Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Monday. Photos provided courtesy of Cindy Manero/NP baseball.
SOL Colonial
North Penn 3, Pennridge 0
Facing a big three-game week with the season on the line, North Penn and starter Jack Picozzi started things off in style, as the Knights avenged an early season loss to the Rams with a 3-0 win over
Pennridge at home Monday.
Picozzi, a junior, allowed just one hit and one walk, while striking out six in a dominant 80-pitch complete-game effort.
“Jack was fantastic today,” said Knights coach Kevin Manero. “He battled out of a tough fifth inning, which showed so much about the way he’s competing right now.
“Our pitchers have only walked two batters in our last 21 conference innings. They’re really getting after it out there.”
Offensively, Picozzi helped his own cause with a leadoff double in the bottom of the first. After a walk, Justin Egner hit a single to load the bases. Ethan Cohen later drew a bases loaded walk to plate the game’s first run.
Then, in the third, Egner and Pat Breen started the inning with singles, and after a double play saw Pennridge close to escaping without damage, Brian Neal doubled to score a run and Ben Farley singled to make it 3-0.
In the top of the fifth, the Rams loaded the bases with one out, thanks to an Ashton McCloskey single, a walk and a hit batter. Picozzi came up with a huge strikeout for the inning’s second out and closed out the inning with a grounder to short.
Egner finished 3-for-4 on the day, while Jacob Martinelli was 2-for-3.
“We’ve been inconsistent at the plate but we feel like we’re close,” Manero said. “A couple guys are starting to lock in on some better swings and approaches and this sure is the time to do it.”
Ryan DeHaven pitched well in defeat for Pennridge, striking out 11 in 5 1/3 innings.
Fighting for its playoff life, North Penn (8-7, 6-6 SOL) plays at first-place Souderton on Tuesday.
“We’re in a very fun part of the season right now,” Manero said. “It sure isn’t easy, but it’s fun and it’s super competitive.”
Pennridge (6-8, 4-8 SOL) plays at CB West Tuesday.
Pennridge 000 000 0 – 0 1 1
North Penn 102 000 x – 3 9 1
Central Bucks South 2, Central Bucks West 0
It was a prime-time game under the lights between two rivals, and the pitchers put on performances worthy of the setting.
With two runs in the bottom of the sixth, CB South and starter Robby Porco pulled out the close win over visiting CB West.
“It was definitely a pitchers’ duel in every sense of the word,” said CB South coach Kevin Bray. “Robby Porco pitched fantastic for us. He ended up going 61/3 innings and then we had Joe Rooney come in and get the final two outs to close the door.
“West’s pitcher, Conor Dobos, was equally fantastic. He kept us off balance the majority of the game. He was locating his breaking ball and challenging us. It was a well-played, well-coached game on both sides.”
Porco struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings, allowing just three hits and one walk, throwing 104 pitches.
Dobos went 5 1/3 innings, allowing three hits and one walk with five strikeouts.
Colin Mitchell started South’s rally in the sixth with a one-out double to left field. JT Anderosky followed with a single to put runners on the corners, and after a strikeout, Owen Wheeler doubled to center to score both runs.
“Our guys were ready to go, and their guys were ready to go,” Bray said. “The first game between the two of us was tight as well; it went 11 innings. I wasn’t shocked to run into a game with them 0-0 going into the sixth.
CB South (8-8, 6-7 SOL) has a quick turnaround and will play another rival at CB East on Tuesday. CB West (8-7, 6-5 SOL) looks to bounce back from this loss at home against Pennridge on Tuesday.
Central Bucks West 000 000 0 – 0 4 0
Central Bucks South 000 002 x – 2 6 0
Central Bucks East 11, Council Rock South 1 (6 innings)
It was a close game through five innings, and CB East knew the game still hung in the balance. An 8-spot in the top of the sixth ended the suspense as the Patriots blew it wide open and finished off the Golden Hawks by the end of the inning.
“It was a tight ball game,” said Patriots coach Kyle Dennis. “We exploded offensively in the sixth.”
Sophomore third baseman Chase Harlan gave East the lead in the first with an RBI double, on the way to a 2-for-2, two double, four RBI afternoon.
“He’s a talented kid,” Dennis said. “We brought him up late last year as a freshman, and he was DH for us in the playoffs. This year, he’s been a force in the middle of our lineup. He’s hitting .405 and has just been a monster in the lineup. He leads our team with 18 RBIs.”
Andrew Rubin hit a leadoff single for CR South to start the bottom of the first and he later would score the tying run on a wild pitch.
Harlan drove in another run in the third, scoring Reece Moody, who doubled to lead off the inning, and then in the fifth, another sac fly by Harlan scored Moody again to make it a 3-1 game.
For good measure, Harlan’s second double of the game was one of the big hits in the East sixth inning. Joey Wilga’s 3-run home run to center was the big blow in the sixth.
Moody went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI, Chase Fulford had two runs and two RBIs, and Max McGrady was 2-for-4.
On the mound, sophomore Sam Bliss went all six innings for the Patriots, allowing just one run (unearned) and scattering four hits and three walks with four strikeouts.
With the win, CB East (10-4, 7-4 SOL) remains two games behind first-place Souderton in the SOL Colonial standings. It hosts CB South on Tuesday. CR South (2-11, 1-11 SOL) plays at Pennsbury Tuesday.
Central Bucks East 101 018 – 11 12 0
Council Rock South 100 000 – 1 4 3
SOL Patriot
Harry S. Truman 11, Bensalem 0 (5 innings)
Seven runs in the first inning were both unexpected and a big boost for host Truman on Monday, as it rolled from there and avenged an earlier loss to Bensalem with the convincing 11-0, mercy-rule shortened victory.
