Scott Huff previews the upcoming District One semifinal and final baseball games. Springfield will face Devon Prep on Tuesday for a District One AA title.
By Scott Huff
Championship Week…
The Suburban One League will have its share of meaningful games this week the PIAA District One champions will be crowned (weather permitting) at the end of the week.
Springfield (SOL American Conference) will compete for a Class AA title Tuesday (5/31/16) as the Spartans meet top seeded Devon Prep. Springfield must win, however, if the Spartans want to compete in the state playoffs. Only the Class AA District One champion moves on to compete for a state championship.
Upper Moreland (SOL American Conference)will compete for a Class AAA title on Wednesday (6/1/16) as the Golden Bears meet upstart Radnor. Upper Moreland must win, however, if the Golden Bears want to compete in the state playoffs. Only the Class AAA District One champion moves on to compete for a state championship.
Council Rock North (SOL National Conference) and Pennridge (SOL Continental Conference) will compete in the Quad-A semifinals on Tuesday (5/31/16) in hopes of gaining a berth in the district finals on Thursday (6/1/16). Both the Indians and the Rams, however, have the safety net of knowing that each will play in the state tournament. There are five Quad-A teams from District One that makes that state tournament field.
Upper Dublin (SOL American Conference) is in the most precarious position of the SOL Quad-A teams. The Cardinals must defeat both Spring-Ford on Tuesday (5/31/16) and the winner of the Perkiomen Valley-Marple Newtown game on Thursday (6/1/16) to make the Quad-A state tournament field.
And the beat goes on..
PIAA Class AA District One Championship
Tuesday – May 31, 2016
[#3] Springfield Spartans (6-9) vs. [#1] Devon Prep Tide (14-7)
@ West Chester Henderson High School – 4 pm
Season Resume:
Springfield finished the regular season tied for fifth place in the Suburban One League American Conference.
Devon Prep finished the regular season as the second place team in the Bicentennial League Independence Conference.
Playoff Resume:
Springfield advanced to the district championship with a 3-2 victory over [# 2] New Hope-Solebury. Nick Pave threw a complete game for the Spartans – did not issue a walk – and had three strikeouts. Jack Cornely squeezed home a run for the winners, while Chris Kelly delivered the game winning RBI with a double.
Devon Prep advanced to the district championship game with a 12-1 rout over [# 4] Bristol. Danny Brace threw a one-hitter over five innings for the winners, while Tony Gallo fueled the offense with four RBI.
Springfield Head Coach Dennis Primavera says: “It seems like this happens every year. Things come together late in the year for us. Right now, it seems like we have a good lineup and things are set for the finals. Devon Prep is a good school – and we lost to them 4-3 last year in a really good game. We are coming off an exciting game beating New Hope to get into the final, and Devon Prep had an easy time beating Bristol. That could be an advantage for us mentally. I have two good choices to pitch in the game – Matt Gauss and Nick Pave. Both have pitched well and have gotten us to this point in the playoffs. We have played a good schedule in our league, but I’m done talking about that. We’re excited for to be playing for a district championship.”
Winner Gets/Loser Gets: The winner of this game earns the District One title and will be the only representative from District One in the Class AA state tournament. The loser of this game will end its season.
PIAA Quad-A District One Semifinals
Tuesday – May 31, 2016
[#6] Council Rock North Indians (13-3) vs. [#2] Downingtown West Whippets (19-2)
@ Methacton High School – 4 pm
Season Resume:
Council Rock North finished the regular season as the champion of the Suburban One League National 
Conference.
Downingtown West finished the regular season as the champion of the Ches-Mont League National Conference.
Playoff Resume:
Council Rock North advanced to the semifinals with a 10-0 victory over [# 3] Upper Dublin. The Indians pounded out 13 hits in the victory. Seth Luez and Chase D’Arcangelo each had three hits and two RBI for Rock North. Sophomore Gavin Ferrandino and CJ Kilgariff combined for the shutout with Ferrandino throwing the first four innings and Kilgariff tossing the final two frames. CRN opened the district tournament with a 3-2 victory over [# 22] Springfield (Delco).
Downingtown West advanced to the semifinals with a 10-1 victory over [# 10] Spring-Ford. The Whippets earned their first ever state playoff berth with the win. Downingtown West took advantage of nine Ram walks, while Eric Grintz generated the most of the offense for the Whippets with four RBI. The Whippets opened the district playoffs with a 7-1 victory over [# 19] Neshaminy.
Council Rock North Head Coach Matt Schram says: “Both Downingtown West and us had a bye in the first round – we didn’t play very well in the first game (3-2 win over Springfield Delco) – it was a survival game for us. We took a deep breath and played our game against Upper Dublin (10-0 win) – the entire team hit the ball. At this point of the season, we are competing against the best teams in the state – and Downingtown West is one of those teams. The pressure is off a little in that we know we are going to states, but this team wants a district title. We are the defending district champions, but this team never discussed defending a title. This is a new team – we had only four seniors and a junior that played a role last year – and they have their own identity. Matt Hand is our best pitcher and he will throw on Tuesday – you can’t hold anything back for the next (district championship) game – it is a recipe for disaster.”
Winner Gets/Loser Gets: The winner of this game will play the winner of [# 17] Pennridge vs. [# 5] Boyertown game in the Quad-A district finals on June 2, 2016. The loser will play the loser of the Pennridge-Boyertown game to decide the third seed in the state tournament.
[#17] Pennridge Rams (12-5) vs. [# 5] Boyertown Bears (17-3)
@ Great Valley High School – 4 pm
Season Resume:
Pennridge finished the regular season as the second place finisher in the Suburban One League Continental Conference.
