Council Rock North was the only SOL baseball team still standing after Monday’s PIAA Class AAAA opening round. Pennridge fell to Cumberland Valley in eight innings.
By Jarrad Saffren
Council Rock North won. Pennridge lost. North is the last Suburban One League baseball team standing in 2016.
The Indians are three wins away from a PIAA Class AAAA Championship. The Rams should literally and figuratively hold their heads high.
It was a little more complicated than that. Monday’s results and recaps are below.
PIAA Class AAAA Playoffs
#1-2 Council Rock North 2, #12-2 Father Judge 1
The Pennsylvania pitching matchup of the year lived up to its billing.
Father Judge ace and Major League Baseball prospect Dan Hammer did not allow an earned run. Council Rock North ace and local media obsession Matt Hand gave up one in seven innings.
But Hand earned the win, improving to 10-0.
“I definitely did not think that record was possible at the beginning of the season,” Hand said. “We played solid defense today, throughout the game. That was the difference.”
North did not make an error for the second time in three games, both wins. Father Judge made three. Two led to runs.
In the fourth, Jackson Parker hit the ball to first. Judge’s first baseman bobbled the ball as Parker ran through the bag. Then Parker stole second. But the next two Indians made outs.
Seth Leuz chopped the ball up the middle. The shortstop dove as the ball rolled under his glove into center. Parker scored standing up, hollered, and pumped his fist. The clutch, two-out hit tied the score at one.
In the bottom of the sixth, Cole Olshavsky took a lead off second with Leuz at the plate. Leuz tomahawked the ball to short. The play looked routine. The shortstop fielded the ball cleanly but fired low. The ball skipped under the first baseman’s glove. Olshavsky galloped home with the go-ahead run.
The run was Olshavsky’s 13th of the season. The pinch running specialist has one hit in 2016.
“It made me so happy that I could score and win the game for our team,” Olshavsky said. “I wasn’t hitting so well in the beginning of the season. But since I have wheels, Coach (Matt) Schram has me run a lot.”
“He’s freaking fast,” Leuz said.
Best quote of the season.
Olshavsky does not run track.
“I just play baseball,” he said.
Hand gave up two singles in the top of the seventh. With men on first and second and two outs, Schram visited the mound. Every fan/reporter/human in the stadium at Neumann University expected Schram to bring in closer CJ Kilgarriff.
But Hand’s pitch count was only 71 going into the inning. And it was still well below 100. “I’ve known Matt for so many years that I know when he can tick and when he can’t,” Schram said. “But he had a quick fifth and sixth. The fifth and sixth innings dictate whether we bring in CJ or don’t bring in CJ.”
Hand threw 16 pitches in the fifth and sixth combined. He retired three of six batters on one pitch.
“Only purpose of me going out there was to slow their momentum down,” Schram said. “Plus it gave Matt a little break as well.”
Hand got the next batter to chase an outside fastball and fly out to right. He struck out six in his best playoff start. The senior did not pitch more than five innings in his last three starts.
“I was able to get ahead of hitters a lot more,” Hand said. “We took a different approach today. We started backwards, not with the fastball as much.”
Hand and assistant coach Jon Haldis, who calls pitches, noticed that Father Judge’s best hitters liked to swing at first-pitch fastballs. So, in the early innings, Hand started them with curveball strikes.
The plan worked. Hand retired nine straight batters before allowing a run in the fourth.
CR North (21-4) plays Marple Newtown in the quarterfinals Thursday at Immaculata University. The Indians are the second-place team from District One. The Tigers are the fifth-place team from District One.
Council Rock North 0-0-0-1-0-1-X 2
Father Judge 0-0-0-1-0-0-0 1
#3-3 Cumberland Valley 2, #1-1 Pennridge 0
Pennridge won District One and made states by winning close, low-scoring games. The Rams won four of five district playoff games by three runs or less. Opponents scored two runs or less in all four games.
But what went around, came around Monday, as the saying goes.
“The last few weeks we’ve been making pitches and getting big hits,” Pennridge coach Tom Nuneviller said. “Today it was them. That’s baseball.”
Pennridge and Cumberland Valley did not score for seven innings. But in the top of the eighth, with two outs, Mitch Hoon barreled a breaking ball down the right field line. Two runs scored as Hoon reached third.
“You have to give the kid credit. He was facing Danny Long. It was his first at-bat. He didn’t start,” Nuneviller said. “It was a good swing and big hit.”
Hindsight was 20/20 (Is that enough cliches for one article? I think it’s enough cliches for one article. I am spending too much time around coaches.)
“We maybe should have thrown a fastball up,” Nuneviller said. “But we had the pitcher out there who we wanted. Who we’ve trusted for a couple years now.”
Pennridge starter Ian Kacergis did not allow a run in 6.2 innings. But the Rams couldn’t score either.
“It was a tough day,” Nuneviller said. “We had a couple opportunities.”
The Rams stranded a runner at second in the fifth and seventh. They had men on first and third with one out in the first. The next batter grounded into a double play.
The Rams sat in the dugout after the game. No one walked toward the bus.
“They took it pretty hard. The final game is always tough to handle,” Nuneviller said. “This was such a great group of kids and competitors. It was tough leaving dugout and knowing it’ll be last time with these guys in competition. So they soaked it in.”
The loss hurts now. But perspective will be kind to these Rams.
“It stinks in the moment. But once we get through this, we can look back and say we had a pretty good run with a great group of young men,” Nuneviller said. “Winning the district championship, we’ll be happy with that accomplishment in a few weeks.”
Nuneviller has been coaching the Rams for 14 seasons. He said this team ranks up there with his best.
“They are probably the most unselfish team I’ve coached. It was nice to top it off with a district championship,” Nuneviller said. “We had 21 varsity guys. A handful didn’t even get the chance to play. But they came to practice every day, worked hard, and did what we told them, even though they didn’t get the reward.”
Pennridge graduates 11 seniors, including Long.
“That’ll be a huge void to fill,” Nuneviller said. “He was the consummate shortstop and leader. Plus we’ll miss his competitiveness and all the other things he brings.”
Pennridge also loses left fielder Riley Hager, centerfielder Mitch McLeod, first baseman Andrew Horne, designated hitter Jason Souder, and starting pitcher Nate Coyle.
“Riley had a real nice year in left. Jason Souder swung the bat well. And we wouldn’t be in this position without Nate. He made big starts when Andrew Mayhew was down,” Nuneviller said. “And Mitch had a nice year in centerfield.”
The rest of Pennridge’s starters—second baseman Andrew Fantaskey, catcher Joe Robinson, third baseman Kyle Yoder, and right fielder Luke Nuneviller—will return.
The Rams’ strength will be pitching. Mayhew and Kacergis—the two starters who led this pitching-dominated run—are juniors.
“They had a great playoff run. It’ll be nice to have them back,” Nuneviller said. “If we keep them healthy, with another year under their belt, another year stronger, we’ll compete again next year.”
“But it’s hard to look ahead right now. We are licking our wounds,” Nuneviller said. “But that will be a nice start to our team.”
Nuneviller will be back as well.
“God willing,” he said. “I’m planning on it.”
Pennridge ends the season 18-8.
Cumberland Valley 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-2 2
Pennridge 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0
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