Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Wednesday.
SOL Patriot/Colonial Crossovers
Neshaminy 6, Central Bucks West 5
Three singles and three walks in the bottom of the seventh inning, capped off by a Jake Kozlowski walk-off single with the bases loaded gave Neshaminy the come-from-behind win over CB West Wednesday in a crossover game thriller.
Neshaminy trailed this one 5-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, but scored five runs over the final two innings to pull out the victory.
“Today was a big win for us,” said coach Dan Toner. ”Our goal is to keep climbing the rankings and we knew we could get some decent points with a win today.
“We had to play from behind today, but we have been in that situation a couple times this year, so we don’t feel discouraged if we get down a couple runs early.
Joel Bonner hit a two-run home run with nobody out in the sixth to get the comeback started and pull the home team to within 5-3.
Then in the seventh, CB West pitchers allowed their only three walks in the game and it came back to bite them.
Stone Powell led off the inning with a single, Mike Morrow walked and then Anthony Trommer singled to load the bases with nobody out. Back-to-back walks to Rob Del Buono and Bonner tied the game at 5. Then, after a fielder’s choice kept the bases loaded with one out, Kozlowski singled to left to score Del Buono.
Kozlowski finished the game 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Del Buono was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Bonner finished with three RBIs.
“West’s pitcher (Sam Greer) was throwing a real good game and I’m glad we were able to hang in there against him,” Toner said. “Joel Bonner has been locked in as of late and hit a big 2-run home run to bring us within two.
“Jake Kozlowski stepped up big for us in the last inning to get the walk-off single. When Jake is on, like he was today, it gives the team a lot of reassurance.”
Steven Martin pitched the final four innings out of the bullpen for Neshaminy and picked up the victory.
Max McGlone and Matt Carr had two hits each for CB West, while Alex Valdes drove in two runs and Kevin Bukowski added a triple.
Neshaminy (11-4, 8-4 SOL) plays Harry S. Truman in Trenton in what will be considered a nonleague game on Thursday night, before returning to league play at rival Pennsbury on Friday.
CB West (11-3, 8-3 SOL) plays at rival CB East on Friday night.
CB West 011 012 0 – 5 7 2
Neshaminy 000 102 3 – 6 9 1
Pennridge 11, Bensalem 6
It took until Game 14, but a hungry Pennridge team found its groove Wednesday and blew past Bensalem 11-6 in the Rams first win of the season.
“We took a pretty bad loss against Council Rock North on Thursday,” said coach Craig Whitten. “I told the guys at the end of practice the next day that the next seven games, let’s see what we can do, what kind of record we can get. Forget the last 13.
“I gave them off Monday; it rained so bad we couldn’t play. We focused in practice yesterday, had two good rounds of BP, and we made some adjustments with some of the guys’ swings.”
The adjustments paid off to the tune of 11 runs on 11 hits, and an 11-1 lead after scoring three times in the top of the seventh.
Bensalem scored five in the seventh but could get no closer.
“We got a little bit fortunate today,” Whitten said. “The CR North game we only had three base runners. Today we had 21 base runners. I’ve been telling kids how lonely it’s been down in the third base coach’s box.”
Freshmen contributed big time at the plate for Pennridge.
First baseman/center fielder Noah Keating was 3-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI.
Infielder Tommy Ginnetti was 2-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and two RBIs.
Infielder Ryder Olson was 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI, and he was on base two other times with a pair of walks.
Garrett Navitsky did not allow an earned run in six innings on the mound, giving up four hits, not walking a batter and striking out eight.
James McGinty was 2-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI for Bensalem.
Pennridge (1-13, 1-9 SOL) returns to division play Friday at North Penn.
Bensalem (4-10, 2-9 SOL) hosts Council Rock South on Friday.
Pennridge 041 300 3 – 11 11 2
Bensalem 000 100 5 – 6 8 2
Council Rock North 13, Central Bucks East 8
CR North scored 15 runs on Thursday against Pennridge, but then managed only two in a loss to Souderton on Tuesday.
