By Scott Huff
The knot is tied at the top of the Suburban One National Conference standings after host Neshaminy (8-2) defeated Council Rock North (8-2) – 6-2.
“These kids have worked very hard, and they deserve to be in first place,” said Neshaminy head coach Dennis Cox. “We had a very difficult week with Truman (7-2 loss), Abington (10-4 win), and Council Rock North. Winning two out of three against that competition was great for the team.
“We had great games by both Corey Jackson and Bryan Dean against Council Rock North,” added Cox. “Corey took care of the pitching, and Bryan was terrific hitting the baseball.”
Jackson – a senior right-hander – improved to 3-0 this season with his complete game effort. He issued just a single walk and had four strikeouts.
“Corey was ahead in the count the entire game,” said Cox. “He got himself into a couple of jams, but he got himself right out of them.”
Dean – who missed his junior season with the Redskins to concentrate on football – set the tone from the outset of the game.
Dean led off with a walk – stole second and third – and gave the Skins a 1-0 lead by scoring the first run of the game.
Dean followed an RBI single in the second inning, and drilled a three-run homerun in the fourth inning to give Neshaminy the lead for good.
“Bryan is such a terrific athlete,” added Cox. “And I still believe that he is going to be an outstanding baseball player on the next level.”
On May 14, both the Redskins and the Indians will meet in a return battle at CR North that could decide first place.
“You can’t overlook anyone in this league,” said Cox. “You can’t have an off day, or you are going to get beat.”
Pennsbury (7-4) pounded out 21 hits against William Tennent (1-11) as the Falcons flew to a 17-5 win over the Panthers.
Jordan Cayiola, who went 3-for-3 with four runs scored and four RBI, sparked the Pennsbury offense. Chris Wiertz also collected three hits, scored two runs, and had two RBI, while John Siebel had three hits and an RBI.
Council Rock South (7-4) once again proved it has the best pitcher in the conference as Greg Welsh struck out 16 hitters in his complete game shutout of Abington (3-8).
The Golden Hawks remained in conference contention with the 9-0 victory over the Ghosts.
Harry S Truman (7-4) also remained in conference contention with an 11-1 mercy-rule win over Bensalem (2-9).
Steve Arthur was the winning pitcher for the Tigers, while Arthur helped his own cause with a double and two RBI.
The ‘Top’ of the National Conference Standings
1. Council Rock North [8-2]
2. Neshaminy [8-2]
3. Council Rock South [7-4]
4. Pennsbury [7-4]
5. Truman [7-4]
American Conference
Upper Dublin (7-3-1) moved to the head of the class in the SOL American Conference with a 6-5 come-from-behind win over visiting Plymouth Whitemarsh (7-4).
The Flying Cardinals trailed the Colonials 5-4 going into the last of the seventh inning in this key conference game.
Jesse Kohler led off and reached base on a PW error, and Dan Brown followed with a single. One out later, Jared Zarwin walked to load the bases.
John Miller tied the game with an RBI single to score Kohler and keep the bases loaded. After a second out, Tim Troyer worked the count to 3-1 and was hit by a pitch to force home the winning run.
“It was a great game,” said Upper Dublin head coach Ed Wall. “We had some chances early in the game to score some runs, but we clawed back in that seventh inning.
“This league is so tight, and every game from here on out is going to be a battle,” added Wall. “We have that tie to complete with Norristown, and that could be a deciding factor.”
The game with the Eagles was suspended in the bottom of the seventh with two outs – and Joe Crane on first base for the Cardinals. The score was knotted at 3-3.
The date for that ‘double-header’ with Norristown is set for May 13.
Wissahickon (7-4) came up with a huge 8-1 victory over visiting Norristown (5-5-1).
The Trojans scored five runs in the second inning and three more runs in the third inning to coast to the victory.
Rob McKenna was the winning pitcher for Wissahickon and limited the Eagles to only three hits.
Upper Moreland (6-5) kept its title hopes alive with a 2-1 victory over Upper Merion (6-5).
Dave McInerney singled home Lucas Armstrong in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure the win.
Mike Janas hurled a marvelous game for the Golden Bears with a complete-game, five strikeout, performance.
Cheltenham (2-9) won its second consecutive conference game with a thrilling 9-8 victory over Springfield (3-8).
The Panthers won the game on a bases-loaded walk to Matt Brown, which scored Alex Winter with the game-winning run.
Anthony Caringi slugged a three run homerun in the first inning to lead the power surge.
Brian Camp registered the win for the Panthers.
The ‘Top’ of the American Conference Standings
1. Upper Dublin [7-3-1]
2. Plymouth Whitemarsh [7-4]
3. Wissahickon [7-4]
4. Upper Merion [6-5]
5. Upper Moreland [6-5]
6. Norristown [5-5-1]
Continental Conference
Quakertown (5-4) has been lurking in the shadows of the conference, and the Panthers won a ‘statement’ game with a 7-6 victory over Pennridge (7-3).
And don’t expect Quakertown head coach Steve Cherrybon to befriend the characters at Disney World any time soon.
“Our seniors took a week off to go on a class trip to Disney World,” said Cherrybon. “And because of that, we are a few games behind the other teams in the conference.
“We play Pennridge, North Penn, and Hatboro-Horsham next week,” added Cherrybon. “That’s a tough week for our pitchers.”
Mike Potynski led off the bottom of the first inning for the Panthers with a homerun. Luke Helm also drove home a run in that first inning.
Helm’s RBI single in the fifth inning tied the game for Q-town, and the game winning run came in the last of the sixth inning as Jake Nieman worked a walk with the bases loaded.
Jason Rathjens picked up the victory in relief for the Panthers. He hurled four innings, allowed just a single run, and had five strikeouts.
“Pennridge can really hit the ball, and we held them to five hits,” said Cherrybon. “Right now we are only one game behind first place in the loss column, but we have some big games to play.”
Central Bucks South (8-3) moved into sole possession of first place in the conference with a wild-and-crazy 17-16 victory over Souderton (1-10).
The Titans led 13-1 after the first four innings of their Senior Night contest held under the lights at South. Souderton, however, scored 15 of the next 19 runs and almost caught the Titans.
Jeff Gyza (2-for-4 with 4 RBI), Joe Mullin (2-for-4 with 4 runs scored), and Doug Pricockis (3-for-4 with 3 RBI) led the offensive fireworks for South.
Central Bucks West (6-5) scored six runs in the top of the eighth inning and held off North Penn (6-5) in a wild 15-12 contest.
The young Bucks were led offensively by Pat Furst who went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBI. Eugene Alpin was 3-for-4 and delivered a huge two-run double in the eighth inning. J.P. Grove and Dan Seitzinger drove home two runs and three runs respectively.
Central Bucks East (4-6) received a superlative outing from pitcher Kris Davis as the Patriots shutout Hatboro-Horsham (5-6) – 7-0.
Davis threw a complete game, gave up just five hits, and had four strikeouts.
Sean Trymbiski blasted a homerun for the Patriots and had three RBI. Tyler Zedleny chipped in with three hits and an RBI.
The ‘Top’ of the Continental Conference
1. Central Bucks South [8-3]
2. Pennridge [7-3]
3. Quakertown [5-4]
4. Central Bucks West [6-5]
5. North Penn [6-5]
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