To view action photos of the Upper Merion/Palmyra game, visit the photo gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
Upper Merion kept its magical post-season run alive with a heartstopping 3-2 win in nine innings over Palmyra in an opening round game of the PIAA Class AAA Tournament on Monday.
Palmyra, the third-seeded team from District Three, opened up an early 3-0 lead. Vikings’ coach Jason Darnell, who has watched his team rally for one come-from-behind win after another, liked his team’s chances.
“When we got down 3-0, there was little doubt in my mind that we were going to win,” he said. “That’s sort of become our refrain over the past few games – not by design because my design does not include a late-inning deficit.
“To Palmyra’s credit, they didn’t seem comfortable with a 3-0 lead. Not to dog Kennett, but I thought that’s what opened the door for us. We capitalized on what I thought was a little bit of complacency.
“Palmyra is a good baseball team. They put the ball in play. They hit it hard, but we did what we do, and that’s get guys on base, bunt them over and get some singles to knock them in.”
Greg McCuch worked the first seven innings on the mound for the Vikings, and although he didn’t get the win, he did set the tone.
“He walked nobody,” Darnell said. “A couple of weeks ago, he walked seven guys, and in our last conference game, which we won 14-3, he walked eight guys.
“We knew if Greg could get control today we would be successful, and we were.”
Just one of Palmyra’s three runs off McCuch was earned.
“We made some early-inning mistakes in the field but recovered and started to chip away,” Darnell said.
The Vikings got on the scoreboard in the fourth when Chris Baker, who was once again hit by a pitch, scored on an RBI groundout by Pat McCaughey.
In the fifth, Matt Shannon led off the inning by drawing a walk and stealing second. James O’Toole followed with an RBI single. After a sacrifice bunt by Joel Paradis, Baker delivered an RBI single to knot the score.
In the bottom of the ninth, McCuch was hit by a pitch, and McCaughey’s sacrifice bunt sent the potential game-winning run to second base. He scored on Kevin Neufer’s single over third.
“It was an ugly one,” Darnell said of Neufer’s big hit. “If it was a wooden bat, it would have broken in half – kind of a jam job that he just willed over the third baseman’s head.
“Greg was off and running. There was no shot of getting him. He went on contact, and it was perfect – he went seven innings on the mound. He did not end up getting the win as a pitcher, but he ended up scoring the game-winning run.
“Of all the playoff games we have had, this was the grittiest, most hard fought in terms of recovering from errors, playing good defense and getting good pitching.”
Ben Dworecki earned the win on the mound, working two scoreless innings in relief.
“What an awesome run,” Darnell said. “It’s really like a community effort. There’s something to be said for energy, and it’s there.
“As long as we keep winning games, it’s magical. We don’t want it to end. It’s been a good time, the best time I’ve ever had.”
Upper Merion will take on Abington Heights in a quarterfinal contest on Thursday.
“I’m hoping that we’re going to play at that stadium in Quakertown – that’s about a halfway point,” Darnell said. “Abington Heights is a legit ball club, and I hope people are saying the same about us.”
North Penn advanced to the PIAA Quad-A quarterfinals against Council Rock North with a 6-0 victory over Chambersburg in its first round game.
The Knights were the # 5 seed from District One, while Chambersburg was the District Three champion.
Rock North defeated Central of the Philadelphia Public League, 6-2. The quarterfinal game will be played on Thursday at a site to be determined.
“Eric Ruth pretty much dominated the game,” said North Penn coach Bob McCreary. “Eric had a good fast ball, as usual, and he was hitting his spots.”
Ruth was spectacular as he recorded 16 strikeouts and issued just a single base on balls.
“And we were able to bunch some hits together in the fifth inning to break open a scoreless tie,” said McCreary. “It was good to get some support for Eric.”
The big blows for the Knights in the four run fifth inning were a two-run homerun by Robbie Zinsmeister and RBI doubles by both Matt Albaugh and Christian Radick.
Pennridge was one out away from winning its game with Parkland, but the Rams suffered a tough 3-2 loss in eight innings.
“It was an amazing baseball game,” said Pennridge coach Tom Nuneviller. “Both teams deserved to win that game. The pitching was great, both defenses played well, and there were some timely hits.”
Pennridge – the # 3 seed from District One – was down to its final strike and trailed Parkland – the District 11 champion -1-0 going into the final inning.
However, Pete Leatherman came up with a huge RBI single to score Ray Puskar with the tying run in the seventh inning.
“Kyle Myers threw the first five innings and pitched great,” said Nuneviller. “And we were able to turn three double plays behind him.”
Pennridge actually took a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning when Puskar doubled home Brad Herrmann. But Parkland scored pair of runs with two outs in the bottom of the inning to seal the win for the Trojans and end the season for the Rams.
“It was a great group of kids to work with,” said Nuneviller. “It was sad to see the season come to an end.”
- Log in to post comments
0
