By Scott Huff
Cheltenham (1-9) won an Academy Award for its spoiler role in the Suburban One League American Conference with its 4-2 victory over first place Upper Merion (6-4).
“We want to make ourselves contribute to who wins this league,” said Cheltenham head coach Frank DeCembrino. “We have been struggling all season – with the exception of our pitching.
“It was nice to finally win a league game,” added Decembrino. “We had three or four league games get away from us, and it was great to walk off the field a winner.”
A huge component of the Panther win was the play of junior Matt Brown. Brown threw a complete game with 10 strikeouts and only three bases on balls.
“Matt throws with good velocity, and he really made himself into a good pitcher this year,” said Decembrino. “Last year he played in the middle infield, but we needed him to pitch this season.
“He really is also a great hitter,” added Decembrino. “He has some impressive numbers.”
Brown – the #3 hitter in the Panther lineup – is hitting .421 with a .489 on base percentage. He leads the team in extra base hits, which includes two homeruns.
“We have a very young team and have gone through a lot of growing pains,” said Decembrino of his club that starts three sophomores and a freshman. “But I am very proud of the way we have played this season, and we continue to get better.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (6-3) put itself back in strong contention for a league title with a come-from-behind 5-4 conference win over host Upper Moreland (5-4).
The same two teams will face each other tomorrow in a make-up game at Plymouth Whitemarsh.
The Colonials scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning to ice the win. Catcher Bobby Slagle knocked home the game-tying run, while the game winning run was scored on an error.
Norristown (4-4) remained in the running for a league title with an 8-2 conference win over Springfield (3-7).
Lefty Patrick Campion hurled the first five and 2/3 innings to record the win for the Eagles. Campion kept the Spartans off balance the entire ballgame and limited them to just four hits. Campion had 10 strikeouts for the winners.
John Iorio belted a homerun for Norristown and went 2-for-4. Mark Pinchok was 3-for-4 with three RBI for the Eagles.
Suburban One League Continental Conference
Central Bucks South (7-3) rallied from a 4-0 deficit to hammer visiting Hatboro-Horsham (5-5) – 13-4.
Anyone want to buy South head coach Mike Schaefer a new pair of glasses?
“When I was watching the game, I wasn’t really all that impressed with the way that we played,” said Schaefer. “But when I took a look at the scorebook, I owe some apologies.”
His first confession of guilt would have to go to winning pitcher Rich Delgado. Delgado was rocked for a four-run second inning, but did not yield a hit or a run from the third inning to the last inning.
“I really didn’t think Rich had his best stuff, and I said that to him after the game,” said Schaefer. “But when I added up his strikeouts and got to 11 and counted his three walks, those are pretty impressive numbers.”
The South bats also pounded out 14 hits as Joe Mullin (3-for-4 with a homerun), Brian Happ (2-for-3 with an RBI), Tim Thompson (3-for-4 with an RBI), A.J. Trunk (homerun), and Bryan Weaver (1-for-2 with two RBI) led the assault.
“We have been putting it together recently,” said Schaefer. “We are going to have to continue to play well to win games in this league.”
Pennridge (7-2) played a wild and crazy game against visiting Central Bucks East (3-6) and defeated the Patriots, 14-13, in eight innings.
The Rams scored eight runs in the fifth inning to take a 9-6 lead but needed a pair in the last of the seventh to forge a 13-13 tie.
Mike Kessler – who went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI – scored the game-winning run in the last of the eighth inning. Kessler scored on a game-winning double off the bat of Ray Puskar. Puskar went 4-for-6 on the day.
Pennridge finished the game with 20 hits, while East pounded out 13 hits.
Kyle Myers gained the win for the Rams by pitching a scoreless eighth inning.
Central Bucks West (5-5) scored four runs in the third inning to defeat host Quakertown (4-4) – 4-0.
The young Bucks had a terrific game thrown by R.J. Grant to claim the win. Grant threw a complete game and struck out nine Panthers.
The key hit in the third inning was a two-run double by J.P. Grove. Grove drove home both Eugene Alpin and Pat Furst.
North Penn (6-4) rallied from a 6-1 deficit to defeat hard-luck Souderton (1-9) – 12-6.
The Knights scored five runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to coast to the win. Brandon Martinez was the hitting star for North Penn going 3-for-3 with a grand slam homerun.
Austin Tarpey registered the win for the Knights.
Suburban One League National Conference
Truman (6-4) has aspirations for a strong finish and a place in the post-season, and the Tigers 7-2 conference win over Neshaminy (6-2) is a case in point.
“Our schedule should really favor us for the remainder of the league season,” said Truman head coach Jeff Vitale. “If we can win three of four – or maybe even win out – we should have a great shot at the playoffs.
“We had Council Rock North down 5-1 after four innings, but we let that one get away,” added Vitale. “If we could have beaten them, we could have had a shot at first place. But that is a real outside chance now.”
Truman had a marvelous game turned in by Mike McLeod in the win over Neshaminy. He threw a complete game, had six strikeouts, and permitted just three hits.
“The first time we played them, Neshaminy hit him real hard,” said Vitale. “But today he had great command. Mike is a smart pitcher, and he made the pitches when he needed them.”
The offensive load for the Tigers was carried by Brian Beyer (solo homerun), Tyler Erhardt (2-3 with an RBI), and Tommy Harman (2-3 with an RBI).
“We really hit well up and down the lineup,” said Vitale. “Eight of our nine hitters had base hits today.”
Pennsbury (6-4) led 9-4 going into the seventh inning, but the Falcons had to hold off an Abington (3-6) rally to best the Ghosts, 9-8.
The highlight of the Abington comeback was a three-run homerun by Justin Emrich.
The Pennsbury hitting attack was paced by Tim Shaeffer (2-3 w/ RBI) and Christian Fisher (2-3 w/ three RBI).
The winning pitcher for Pennsbury was Alec Jacobs.
Council Rock South (6-4) erupted for 18 runs in an 18-4 conference victory over Bensalem (2-7).
The Golden Hawks had three players hit homeruns – Justin Thomas, Brennan McCormick, and Bret DeStefano.
Council Rock North (8-1) kept its grip on first place in the conference standings with a 9-3 win over William Tennent (1-8).
On Deck – Suburban One League baseball
Wednesday
National Conference
Abington @ Neshaminy
American Conference
Upper Moreland @ Plymouth Whitemarsh
Thursday
National Conference
CR North @ Neshaminy
CR South @ Abington
Bensalem @ Truman
Pennsbury @ William Tennent
Continental Conference
CB South @ Souderton
CB West @ North Penn
Hatboro-Horsham @ CB East
Pennridge @ Quakertown
American Conference
Springfield @ Cheltenham
Norristown @ Wissahickon
Plymouth Whitemarsh @ Upper Dublin
Upper Merion @ Upper Moreland
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