Wissahickon & Pennsbury were winners in SOL baseball action Saturday. (Photo provided by Pennsbury baseball)
Liberty/Freedom crossover
Wissahickon 14, Upper Moreland 2 (5 innings)
Sparked by the one-hit effort on the mound of Jack Pogue, the Trojans capped a 3-0 week with a convincing win in Saturday’s crossover game. The win was the seventh in a row for the streaking Trojans.
“We wanted to follow up last week with another 3-0 week this week,” Wissahickon coach Andy Noga said. “Our guys have been locked in on the simple things to put us in this position down the stretch.
“Jack Pogue is a big-time energy guy for us so pitching coach Colin Kennedy and I knew he was the right guy to start a meaningful game on a Saturday. Jim Fasano and those guys do a great job over there, and we have a ton of respect for how Upper Moreland does things.”
The Trojans plated four runs in the top of the third. Josh Palutis got the ball rolling with a one-out double to right field and advanced to third on a UM miscue. Justin Miller’s line single plated Palutis. Adam Hajdak’s line drive double also scored a run, and Finn Olszewski followed with an RBI triple to left. Jarret Federer picked up the Trojans’ fourth extra-base hit of the inning with a line drive RBI double to left field that put the Trojans on top 4-0.
The Golden Bears made it a 4-2 game in the bottom of the inning when Colson Campbell lined a two-run triple to left field. A three-run fourth gave the Trojans a 7-2 lead and included an RBI double by Miller as well as singles by Palutis and Olszewski. The Trojans erupted for seven runs in the fifth to bring an early end to the game.
Contributing multi-hit games to lead the Trojans were Palutis (3-for-4, 2B, 3 RBIs, 3R), Miller (3-for-4, 2B, 3RBIs, 3R), Olszewski (3-for-4, 3B, 2 RBIs, 2R) and Jarret Federer (3-for-3, 3 2B, RBI, R).
“Offensively, we’ve been waiting for a Jarret Federer breakout game, and today was that day with his three doubles,” Noga said. “He had some really good swings at practice this week, so the coaching staff really believed in him that today was going to be it. Justin Miller and Finn Olszewski also set the tone for us offensively with some key hard-hit balls.”
Wissahickon (12-4, 9-4 SOL) will host Quakertown on Tuesday, and Upper Moreland (7-8, 6-6) will travel to Cheltenham Monday.
Wissahickon 004 37 14-14-1
Upper Moreland 002 00 2-1-4
Non-league
Pennsbury 10, Abington 0 (5 innings)
It took some serious strategizing, but coach Joe Pesci found a way to get all his seniors into the lineup at one point or another in Saturday’s Senior Recognition game at Trenton Thunder’s Arm & Hammer Stadium.
That was no small feat considering the Falcons’ roster includes 11 seniors: Tyler Boraski, Charlie Cordisco, Jordan Czerniak, Eric David, Tyce Dendler, Ryan Forester, Colin Kelliher, Connor McCloskey, Michael Mercora, Ian Pollack and James Schaffer.
“We started eight seniors, and the next two seniors were pitchers,” Pesci said. “So James Schaffer, even though he’s hurt, was in the lineup at shortstop, and I pulled him before the game started.”
Pesci did more than just ensure his seniors were in the lineup.
“When you play these games, you want to get everyone in,” the Falcons’ coach said. “When you have a shortened game, it’s tough, but I was able to get 22 out of the 25 players in. It was great for us. We played 17 positions players and five pitchers. Fifteen of the position players batted. We had 13 hits and two of the guys had walks. It was productive. Every single guy got on base today that got a plate appearance. All five pitchers gave up no runs, and each had at least one strikeout. It’s an amazing opportunity for every player to feel like they contributed today, and that’s hard.
“With the exception of this game and two others, the other 14 games have been kind of close. Especially in our league and our crossovers, it’s hard to get guys in when games are close. You might have a pinch hitter here and there or a pitcher, but this is a wonderful opportunity to be able to get guys some at-bats and celebrate the program and the seniors all in one setting.”
Making it even sweeter was the fact that the Falcons notched the win, scoring four runs in the first inning and never looking back.
In the first, Cordisco and Boraski hit back-to-back singles, and Cordisco scored on the throw on a single by Hirsch. Czerniak delivered his team’s fourth straight single, plating a pair. Forester’s one-out single brought the fourth run of the inning across.
The Falcons added a run in the third and two more in the fourth. They brought an early end to the game when Carlton Crane delivered an RBI single, capping a three-run outburst in the fifth.
“Abington had a great year last year, and they lost some really good pitching,” Pesci said. “Trey Guaglionona was a graduate in 2013. We were talking about how I coached against him, and he’s the new head coach. They’re just kind of young. He’s definitely going to do the right thing with that program.
“They had five hits in five innings, and in three of the five innings, they had first and second, but we were able to get out of it. We had a nice pickoff and some good defensive plays. They played well. We scored four in the first inning, and that just took the wind out of it for them. We had a great win against Truman on Wednesday, and to come into this one and the bats stayed hot – we had double-digit hits in two straight games, so hopefully, that helps us roll into Bensalem on Tuesday.”
Pitching one shutout inning each for the Falcons were Pollack, Dendler, McCloskey, Mason Keith and Joseph Beitler.
For the Ghosts, Jack Hoetzel had two of his team’s five hits.
Pennsbury (11-5, 8-5 SOL) will be on the road at Bensalem on Tuesday, and Abington (4-8, 4-7) will travel to Upper Dublin on Tuesday.
Abington 000 00 0-5-0
Pennsbury 401 23 10-13-0
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