“To be honest, we did it by being patient early,” said Tigers coach Tim Monaghan. “Sean Nelson (Bensalem’s pitcher) has had a really good year. He struggled a little early, we were able to wait on him and then hit the ball well.
“It was one of our better offensive games of the year. We had 12 hits. We were sitting on pitches, and we really weren’t missing. We had five or six runs before we had an out. It’s the kind of start you dream of.”
Makai Jackson and Mike Burns started off the first with walks, and then Wil Brennan was hit by a pitch to load the bases. James Baker followed with a two-run single, followed by an RBI double by Andrew Armstrong.
An error scored a run, followed by a wild pitch that plated a run. Aqual Chapman then hit an RBI single to turn the lineup over, and then after a Jackson single, Brennan hit an RBI single to make it 7-0.
Jackson, Brennan, Armstrong and Chapman all had two hits. Brennan drove in three runs, while Armstrong and Baker had two RBIs.
Ryan Cavanaugh pitched three hitless, shutout innings, striking out three to pick up the win. Alex Matlack threw the final two innings to close it out.
“Up and down the lineup, it’s the most hits we’ve had in a game all season,” Monaghan said. “We’ve been waiting for a game that the offense carried us. We had Ryan Cavanaugh on the mound, it was nice to have a game to get him run support. He’s faced a lot of No. 1s this year and we haven’t gotten him the runs. Last week, he pitched great against North Penn and we lost the game. Today, he pitched three innings and we were able to get him run support.”
Truman (8-9, 6-7 SOL) has another important league game Tuesday at Neshaminy.
“We’re coming right down to it,” Monaghan said about the pending stretch run these last two weeks of the regular season. ”Our guys know how important these games are down the stretch. We hope to keep things positive. We have two tough games this week. I didn’t expect to beat Bensalem 11-0; it was the last thing I expected today. But we’ll take it.”
Bensalem (5-10, 4-9 SOL) plays at Council Rock North Tuesday.
Bensalem 000 00 – 0 2 1
Harry S. Truman 704 0x – 11 11 1
SOL Freedom Division
Upper Moreland 12, Cheltenham 2 (5 innings)
Five runs in the bottom of the first and seven in the bottom of the second put Upper Moreland in great shape early, and the Golden Bears ended up finishing off visiting Cheltenham 12-2 in five innings on Monday.
UM scored 12 runs on 13 hits in five innings, including five doubles and a triple.
Pat Kilgus went 3-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and two RBIs.
“Pat Kilgus continues to hit the ball well and show why he deserves to be our 3-hitter on varsity as a freshman,” said Bears coach Jim Fasano. “ He’s a guy we can build our program around.”
Sean Dallahan was 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and an RBI. Nate O’Connor was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. Jaryd Meehl also had two hits and two RBIs, while Paul Myers also finished with two RBIs. Shawn Townsend had a triple.
“I can’t say enough about our senior leadership, led by captains Dallahan and O’Connor,” Fasano said. “Great kids and most importantly, team guys. Our bench energy is tremendous and lifts everyone up on a daily basis.”
On the mound, Kaleb Powell went all five innings, allowing two unearned runs on three hits, with five strikeouts.
“I’m so happy for Kaleb,” Fasano said. “He’s really worked hard and pitched well in limited opportunities but has shown a lot in inter-squad games. We’re going to need more from him to get where we want to be.”
UM (5-6, 5-6 SOL) is back home Tuesday against Springfield Township.
“Our goals are right in front of us this year,” Fasano said. “We have to continue playing well and receiving contributions from everyone in the lineup.”
Cheltenham (2-13, 0-12 SOL) hosts Lower Moreland Tuesday.
Cheltenham 001 10 – 2 2 3 3
Upper Moreland 570 0x – 12 13 3
William Tennent 7, New Hope-Solebury 4
It didn’t look good for Tennent through four innings, as it went into the fifth trailing 5-0.
Five runs tied it in the fifth, and then the Panthers added two more in the sixth to post the come-from-behind victory on Monday.
“I am really proud of the boys,” said Tennent coach Lucas Denzi. “They rebounded nicely after a rough few first innings. Our message the whole game was to just stick with it and to keep a good approach at the plate. Eventually, we were able to string a few hits together and push a few across.”
Early on, however, things didn’t look too good for the Panthers.
A single by New Hope’s Kyle Campbell led off the game, and two runs ended up scoring thanks to a pair of errors by Tennent.
The Lions scored one more in the second, as Saul Carmenini led off with a double and scored on an RBI single by Mason Scall.
Two more errors led to two more runs in a 5-0 lead for New Hope.
Overall, Tennent overcame seven errors, four walks and two hit batters.
The bottom of the fifth started with a pair of bases on balls for Tennent, followed by a single by Kevin Kocher and an RBI double by Tim Lawson. After back-to-back errors, the deficit was cut to 5-3, and after back-to-back strikeouts, Tennent’s Evan Devor tied it with a two-run single.
A walk, an error and back-to-back RBI singles by Lawson and Josh Nydick gave Tennent the lead for good in the sixth.
Lucas Kimbrough started for Tennent, going the first 4 2/3 innings, while reliever John Landgrebe picked up the win, with 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
“Our top of the lineup came up big as Kevin, Tim and Josh all had multi-hit games,” Denzi said. “It then was up to John to come in and close the door, which he did nicely, while battling some adversity.”
Nydick finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs, while Lawson was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
Carmenini, Scall and Matt Jermyn had two hits each for the Lions.
Tennent (4-10, 4-8 SOL) and New Hope (4-6, 3-6 SOL) play again Tuesday at New Hope.
New Hope-Solebury 210 200 0 – 5 7 3
William Tennent 000 052 x – 7 10 7
About the Author
