.
The Falcons trailed this game 2-1 after four innings, as Chris Collelo hit a RBI double for Tennent in the top of the fourth and another run scored on an error.
“Tennent played us tough twice this year,” said Pennsbury coach Joe Pesci. “They took a 3-1 lead in the fourth the first time we played and took a 2-1 led in the fourth today. Luckily, we were able to be resilient and come up with clutch at-bats in both games to come out on top.”
In the fifth, Pennsbury retook the lead, thanks to a RBI single by Justin Massielo and later a RBI double by Justin Fogel. A Sam Spadea sacrifice fly made it a 4-2 game. The home team added two more in the sixth on back-to-back doubles by Shane Marlin and Sam Ruta.
Sean Hochhausler was terrific again out of the bullpen for the Falcons, and he pitched around a two-out error to finish the game in the seventh. Hochhausler came on in the fourth inning and ended up throwing 3 1/3 shutout innings on the mound, allowing just one hit while striking out six and walking none.
“Hochhausler has come in relief in most of our league games when needed and has been absolutely phenomenal,” Pesci said. “He helped us stay in the game until our bats could come through.”
Offensively, Massielo went 3-for-4 with one RBI to lead the Falcons. A four-year starter, Massielo picked up career hit 100 during the game.
Tennent managed just three hits, the double by Collelo and singles from D.J. Dickson and Sean Zolk.
Pennsbury (13-3, 9-1 SOL) plays at Holy Ghost Prep in a nonleague game Saturday (3 p.m.), before returning to league play at home against Council Rock South on Tuesday. Tennent (3-9, 0-8 SOL) hosts Upper Moreland on Friday in a nonleague game.
William Tennent 000 200 0-2 3 2
Pennsbury 100 032 x-6 7 2
Bensalem 10, Council Rock South 3 (8 innings)
With eight runs in the top of the eighth inning, Bensalem survived a battle between two of the hottest teams in the SOL National with a 10-3 win over Council Rock South.
Bensalem won for the eighth time in nine games. CR South saw its own five-game winning streak snapped.
In the critical eighth inning, the Owls started with singles by Kyle Laughton and David Barnett and then Matt Silano drew a walk to load the bases. A Nick Dean single scored run, Damon Lavender walked with the bases loaded and then Dom Grady drove in two with a double to left, making it 6-2.
Ryan Rooney and Rich Bardone followed with RBI singles, and a Silano single scored two to wrap up the eight-run inning.
CR South managed to score once in the bottom of the inning, but Matt McShane came out of the bullpen to record the final two outs and finish the game off.
Logan Young started for Bensalem, allowed just one earned run, while scattering four hits and four walks in 6 2/3 innings. Grady earned the win, recording the final out of the seventh and the first of the eighth, before giving way to McShane.
Offensively, all nine starters recorded hits for Bensalem, led by Dean, who went 2-for-5, while Silano, Lavender and Grady each had two RBIs.
Ayden Flint had three hits for CR South. Jared Ennis had a solo home run in the bottom of the second.
Bensalem (9-3, 6-3 SOL) remains two games out of first place. It will play at the Pennington School in a nonleague game on Saturday. CR South (7-4, 4-4 SOL) plays Council Rock North Saturday night (7 p.m.) at Arm & Hammer Park in Trenton.
Bensalem 010 001 08-10 9 1
CR South 011 000 01- 3 6 2
Council Rock North 5, Neshaminy 4
Council Rock North jumped ahead with a three-run third inning, and then held off visiting Neshaminy down the stretch, avenging a defeat from earlier in the season.
Indians’ reliever John Joseph went four innings on the mound, and allowed only two earned run on six hits and did not walk a batter. Pete Sodano came on in the seventh and worked out of trouble to pick up the save.
Kyle Dearie and Kyle Wagner had two hits each for CR North, while Alex Estrada drove in two.
“We were fortunate enough to sneak away with a win against a Neshaminy team who is deep top to bottom,” said CR North coach Matt Schram.
After Neshaminy had went up 2-1 on a two-run single by Cory Joyce in the second inning, CR North countered with three runs in the bottom of the third.
Dearie led off the inning with a single and after stealing second, a single by Ryan Marlow tied the game. Marlow later scored on a passed ball and one batter later Ryan Stalker scored on a wild pitch.
A Ryan Yauger single pulled Neshaminy to 4-3 in the sixth, but an RBI single by Eric Woodhead pushed the lead back to two runs in the bottom of the sixth.
In the seventh, Neshaminy rallied again as Tyler Jones led off with a single and Gus Natelli was hit by a pitch. A sacrifice moved the runners up and Jones scored on a balk to make it 5-4
But Sodano induced a doubleplay to end the inning and the game, saving the victory.
For Neshaminy, which has now lost four of its last five games, Joyce went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, while Yauger and Jones had two hits each.
CR North (5-8, 2-6 SOL) plays rival Council Rock South Saturday night at Arm & Hammer Stadium in Trenton. Neshaminy (10-4, 7-3 SOL) plays at Harry S. Truman on Sunday (1 p.m.).
Neshaminy 020 001 1-4 9 3
CR North 103 001 x-5 7 4
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