Wednesday, the offense returned for the Indians, who scored eight runs in the first three innings and out-slugged CB East in what would turn out to be a 17-hit barrage.
“We were fortunate today on offense, with getting a number of key two-out hits,” said Indians coach Matt Schram. “The guys know they have squandered many opportunities this season, and today they were able to execute the game plan and do a lot of the little things. Getting a win in our league is always tough against any of our teams.”
Second baseman Brian Curry had a big day at the plate for Schram’s squad, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, three runs scored and four RBIs.
Center fielder Leor Kedar was also 3-for-4 with four runs scored and one RBI.
Quinn Erlandsen, Jadon Tang, Joe Hughes and Johnny Mulder had two hits each. Mulder also had three RBIs.
“On offense, we had a number of guys with multiple hits, and that’s something we haven’t had much of this year,” Schram said. “So, it was nice to see (the bats) come alive.”
The Indians needed all of that offense too, as CB East didn’t go quietly, scoring five runs in the first four innings and only trailed 8-5 after three.
But four CR North runs in the top of the fifth up the lead to 12-5 and essentially put the game away.
Pat Dougherty went the first five innings on the mound to pick up the win for the Indians.
“Pat Dougherty did a great job on the mound, getting a win against a real strong batting lineup,” Schram said. “Sophomore Will Seiler finished the last two innings on the mound for us and did a nice job.”
Shortstop Chase Harlen was 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, two runs scored and four RBIs for the Patriots.
Ryan Zosulis also had a two-run homer for East. Nolan Behm was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.
CR North (5-8, 4-7 SOL) hosts Harry S. Truman on Friday.
CB East (2-12, 2-8 SOL) hosts rival CB West on Friday night.
CR North 341 040 1 – 13 17 2
CB East 212 000 3 – 8 8 2
Pennsbury 5, Central Bucks South 0
One day after losing a game late, Pennsbury bounced back with a big win over CB South, on the back of junior Connor McCloskey.
“Any time you have a game like yesterday (a 7-5 loss to CB West), it’s super emotional,” said Falcons coach Joe Pesci. “We had a lead, we were up. It’s disappointing to drop that game, knowing that you have to come right back today. There’s no time to work on anything. You have to come back and show your colors.”
McCloskey hasn’t pitched since April 17, but he picked up where he left off, allowing just four hits and one walk over seven innings, while striking out nine.
“Connor McCloskey was amazing,” Pesci said. “I don’t remember the last time he pitched, but his pitch count was really low. He threw 93 today, but it was really low through five and he had nine strikeouts and only one walk. … He’s the reason we stayed in the game the whole time. We made a couple of nice defensive plays, but he threw multiple pitches for strikes and had them off balance.
“He hasn’t given up a run in 19 1/3 innings this season.”
Up 1-0, Pennsbury essentially put the game away with four runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Jackson Freeman started the inning with a one-out single, followed by singles from Eric David, Tyler Boraski and James Schaffer, adding the second run of the game.
Ryan Zuckerman followed with a bases-loaded walk and then a two-run single by Joe Tiroly.
Zuckerman and Freeman had two hits each for the Falcons.
“We kind of started out a little bit slow,” Pesci said. “They threw the kid (Ben) Barrett and he kind of stayed away from us. We scratched out a run earlier and tacked on four an inning later.
“But we were kind of floating through it. We were up 5-0, but we were sort of missing that edge, but it’s great to come back and get a win. You want to be resilient like that.”
Pennsbury (11-3, 8-3 SOL) hosts Neshaminy in a key Patriot Division game on Friday.
CB South (6-6, 5-5 SOL) hosts Souderton on Friday.
CB South 000 000 0 – 0 4 1
Pennsbury 001 400 x – 5 8 0
Council Rock South 4, Souderton 1
The teams combined for five runs in the first inning and then it turned into a pitchers’ duel, as CR South’s four in the top of the first was plenty of support for pitcher Trey Sajeski, who tossed a complete-game four hitter.
