Three SOL baseball teams – North Penn, Pennridge and Upper Moreland - will be in action in Thursday’s state quarterfinal round.
By Scott Huff
The Suburban One League has a pair of SOL Continental Conference teams in the PIAA Quad-A State Playoff Elite Eight as the 2013 baseball season decides who will replace La Salle as Quad-A champion. Both Pennridge and North Penn are proof that a hot team and/or the lucky team can realize the dream of a state title.
Pennridge needed to beat North Penn late in the conference season in order to gain its berth in the district playoffs. The Rams were seeded 10th in the District One field from the North, while the Knights were seeded 12th in District One from the North. The two low district seeds did not deter either Pennridge or North Penn from not only making a run deep into the district playoffs but a deep run into the state playoffs as well. The Rams finished as the #2 seed from District One in the state playoffs, while the Knights earned the #4 seed from District One.
“Central Bucks South was a #12 seed in districts last year, and they went a long way in the playoffs,” said North Penn head coach Kevin Manero. “It just shows you that every team in the playoffs – district or states – is an excellent baseball team.”
“Good teams play in the playoffs – simple,” said Pennridge head coach Tom Nuneviller. “Baseball isn’t like basketball or football – you don’t always put the your best team on the field. It takes a little talent and a little luck to win in the playoffs.”
Upper Moreland is the lone Suburban One League team left in the PIAA Class AAA State Playoff Elite Eight as the Suburban One League American Conference champion makes its journey through the treacherous playoff field.
“This has been a great time of year for our team, we are really enjoying ourselves,” said Upper Moreland head coach Ernie Rehr. “Hopefully, the players on the field are going to decide who wins and who loses. And that is how it should be.”
PIAA Quad-A State Quarterfinal Playoffs
Thursday – June 6, 2013
North Penn Knights vs. Coatesville Red Raiders
@ Spring-Ford High School – Royersford Pennsylvania – noon
Winner Gets – The winner of this game will play the winner of the (1-2) Pennridge – (2-1) Wyoming Valley West game on Monday (6/10/13) at a site to be determined.- Season Resume – North Penn finished the regular season as the 3rd place finisher in the Suburban One League Continental Conference with a record of 9-5, while Coatesville finished the season as the regular season champion of the Ches-Mont League National Conference with a record of 14-5.
- Playoff Resume – North Penn opened District One play with a 9-3 win over Conestoga and followed with an 8-3 win over Perkiomen Valley. The Knights earned a berth in the state playoffs with a 5-0 win over Strath Haven. NP lost a pair of district games to both Pennridge (4-3) and Council Rock North (4-1) to earn the # 4 seed from District One. North Penn opened PIAA Quad-A play with a 1-0 victory over Parkland. Coatesville was crowned District One champions as the Red Raiders dominated the SOL with victories over Central Bucks South (10-0), Central Bucks East (5-0), Council Rock North (3-2) and Pennridge (5-4). Coatesville opened the PIAA Quad-A state playoffs with a 5-0 victory over District 12 runner-up Frankford.
- Fab Four – North Penn features the pitching of Brian Maher and Dylan Borawski and the hitting of Brady West and Eddie Posavec. Coatesville showcases the talents of pitchers Brian Brown and CJ Martinez and the bats of Emmett Hunt and Aaron Cummings.
- Knight head coach Kevin Manero says – “I feel like we can beat their number two pitcher, but we are going to have to hit. We are going to have to put up some runs – which we didn’t do against Parkland. Dylan Borawski has been our ‘go-to’ guy out of the bullpen, but we are going to start him against Coatesville. He has good stuff, a good arm, but we are still going to have to score some runs. If we can win, we could be on a collision course with Pennridge in the next round.”
Pennridge Rams vs. Wyoming Valley West Spartans
@ Parkland High School – Allentown Pennsylvania – 4pm
Winner Gets – The winner of this game will play the winner of the (1-4) North Penn – (1-1) Coatesville game on Monday (6/10/13) @ a site to be determined.- Season Resume – Pennridge finished the regular season as the 3rd place finisher in the Suburban One League Continental Conference with a conference record of 9-5, while Wyoming Valley West finished the regular season as the 3rd place finisher in the Wyoming Valley League with a league mark of 10-5.
- Playoff Resume – Pennridge opened District One play with a 7-3 victory over Great Valley and followed with a 7-1 win over Neshaminy. The Rams continued their playoff run with a 4-1 win over Boyertown and lost to Coatesville in the district final 5-4. Pennridge opened PIAA Quad-A state playoff play with an 11-4 victory over defending Quad-A champion La Salle. Wyoming Valley West opened the District 2 playoffs with a 15-4 win over Wallenpaupak and followed with a 2-1 victory in the district final over Scranton. The Spartans opened PIAA Quad-A state playoff action with a 2-0 victory over Exeter.
- Fab Four – Pennridge features the pitching of Evan Myers and Trevor Dalton and the hitting of David Totoian and Mike Kacergis. Wyoming Valley West showcases the talents of pitchers Chris Nixon and Dan Flaherty and the bats of Ryan Hogan and Matt Labashosky.
- Ram head coach Tom Nuneviller says - “This has been a great run for us, and we are playing right now with a lot of confidence. To be able to beat the defending state champion (La Salle) and have 19 hits in the game gives you confidence. We were able to throw Evan (Myers) and Eric (Wesolowski) for the entire seven innings against La Salle, and that was huge. We will have both Trevor Dalton and David Tatioan available on complete rest for the game against Wyoming Valley West, and that sets up great for us. Of course, Wyoming Valley West is a good baseball team. You don’t reach this part of the tournament without being a good baseball team.”
PIAA Class AAA State Quarterfinal Playoffs
Thursday – June 6, 2013
Upper Moreland Golden Bears vs. Punxsutawney Chucks
@ Green Township Park – Scotland Pennsylvania – 3 pm
Winner Gets – The winner of this game will play the winner of the (7-1) South Park – (7-3) Keystone Oaks game on Monday (6/10/13) @ a site to be determined.- Season Resume – Upper Moreland finished the season as the champion of the Suburban One League American Conference with a conference mark of 13-1, while Punxsutawney finished as the fourth place team in the Central Penn League with a 9-4 record.
- Playoff Resume – Upper Moreland was the # 3 seed in the District One playoffs and registered wins over both Marple-Newtown (12-0) and Pottstown (8-1). The Golden Bears lost in the district final to Holy Ghost Prep (6-0). Upper Moreland opened the state playoffs with a come from behind 4-3 victory over Greencastle-Antrim. Punxsutawney ran through District 9 and captured the District 9 championship with a 10-0 win over Brookville. The Chucks also registered a come from behind victory in its state playoff opener with a 5-4 victory over Hopewell. Punxsutawney scored three runs in the sixth inning to capture the win.
- Fab Four – Upper Moreland features the pitching of both Charlie Hooker and Eddie Decker along with the offense of Robert Knox and Matt Kohn. Punxatawney showcases the talents of Ty Zimmerman (Slippery Rock University recruit). Tommy Bush, John Matthews, and Taylor Phillips.
- Golden Bear head coach Ernie Rehr says - “Like I told the players, Punxsutawney is the nine-time repeating District 9 Class AAA champions. We had a great win in our first state playoff game, but that is behind us and we have to get down to business and win this one. It is about a 2 hour 45 minute ride for us – but it is the same distance for them. Charlie Hooker is ready to throw for us, and he and Eddie Decker have really been #1 and #1A all year for us. At this point of the year, there are eight teams left playing – eight good teams. At this point, we both expect to win.”
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