By Scott Huff
Central Bucks South (7-4) captured a critical 1-0 Suburban One League Continental Conference game over North Penn (6-5).
But the game was not decided until the very last pitch of the game.
“I think I aged 10 years in the last inning,” said Central Bucks South head coach Mike Schaefer. “North Penn had the bases loaded, two outs, and a 3-2 count on the batter. If the batter gets a hit – they win – if we walk him – the game is tied – if we get him out – we win.”
Titan sophomore right-hander Ricky Dennis got an out – on a strikeout swinging. It was one of just two strikeouts on the day for Dennis, who threw a complete game and permitted just three hits.
“Ricky threw an outstanding game,” said Schaefer. “This is the second time this year that he has beaten North Penn, and that is very impressive.
“We weren’t too sure what we were getting as far as a varsity pitcher goes,” added Schaefer. “But his earned run average is less than 1.00. If I knew at the beginning of the season what I know now, he would have pitched him a lot more this year.”
CB South scratched out a run in the top of the seventh inning to score the only run of the game. Brian Happ opened the inning with a single and scored on an RBI single by Kyle Lewis.
“It was an emotional game,” said Schaefer.
And an emotional victory for the Titans.
Central Bucks South Titans 000 000 1 - 1 5 0
North Penn Knights 000 000 0 - 0 3 1
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Pennridge (9-2) rebounded from its second conference loss of the season with a key 12-9 victory over host Hatboro-Horsham (4-6).
Senior Dylan Tice blasted a grand slam homerun for the Rams as the starting shortstop and finished the game with four shutout innings to earn the save as the Pennridge closer.
“Dylan sure makes my life easier,” said Pennridge head coach Tom Nuneviller. “He came up with the big hit, and then he is able to come into the game and shut them down. I’m sure glad that he is on our team.
“You have to give Hatboro a lot of credit,” added Nuneviller. “We got up 11-2, and they come back to make it 11-9. Matt Hollenbeck is a terrific hitter.”
Senior Jared Schaffer and senior Mike Guldin also homered for the Rams. Schaffer hit a two-run blast, while Guldin blasted a three-run homer.
“This was a huge win for us – any conference win is a huge win for us,” said Nuneviller. “We have a non-league game with Southern Lehigh, and it will be nice to get some of the players in the game that don’t get a whole lot of playing time. It should be fun.”
Pennridge Rams 047 000 1 - 12 7 2
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters 207 000 0 - 9 10 1
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Central Bucks East (5-5) received a walk-off single by Evan Wessel as the host Patriots claimed an exciting 8-7 victory over Central Bucks West (5-5).
“Our goal for the rest of the season is play the best baseball that we can,” said Central Bucks East head coach Kyle Dennis. “To be able to beat West twice this season is special – the kids always look at these games as huge rivalry games.
“We played textbook baseball to score that winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning,” added Dennis. “That was great to see.”
Kris Davis led off the inning with a single – moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ben Houser – and jetted to third on a wild pitch. Davis scored the game winner with one out on the Wessel single.
“Ridge Oliver had a big double for us in his first game back from a concussion,” said Dennis. “It was only the second game of the season that he was able to play.”
CB West had taken a 3-0 lead in the first inning as Nick Heller led off with a homerun and Matt Hanson followed with a two-run blast.
Central Bucks West Bucks 300 310 0 - 7 6 2
Central Bucks East Patriots 104 110 1 - 8 10 1
Suburban One League American Conference
Upper Moreland (10-3) kept its grip on first place in the conference standings with a hard-fought 4-3 victory over host Upper Merion (6-7).
Mike Janus hurled a complete game for the Golden Bears with a two hit – three strikeout – performance.
“Mike didn’t have his best stuff, and there were times during the game where we thought about taking him out,” said Upper Moreland head coach Ernie Rehr. “But Mike threw a real gutsy game, and a good example of that was him striking out the last batter with the tying run on third base in the seventh inning.”