“Much needed win for us,” said Golden Hawks coach Greg Paprocki. “We had a tough week last week and we were looking to respond.
“Trey Sajeski was tremendous on the mound and our defense was solid.”
Sajeski threw 101 pitches, allowing just one earned run over seven. He scattered four hits and five walks, with one strikeout.
Offensively, CR South started quickly, as Ryan Petrie singled, Johnny Mendola singled and Chase Ennis was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Sajeski followed with a RBI single, Billy O’Neill drove in two with a double to center field and later in the inning, Zach Rementer drove in a run with a sac fly.
Trailing 4-0, Souderton started the bottom of the first with a Chris McKenna double. Tyler Lutz had an RBI single to account for the Indians’ only run.
After allowing the first-inning four spot, Souderton starter Jeremy Fallon allowed just two hits and one walk the rest of the way, striking out nine.
CR South (6-6, 5-5 SOL) plays at Bensalem in a Patriot Division game on Friday.
Souderton (6-7, 5-6 SOL) looks to rebound at CB South.
CR South 400 000 0 – 4 6 2
Souderton 100 000 0 – 1 4 0
SOL Liberty/Freedom Crossovers
Abington 7, William Tennent 4
The Galloping Ghosts did in their final crossover game of the season what they did in all of the others – they won, and Wednesday’s 7-4 conquest of visiting William Tennent was the sixth league win in a row for the team.
Wednesday was a matter of plenty of hitting – seven runs on 12 hits by nine different players – quality pitching and playing from in front after a three-run first inning led to a 5-0 lead after four innings.
Catcher Alex Dardaris got things started with one out in the first, as he roped a one-out triple to score Matt Worek. Another run scored on a groundout and then later in the inning LJ Wolff picked up an RBI single.
Jaden Hernandez had an RBI single in the third, and after Vince Hessenthaler singled and stole second with two outs in the fourth, Worek drove him home with an RBI single.
Tennent was able to cut into the lead with two in the fifth, but Abington answered right back with two key insurance runs in the sixth on a two-run double by Chase Goodson.
Worek, Goodson and Hessenthaler had two hits each for the Ghosts.
Wolff picked up the win on the mound, allowing just two runs in five innings. Logan Moss recorded the final two outs of the inning for the save after the Panthers got it to within three with a pair in the top of the seventh.
“It was our Senior Day today (and) our seniors led the way.” said coach Bill Degan. “LJ Wolff had eight Ks in five innings, Matt Worek, Vince Hessenthaler had two hits each and (RBIs) from Hernandez, Moss, Dardaris, Worek and Wolff.”
Evan Devor was 2-for-4 with two RBIs for Tennent.
Abington (8-5, 7-3 SOL) hosts first-place Plymouth Whitemarsh in a key division game on Friday.
Tennent (3-10, 2-8 SOL) hosts Springfield on Friday.
Tennent 000 020 2 – 4 8 0
Abington 301 102 x – 7 12 1
Hatboro-Horsham 10, Cheltenham 1
Junior Jaxson Bumpus went 2-for-3 with four RBIs, as Hatboro-Horsham pounded out 10 runs on eight hits, with seven walks and 11 stolen bases.
“(Bumpus) is so humble and hard working,” said H-H coach Pete Moore. “He’s having a great year for us in the 4-hole.
“Drew Dittus is a senior who is just a great person and works as hard as anyone. He took advantage of the opportunity to start today and went 2-for-3. I was really happy to see him have that kind of success.
“Senior Brady Pagano had a big RBI single in the fourth that scored Stephen Plefka, who used his speed to earn two infield singles.”
The Hatters turned to a freshman on the mound, and Chase Canney went 5 2/3 innings and allowed just one run on three hits and two walks. He struck out 10.
“(Canney) was phenomenal in his first varsity start on the mound,” Moore said. “His stuff was sharp, and he pounded the zone. He showed great mound presence. I could tell he really wanted the ball and the opportunity to start. He took full advantage of it. He is good right now, but man is he going to be exciting to watch as he continues to develop.”
