Neshaminy defeated Boyertown 6-1 to capture the District One 6A title on Thursday. Neshaminy/Boyertown photos provided courtesy of Jesse Garber (Team photo on slide provided courtesy of Neshaminy baseball)
District One 6A Final
#11 NESHAMINY 6, #5 BOYERTOWN 1
Zack Bowman might have had an idea it was going to be a good day when – with two outs in the top of the first inning – Neshaminy’s senior captain lined a two-out single to center that plated a run and gave the Redskins a 1-0 lead before fans had settled in their seats..jpg)
“I feel like after that hit everyone took a deep breath and we were like, ‘This is our game. Why not us?’” Bowman said.
Brendan Raven followed with a double to center that scored Bowman, and Neshaminy led 2-0 before the Bears even came to bat. With Liam DelGuerico on the mound, that’s all the Redskins needed. The Redskin junior – who struck out 12 and walked two – was once again brilliant, allowing just four hits and one run in 6 2/3 innings when he reached his pitch limit.
“We always know that we’re the best team and we’re able to compete with any team out there,” DelGuerico said.
With runners on the corners and two outs, Matt Mays coaxed a ground ball out of the first batter he faced to preserve the win.
“We came out and got some runs in the first inning, which is always a relief,” Neshaminy coach Dan Toner said. “And any time we have Liam or Justus (Agosto) on the mound, we know just getting one run is going to keep us in the game, and any bonus we can get on there is a huge benefit.
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“It’s crazy because Liam had 12 strikeouts and another four-hit game and only gave up one run. It’s to the point now where these guys step on the mound, and it’s almost expected. He does it, and again, they do that all the time with their nine-plus, 10-plus strikeouts where they’re always keeping us in games whether we’re hitting or not.”
The pivotal first began with Gaige Ryan singling to center to lead off the game. Two outs later, Bowman and Raven delivered the big two-out hits that set the tone.
“It’s just a good feeling knowing that if the offense doesn’t get the job done every single inning – you have two or three great guys that will have your back day in and day out,” Bowman said of the Redskins’ standout pitching staff.
In the top of the third, Jake Kozlowski, who singled, scored on a passed ball to give the Redskins a 3-0 lead. Neshaminy added a pair in the fourth. Michael Donato collected a one-out single, and Chris James followed and was safe on an error. Both scored when Josh Martoccio grounded a single to left field to give the Redskins a 5-0 advantage.
“We had even more opportunities with guys in scoring position,” Toner said. “There were other times where we were waiting for that big hit. Six (runs) is perfect for us, but we had opportunities to break it open even more, but our guys did a great job today.”
Cole Hertzler’s solo home run in the fourth was the beginning and end of the scoring for the Bears, and the Redskins got that run back when Ryan delivered an RBI single in the top of the sixth for the 6-1 final.
When Mays recorded the game’s final out, Neshaminy could at long last celebrate defending a district crown they owned.
“Last year we thought we had a team that could definitely make a deep run with both of our pitchers back, and adding Liam and Justus into the rotation we had in 2019 – we would have had all four of those guys going with some of our big hitters like Dalton Turner and all those other guys,” Toner said of the 2020 season that was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Last year we were hoping we could compete the same way we did this year. We knew that with these guys stepping in, once they started gelling and getting a feel for it, they were going to be hard to beat as well.”
Ryan (2-for-4, RBI) and Bowman (2-for-3, RBI, R) led the Redskins’ eight-hit attack in the win that ensured their squad a spot in program history.
“It’s just special because this is a family at this point, and what everyone has gone through for the past year-and-a-half, everybody really needed this,” Bowman said. “Baseball was our escape from that quarantine.
“It just felt good after the gritty hours of all that work, all the little things we practice. We didn’t do a single thing wrong, and it felt like a deserved win. That was our best performance, and on the bus ride home we were saying – no one can beat us if we play like that every single day. Today was a true demonstration of what we can do.”
The Redskins – who had some bumpy patches during the regular season – were 1-2 in their last three regular season games, and since then, they have rolled to four straight wins, allowing just two runs in each of the first two games and only one in their two most recent wins.
“I feel like over the playoffs our players just leveled up mentally, physically, and their fundamentals picked up,” Toner said. “Their entire game just picked up. They know what they have to do to win, and they’ve just been applying themselves and doing that.”
“I feel like this is just something to play for – it’s a do or die situation,” Bowman said. “Everybody was like, ‘Oh, we have a speed bump here or there’ – that’s what we called them – speed bumps – because they didn’t end our season.
“But now it’s – go big or go home, and everybody just puts their all into it and puts their heart out there.”
Interestingly, Bowman didn’t have the best memories of Boyertown’s Bears Stadium. Two years again, the Redskins – winners of the district crown – saw their season come to an end at the legendary stadium when they fell to Souderton 3-0 in a PIAA 6A state semifinal.
“It’s a little overwhelming when you first arrive – half the town comes to the games,” Bowman said. “It’s super cool to be on the winning side in an atmosphere like that. Now we’re 1-1 on that field.”
Neshaminy (16-6, 10-6 SOL) will face District 11 runner-up Parkland in Monday’s opening round of the PIAA 6A Tournament. Parkland fell to top-seeded Emmaus 7-6 in the district title game.
Neshaminy 201 201 0 6-8-0
Boyertown 000 100 0 1-4-2
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District One 6A Playback (Third place)
#9 NORTH PENN 8, #7 HATBORO-HORSHAM 1
RJ Agriss and Evin Sullivan combined to drive in seven runs – Agriss with a grand slam and Sullivan with a three-run home run – to lead the Knights to the bounce back win in Thursday’s third place game for state seeding.
“It was a good confidence win coming back from a tough loss,” said NP coach Kevin Manero, whose team was coming off a 2-1 loss to Boyertown in the district semifinals. “Obviously it’s a better feeling going into states off a win.”
Dylan Brown turned in a superb performance on the mound in the compete game win, allowing six hits and one run while striking out seven and walking none.
Dylan Brown was excellent today and his shut down innings really kept the game in our hands,” Manero said.
The Hatters got on the board with a run in the third when Cole Fisher collected his team’s third single of the inning – an RBI single to left. That 1-0 lead was erased in the fifth when Sullivan ripped a three-run home run to left field.
One inning later, the Knights went on top 4-1 when Colby Seelig – who doubled to right with one out – scored on Sam Cohen’s single to left, and they were just getting started. A pair of walks loaded the bases for Agriss, who emptied them with one swing of the bat and hit a grand slam to center field.
Agriss was 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBIs and a run scored out of the leadoff spot. Jeffrey Sabater was 2-for-3 with a run scored, and Seelig was 2-for-2 with a double and run scored.
“We had a couple guys like Sullivan, Seelig and Agriss come up with some big hits,” Manero said. “It’s always good to see our seniors come up big this time of year.”
For the Hatters, Jack Elwell was 2-for-3 with a double. Logan Fischer also had a double.
“Pete Moore runs a great program and it was good to be on the field with such a respectable bunch of guys,” Manero said of the Hatters’ coach. “It would be great if both of us can make good, long runs starting Monday.”
North Penn (18-6, 11-5 SOL) will face District 2 champion Hazleton in Monday’s opening round of the PIAA 6A Tournament at a site and time to be determined. Hatboro-Horsham (14-10, 11-5) will face District 12 champion La Salle in Monday’s opening round.
North Penn 000 035 0 8-8-1
Hatboro-Horsham 001 000 0 1-6-1
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