SOL Baseball Wrap (5-8-24) – Suburban One Sports

Pennsbury & CB East notched wins in SOL baseball action Wednesday. Pennsbury/CR South photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography.

SOL Patriot Division

Pennsbury 7, Council Rock South 1

The Falcons erupted for six runs in the fourth inning, seizing control of the game on their way to the win.

The Golden Hawks got on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth. Johnny Mendola lined a double to center field to open the inning, and Drew Nemeth followed with a single. Mendola scored on a fielder’s choice for a 1-0 Rock South lead.

The rest of the game belonged to the Falcons.

In the bottom of the inning, Eric David was safe on an error to lead off the inning, and he advanced all the way to third on Ryan Webber’s sacrifice bunt. A fielder’s choice and walk loaded the bases for Charlie Cordisco, who lined a single to center that plated a pair. Tyler Boraski followed with a single, and the third run of the inning scored on Dylan Hirsch’s single to left field. Jordan Czerniak ripped a double to center field that emptied the bases, and the Falcons led 6-1.

“We were getting runners on and they just weren’t crossing the plate,” Pennsbury coach Joe Pesci said. “After giving up the run our kids just had enough I think.

“When Eric got on to lead off the fourth, I was hoping to just manufacture a run there. Cordisco came up big with the two-run single. And then it just became contagious with Boraski, Hirsh, and the of course Czerniak comes up huge again.”

The Falcons added a run in the sixth for the 7-1 final.

Three pitchers saw time on the mound in the win. Keller Bradley, who earned the win started and threw 4.1 innings, allowing six hits and one run while striking out four and walking two.

“Keller Bradley has been pretty efficient in most of his starts,” Pesci said. “Any time he starts a game we know we’re going to be in it.

“A couple games, he had great performances and got no support from us. Today he was effective getting us into the fifth, but he just had a lot of deep counts so his pitch count ran up. With lead and our depth, we knew Keller set us up to make the change. Beitler and Kenney were phenomenal in relief.”

Joe Beitler allowed one hit, struck out four and walked one in one-and-two-thirds innings on the mound. Aidan Kenney closed it out with a scoreless seventh, striking out a pair.

Cordisco (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs, R), Boraski (2-for-3, R), Hirsh (2-for-3, 2 RBIs, R) and Czerniak (2-for-4, 2B, 3 RBIs) led the Falcons’ eight-hit attack.

“We’ve talked about getting production in different ways,” Pesci said. “It’s not just about getting a hit. Competing and putting the ball in play. Forcing teams to make plays. You see all the hits from the top four guys today, and, of course, that’s the story, and they deserve a lot of credit. But we don’t get that big inning without the start from the 6-9 batters. Eric reaches on the error, Webber’s sac bunt, (Evan) Hawkes reaches on a fielder’s choice, and (Carlton) Crane walks. That stuff doesn’t light up the box score like hits do, but it set the tone and turned to energy up for us and the top of the order to do damage.”

For the Golden Hawks, who collected seven hits, Mendola was 2-for-4 with a double and run scored, and Jake Maurer was 2-for-3.

Pennsbury (13-5, 10-5 SOL) – 12^th in the latest District 1 6A power rankings – will travel to North Penn on Friday for a crossover game, and Council Rock South (7-11, 6-8) will be on the road at Harry S Truman on Monday. With two league games remaining, the Golden Hawks are 25^th in what will be a 24-team field.

Council Rock South 000 100 0 1-7-2

Pennsbury 000 601 0 7-8-1

SOL Colonial Division

Central Bucks East 10, Pennridge 0 (5 innings)

The Patriots didn’t have to wait long to avenge their 9-6 loss to the Rams. Twenty-four hours to be exact, and Wednesday’s rematch belonged to the Patriots. Or more specifically, it belonged to Damian Frayne.

The senior hurler was close to perfect in the abbreviated contest, facing just 17 batters in five innings and allowing only one hit. He struck out nine and did not walk a batter.

With the win, the Patriots clinched at least a share of the SOL Colonial crown.

“I cannot say enough positive things about Damian today and this season,” East coach Kyle Dennis said. “He is 6-0 on the year and has been great in every start.

“Three of the six wins were him putting his team on his back and carrying the guys to a win after tough losses. He threw a win against Neshaminy after losing to Pennsbury, a win against South after losing to West and then again today.

“To have a guy that competes the way he does and be able to pick up his team after a loss is invaluable. When it’s not his turn to pitch, he is one of those teammates leading supporters from the bench.”

The Rams took control from the outset, scoring all the runs Frayne would need in the top of the first. Reece Moody set the tone with a leadoff single, and Nolan Behm followed with a double to center. Chase Harlan’s sacrifice fly plated Moody, and after Jack Mislan reached base on an infield single that allowed Behm to advance to third, Chase Fulford lofted a sacrifice fly to right field to spot the Patriots a 2-0 lead.

Any doubts about the outcome were put to rest after a seven-run outburst by the Patriots in the third inning. Behm was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and Harlan doubled East’s lead with one swing of the bat when he smashed a two-run home run to left field.

With one out, Fulford lined a double to right field and moved up to third on a groundout. He scored when Anthony Niro grounded a two-out single to right field to put the Patriots on top 5-0. Nick Mutchler followed with a single, and a Pennridge miscue opened the door for four more runs.

With the bases loaded, Moody was hit by a pitch, forcing home a run. Behm – in his second at-bat of the inning – drove home a pair of runs when he lined a double to right field. Harlan’s RBI single gave the Patriots a 9-0 lead.

Zach Oram’s RBI single in the top of the fifth gave the Patriots their final margin of victory and brought an early end to the game.

“Pennridge is a team with a lot of young talent, and they beat us yesterday,” Dennis said. “Our guys played with a chip on their shoulder today, and it showed in how they handled their business at the plate.

“Contributions were made up and down the lineup. Junior catcher Nick Mutchler went 3-for-3 in the eighth spot, and the guys at the top of the order like Moody, Behm, Harlan, Fulford and Mislan continued to swing the bats very well, providing a lot of the power to our offense.”

In addition to Mutchler, Behm (2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBIs, 2R) and Harlan (2-for-3, HR, 4 RBIs, R) also had multiple hits.

“We have three games left – two in conference and a non-league game against Holy Ghost,” Dennis said. “Souderton tomorrow and North Penn next week will be highly contested games as both teams are jockeying for playoff positions. We look forward to the competition.”

Central Bucks East (12-5, 11-3 SOL) – sixth in the latest District 1 6A power rankings – will travel to Souderton on Thursday, and Pennridge (9-7, 5-7) – 21^st in the rankings – will be on the road at Central Bucks West Thursday.