Sam Batiancila was 2-for-3 for Cheltenham, which scored its run in the sixth.
“The Cheltenham program is definitely improving their facilities and they had a couple of impressive players today in Sam Batiancila and freshman Finn Kopp,” Moore said. “Batiancila has good stuff and competes. Finn Kopp is going to be a stud. He swings it and has great stuff on the mound.”
H-H (10-3, 7-3 SOL) went 5-0 in crossover games, out-scoring opponents 53-12. It returns to Liberty Division play Friday at Wissahickon.
Cheltenham (2-9, 1-9 SOL) plays at New Hope-Solebury Friday.
H-H 102 141 1 – 10 8 1
Cheltenham 000 001 0 – 1 3 2
Upper Dublin 15, Lower Moreland 4 (5 innings)
A slow start didn’t deter the Flying Cardinals in Wednesday’s Senior Day game as they bounced back from an early 4-0 deficit to post a dominant 15-4 win in a five-inning mercy rule game.
“I’m really proud of our boys and the offense they put together in those three innings,” said Upper Dublin coach Ed Wall, about his team’s five runs in the second, six in the third and four in the fourth. “Capitalized by Bobby Keck’s blast over the left field wall.
“Joe Levis’ hitting today was fantastic, with some really hard contact. Brendan O’Brien was a big contributor, knocking in three runs. When these two guys are hot, we are tough to beat.
“I’m glad everyone keeps throwing their lefties at us. It’s getting us ready for later on this season.”
UD finished with 15 runs on 12 hits, while also drawing nine bases on balls, all in just four innings of at-bats.
O’Brien finished 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBIs. Levis, Chase Sunday and Keck had two hits each.
On the mound, Sunday went four innings, bounced back after a rough first inning and struck out seven to pick up the win.
“Today was such a great day celebrating our seniors,” Wall said. “Chase Sunday had a great start, settling in after the first inning and shutting them out the rest of the way. I was so happy to see Ryan Campbell come in and slam the door with three big strikeouts.”
Upper Dublin (10-3, 10-1 SOL) has now won eight straight games and enters the second half of Liberty Division play tied with Plymouth Whitemarsh atop the standings. It plays a Quakertown on Friday.
Lower Moreland (4-8, 2-8 SOL) hosts Upper Moreland on Friday.
Lower Moreland 400 00 – 4 6 2
Upper Dublin 056 4x – 15 12 0
Quakertown 13, New Hope-Solebury 2 (5 innings)
Nine runs in the bottom of the first set the tone in this one as Quakertown jumped all over New Hope-Solebury and put it away in five innings by a 13-2 final score.
The game was played under the lights at DeSales University.
Danny Qualteria went 3-for-4 on the night, and he started the Quakertown’s first with a single to left field. A one-out walk and then a Matt Marsten single loaded the bases. Nate Sheetz and Vinny Pellegrini followed with back-to-back doubles and just like that it was a 4-0 game.
The Panthers would get six more hits in the inning, five singles and a two-run double by Cole Reich.
Quakertown finished the game with 13 runs on 17 hits and it also drew five walks. Six of those hits were of the extra base variety, as Reich added a triple, and Daniel Schwalm and Mike Richino had doubles as well.
On the mound, Pellegrini picked up the win with two shutout innings to start the game, not allowing a high or a walk, with four strikeouts.
Chris Parrillo pitched the final three innings and finished the game off.
Also for the Panthers, Marsten was 2-for-3 with a run scored, and Caleb Everitt was 2-for-2 with a run.
Quakertown (5-7, 4-5 SOL) hosts Upper Dublin on Friday.
New Hope (3-10, 3-9 SOL) hosts Cheltenham on Friday.
New Hope 000 02 – 2 2 0
Quakertown 902 2 x – 13 17 0
Plymouth Whitemarsh 14, Upper Moreland 1 (5 innings)
Offensively, Plymouth Whitemarsh exploded with eight runs in the first two innings, and on the mound, Dylan Robinson once again was dominant, as the Colonials had little trouble with host Upper Moreland on Monday, posting a 14-1 win in a five-inning, mercy-rule shortened game.