Boyertown finished the regular season as the co-champions of the Pioneer Athletic Conference.
Playoff Resume:
Pennridge advanced to the semifinals with an 11-9 victory over [# 9] Marple Newtown. Dan Long was effective over the final 4.2 innings to earn the win in relief. Riley Hagar blasted a homerun and a double to spark the offense, while Andrew Horn had a pair of doubles for the winners. Pennridge opened district play with a 3-2 victory over [# 16] Garnet Valley and followed with a 3-0 win over top-seeded [# 1] Interboro.
Boyertown advanced to the semifinals as the Bears held on for a 5-4 victory over [#4] Perkiomen Valley. Pat Hohfeld threw a complete game for the winners, while Sean Moriarity and Seth Endy each had three hits for the Bears. Boyertown opened district play with a 7-1 victory over [#12] Pennsbury.
Pennridge Head Coach Tom Nuneviller says: “Last week we spent over nine hours on a school bus, but winning three games made it all worth it. Now we are back on the bus again to play a Boyertown team that has a great tradition. We were able to put some runs on the board in our last game (11-9 win over Marple Newtown), but we know that we are going to face a good pitcher in the next game. Our (SOL Continental Conference) all-league team came out and Aaron Gulibon (Souderton), Dan Klepchick (CB South) and Jared Gorman (North Penn) all made first team as pitchers. And we faced all three of them twice, so we know what good pitching looks like. I guess us knowing that we are in the state playoff takes some of the pressure off, but we play the games to win. Don’t tell Danny Long we’re not there to win. I think Danny and the entire team is still hungry for a district championship.”
Winner Gets/Loser Gets: The winner of this game will play the winner of the [# 6] Council Rock North vs. [#2] Downingtown West game in district finals on June 2, 2016. The loser of this game will play the loser of the CRN-DW game to decide the third seed in the state tournament.
PIAA Quad- A District One ‘Playback’ Game
Tuesday – May 31, 2016
[#3] Upper Dublin Cardinals (13-3) vs. [#10] Spring-Ford Rams (16-5)
@ Upper Dublin High School – 4 pm
Season Resume:
Upper Dublin finished the regular season as the champions of the Suburban One League American Conference.
Spring-Ford finished the regular season as the third place finisher in the Pioneer Athletic Conference.
Playoff Resume:
Upper Dublin lost in the third round of the district playoffs with a 10-0 loss to [#6] Council Rock North. The Cardinals opened the district playoffs with a 4-3 victory over [#19] Harriton.
Spring-Ford lost in the third round of the district playoffs with a 10-1 loss to [#2] Downingtown West. The Rams won a second round game as S-F defeated [#7] Central Bucks South 10-2. Spring-Ford opened the district playoffs with a 7-6 victory over [#23] Haverford.
Upper Dublin Head Coach Ed Wall says: “In our postgame meeting right after the Council Rock North game (a 10-0 loss), the coaching staff reminded the players that we were still in the district playoffs and that we control our own destiny in getting to states. We have to get our bats back on track, and playing a team like Spring-Ford is going to be quite a challenge. But this team is ready to meet that challenge. Cole Swiger will get the ball on Tuesday, and it is great to know that we will be able to throw our best pitcher in the most important game of the year. It is also nice to know that we will be playing at home – on Cardinal Field – in front of fans that have supported us all year.”
Winner Gets/Loser Gets: The winner of this game will play the winner of the game between [#4] Perkiomen Valley vs. [#9] Marple Newtown to determine the fifth and final seed in the state tournament. The loser of this game will have its season come to an end.
PIAA Class AAA District One Championship
Wednesday – June 1, 2016
[# 2] Upper Moreland Golden Bears (12-4) vs. [# 5] Radnor Raiders (6-8)
@ Glen Mills High School – 4 pm
Season Resume:
Upper Moreland finished the regular season as the second place finisher in the Suburban One League American Conference.
Radnor finished the regular season as the ninth place finisher in the Central League.
Playoff Resume:
Upper Moreland advanced to the title game with a 2-0 victory over [#3] Bishop Shanahan. Brandon Kohn authored the shutout for the Bears. The only runs UM scored came on a fielder’s choice groundout and a bases loaded walk. Upper Moreland opened the districts with a 1-0 victory over [#7] Phoenixville that saw Joe Bates toss the shutout.
Radnor advanced to the championship game with a stunning 11-9 victory over top-seeded [#1] Holy Ghost Prep. Andrew Austen threw 6.2 innings in the win, while Pat Scheri fueled the offense with two RBI.
Upper Moreland Head Coach Ken Irwin says: “Radnor might be a five seed, but they are hitting the ball hard and beating good teams. We will be getting their # 1 pitcher, and everybody seems to have a good # 1. Joey Bates will pitch for us and is really excited about the chance of pitching in a championship game. Nobody expects this to be easy – winning a championship is never easy. This is a team that has thrived on competition – both in the game and on the practice field. We won the first two games in the playoffs by scores of 1-0 and 2-0 – and we scored those runs late in games. It sure would be nice to be able to get an early lead in this one.”
Winner Gets/Loser Gets: The winner of this game will win the PIAA Class AAA championship and will be the lone team to move on to the Class AAA state tournament. The loser will go home.
Suburban One Sports.com
Top Ten
1. Council Rock North Indians
2. Pennridge Rams
3. Upper Dublin Cardinals
4. Central Bucks South Titans
5. Pennsbury Falcons
6. Wissahickon Trojans
7. Neshaminy Redskins
8. North Penn Knights
9. Upper Moreland Golden Bears
10. Souderton Indians
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