Upper Moreland scored all of its runs in the fourth inning – without hitting the ball out of the infield. A walk – two bunt singles – a swinging bunt – and a costly Upper Merion error plated the four runs.
“(Upper Merion pitcher) Ray Gambone threw a great game for them,” said Rehr. “But we did enough to beat him.”
Upper Moreland Golden Bears 000 040 0 - 4 5 2
Upper Merion Vikings 001 000 2 - 3 2 1
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Wissahickon (6-8) stopped a six-game conference losing streak with a resounding 15-0 victory over visiting Norristown (7-6).
“Last year we beat Norristown 10-0 and turned our entire season around,” said Wissahickon head coach Shannon Gunby. “Hopefully that will happen again this year, we are not out of getting into districts. Sometimes one game can turn your whole season around.”
The Trojans scored six runs in the first inning to fuel the offensive performance. JT Crits collected five RBI for the winners, while Greg McDonough had a pair of key hits.
Senior Greg Meducsin threw a four-inning no-hitter for Wissahickon – on just 37 pitches.
“Greg was around the plate and pitched to contact,” said Gunby. “It was his fourth win of the year.
“We play Cheltenham (Monday), Plymouth Whitemash (Tuesday), and Upper Merion (Wednesday) next week,” added Gunby. “All of our games are on the road, and we have to play to win them all.”
Norristown Eagles 000 0 – 0 0 0
Wissahickon Trojans 645 x – 15 x x
Suburban One League National Conference
Council Rock North (9-1) received a brilliant shutout performance by senior Darren Lauer as the Indians remained in sole possession of first place with a 5-0 conference victory over visiting Pennsbury (4-7).
“Darren threw a great game – he had great command of all of his pitches,” said Council Rock North head coach Matt Schram. “We got back-to-back shutouts from Darren and Patrick (O’Leary) the last two days, and you can’t ask for more than that.”
Council Rock North scored all of its runs in the second inning. Mike Tentilucci, Ryan Henritzy, and Mike Festa all drove home runs for the Indians.
“I like the way we are playing,” said Schram. “I feel like we are in good shape and in a good place to get ready for the district playoffs.”
Pennsbury Falcons 000 000 0 - 0 4 0
CR North Indians 050 000 x - 5 6 0
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Truman (8-3) snapped a three-game conference losing streak with a 16-8 victory over host William Tennent (1-9).
“We have faced pretty good pitching the last few games against both (CR) North and (CR) South, and it was good to see us swing the bats today,” said Truman head coach Jeff Vitale. “We hit pretty much up and down the lineup.”
The best of the Tiger hitters was senior Kyle Tepper who collected three hits and had four RBI. Ryan Hires and Shane Monahan also punched out key hits for Truman.
“If we are fortunate enough to get into districts, we are going to have to find a way to win some 4-3 games,” said Vitale. “We should have a shot at making districts, but we are going to have to get more consistent pitching.”
Truman Tigers 005 722 0 - 16
William Tennent Panthers 025 000 1 - 8
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Bensalem (5-6) pounded out 16 hits as the Owls soared to an 11-6 victory over host Neshaminy (4-7).
“We were winning 11-1, and then we didn’t really make it easy on ourselves,” said Bensalem head coach Rick Lee. “We really came out and hit today.”
Junior Anthony Micalizzi had three hits and two RBI; senior Brett Kohn had three hits and three RBI; senior Frank Primavera had two hits and two RBI; junior Harry Daut had three hits and two RBI; and Zack Schwartz had two hits and an RBI.
Junior Jesse Dannon threw the first five innings to get the win.
“Jesse is a finesse pitcher who is really smart,” said Lee. “He is a great competitor.”
Bensalem Owls 330 131 0 - 11 16 4
Neshaminy Redskins 000 101 4 - 6 8 2
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Council Rock South (8-2) remained in sole possession of second place in the conference standings as the Golden Hawks flew to a 7-3 win over visiting Abington (3-7).
Ryan Downs fueled the Rock South offense with a pair of homeruns. Downs also threw the final three innings of the game to earn the save for Rock South.
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