“We came out today and scored a bunch of runs early,” said PW coach Chris Manero. “It was good to see our offense take charge from the beginning and take advantage of everything in front of us.
“We built onto our lead with a couple of very nicely executed bunts. That can get overlooked when you score 14 runs, but it was an important part of our offense today.
“We know Upper Moreland plays tough and we told our hitters they couldn’t rest on those early runs. It was good to see them respond.”
PW scored 14 runs on 10 hits and also drew eight walks in five innings.
Right fielder Johnny Giordano went 3-for-5 with two doubles, three runs scored and one RBI out of the leadoff spot for the Colonials.
Second baseman Luke Caucci went 2-for-2 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Tyler Gartland also finished with three RBIs.
Robinson pitched all five innings for PW, allowing just the one run on two hits and one walk, while striking out seven.
“Our players get very comfortable when Dylan is on the mound, and it’s understandable,” Manero said. “Once again today, he showed complete command of the zone and paced the game. But today we gave him more breathing room, and it helped us conserve some arms, which is important in a three-game week.”
PW (11-2, 10-1 SOL), still in a first-place tie with Upper Dublin in the Liberty Division, plays at Abington on Friday.
UM (6-6, 5-5 SOL) returns to Freedom Division play at Lower Moreland Friday.
PW 350 15 – 14 10 0
UM 100 00 – 1 2 5
Wissahickon 9, Springfield Twp 5
Seven runs over the first four innings gave Wissahickon the big early lead and then it finished off visiting Springfield in the late innings to wrap up the crossover portion of its 2023 scheduled with a 9-5 win.
“We had a goal at the beginning of the year to go 6-0 in our crossover games,” said Trojans coach Andy Noga. “We thought that being able to break up the season into bite-sized pieces would make it easier for our kids to conceptualize.
“Finding a way to win here today, we were able to do that against a talented Springfield team.”
Most of Wissahickon’s second-inning damage came with one out. Five straight singles – by Luke Frank, Josh Palutis, Jake O’Donnell, Justin Miller and Shane Henrick – led to four runs and the big lead early.
An RBI groundout by Kasey Weiss made it 5-0 in the third. Palutis added an RBI single in the fourth and Miller drove in another with a sac fly to make it a 7-0 game.
Springfield got back into the game with two runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to cut it to 7-5. In the fifth, the Spartans received RBI singles from Mike Capoferri and Matthew Caruso. In the top of the sixth, Nolan Kidwell doubled in a run, and Capoferri had his second RBI single, but Wissahickon answered right back with two key insurance runs in the bottom of the inning.
“We got out to a strong start, as we have been all season, running the bases aggressively and finding ways to manufacture runs,” Noga said. “Luke Frank continues to be a breath of fresh air at the plate for us, continuing to place our offense.
“Getting production like that at the bottom of the lineup is a gamechanger and really makes our offense tough to deal with.”
Palutis allowed just two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out seven over 4 1/3 innings to pick up the win.
“I thought Josh Palutis had a really nice outing, getting swings and misses on both his fastball and breaking ball and taking control of the game for us,” Noga said. ”We really feel that he gives us a chance to win every game he throws in, and has been one of our most productive guys at the plate too.
“Justin Miller, in the middle of the lineup, continues to be a Swiss Army Knife for us. He’s been really driving the ball well, and once he gets on, can wreak havoc as a great base runner with plus speed.
“I liked a lot of what we did today, and we’re going to need to build off of that moving into the second half of conference play as we head towards the postseason.”
Wissahickon (10-3, 8-3 SOL) hosts Hatboro-Horsham in a tough Liberty Division game on Friday.
Springfield (4-9, 4-7 SOL) hosts William Tennent on Friday.
Springfield 000 023 0 – 5 9 0
Wissahickon 041 202 x – 9 14 1
About the Author
