Behind the three-hit shutout of Jordan Morales, Souderton defeated Neshaminy 3-0 to earn a spot in Friday’s PIAA 6A title game. Photos provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. CLICK HERE for a gallery of photos.
#1-5 SOUDERTON 3, #1-1 NESHAMINY 0
Jordan Morales wanted this one.
Souderton’s southpaw had just one loss this season, and it came in a 4-2 setback to Neshaminy. So when Morales was handed the ball for Tuesday’s high stakes PIAA 6A semifinal game against the Redskins, he was ready. Boy, was he ready.
“I kind of took it as a chip on my shoulder,” Morales said. “I wanted to get back at them because I knew they got me early in the season, and I was able to do that.
“At the end of the day, it was a team goal to beat them. They’re a tough team. We were able to get them when it really mattered, and it got us a ticket to the championship game.”
Morales tossed a three-hit complete game masterpiece, striking out seven and walking none.
“That’s the best pitcher in the area, there’s no doubt about that,” Neshaminy coach Dan Toner said. “We’re telling our guys – you’ve got to figure out something. It’s really hard to do when a pitcher is lights out and he’s on.
“We knew he was one of the best pitchers, if not the best pitcher around. We knew it was going to be a close game. It wasn’t a game where we knew we were going to come out and hit the ball all over the place. He was absolutely lights out. I like him too. He works hard, he’s a bulldog out there. He was good. That’s all there was to it.”
And when a reporter tried to steer the postgame interview in another direction, Toner wasn’t having it.
“The only conversation we can really have is – he was incredible, we didn’t get ahold of him,” the Redskins’ coach said.
With the win, the Indians return to the state championship game for the first time since 2007 when they lost to Seneca Valley (9-1) at Blair County Park in Altoona. Twelve years later, the Indians return to the state title game, this time at Penn State University on Friday (10:30 a.m.) against a familiar opponent – SOL Continental Conference rival Central Bucks South.
“As soon as we picked teams back in March – that Friday we sat down and set our goals, and they’ve reached every goal, even making the state championship, and we have one goal left – to win the state championship,” Souderton coach Mike Childs said. “They’ve reached every goal they’ve set for themselves, even the mini goals I’ve set for them throughout the season – for example, to be in the top four and keep the home field advantage. They reached that. To win the league and to win it undefeated – they went out and did it. It’s pretty awesome what they did.
“We added three jayvee kids to give them experience, and all 24 kids, they want it, they’re pulling for each other, and we have one more game left.”
Tuesday’s game at Boyertown Bear Stadium was the third meeting between the two teams. The Redskins won both regular season meetings (4-2, 4-3).
“We were just determined to beat them,” junior Conlan Wall said. “We’re pretty big rivals, so this was a huge game for us. We came out firing on all cylinders.
“We have confidence that we can win any game Jordan pitches and our other pitchers too – it’s the same way. It’s amazing. From the beginning of the season, we knew this team was something special. Obviously, we’ve proven it.”
The Indians scored all the runs Morales needed in the top of the second when sophomore Jake Horton smashed a one-strike pitch over the left field fence to give Souderton a 1-0 lead.
“I knew it was going to be a curveball, so I just waited on it,” Horton said. “At first, I thought it was gone, but I saw the left fielder run to the fence, and I felt the wind and started to run to second base faster, but then I saw it go out.
“When I hit it, it felt like a normal home run. Once I got to the bench, it started to sink in that it was a state semifinal so it was real exciting.”
In the fourth inning, Moses Clemens collected a two-out single to left and moved up to second on a miscue. That error proved costly as Dylan Kummery followed with a single to left, and Clemens scored from second, eluding the tag at the plate with a headfirst slide and putting the Indians on top 2-0.
“We were trying to play loose, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous,” Kummery said. “Once we settled in, I felt a lot better.”
The Indians tacked on an insurance run in the fifth. With one out, Conlan doubled to right. He moved up to third on a wild pitch and scored on a two-out wild pitch.
That was more than enough for Morales, who retired nine of the last 10 batters he faced. After throwing 91 pitches in just five innings in his early season game against the Redskins – a contest that saw him allow three runs but only one earned, Morales needed just 81 pitches in Tuesday’s win – 60 of those were strikes.
“(The Neshaminy players) were talking, and Jordan uses them talking to him as motivation,” said senior Billy Norbeck, Morales’ batterymate behind the plate. “He just fed on that motivation. Today was the hardest I’ve seen the kid throw the ball this year.
“He just hit his spots, and every single pitch was working. They just rolled the ball over to easy outs.”
“Big players step up in big moments,” Childs said of Morales. “In the sixth inning, he came off the field – he had 72 pitches, and I said, ‘Do you want to finish this out and let Luke (Taylor) have it on Friday or do you want me to pull you?’
“He said, ‘Coach, I want this.’ I let him have it, and he did it with authority. It was awesome. He shut the door and our defense played well behind him. That’s what it takes.”
For Morales, it was an easy decision.
“We have a good pitcher that’s going to get the ball on Friday,” Morales said of Luke Taylor. “We believe in him and I believe in him, so we’re going to give him the ball and give him the opportunity.
“I just didn’t want to come out of this game because it was important to us. I wanted to win this game. This team never gives up – they always fight. We bond together every single day. It’s something special. I’m glad for my senior year I get to enjoy this with them.”
Childs has seen a lot of baseball teams come and go during his coaching career and acknowledged that this year’s squad is unique.
“I’ve been coaching for 30 years, and don’t get me wrong – every team is special, but this team is absolutely super special,” Childs said. “They all have their own identity. I think key to any team is they like each other.
“We’ve had teams in the past that have been special that didn’t like each other. This team likes each other, they hang out with each other, they do everything together after practices. The same thing happened back in 2007. That team liked each other, they hung out together. Today they were already planning in the (postgame huddle) what they were doing tonight as a group.”
Tuesday’s win came less than 24 hours after Souderton’s 14 seniors graduated.
“It’s been a good week so far,” Kummery said. “You see all the hard work you put in, and doing this now, it’s just been a lot of fun.”
“We’ve been looking forward to this all season,” Norbeck said. “Especially to beat a team like Neshaminy that beat us twice already – it was just great to win.”
Toner, meanwhile, bids farewell to a special senior class that led the program to a District 1 6A title and a historic playoff run.
“The first couple of years at Neshaminy I had a five-year plan of what I wanted my team to be like, and my captains and my seniors got me there in three years already,” the Redskins’ coach said of his 10 seniors. “They established what I want out of this program.
“I’ve got a lot of young guys on the team, I’ve got a young pitching staff. Now these guys got a taste of some championships, they got a taste of going deep into the playoffs, they know what it’s like, they know how to get here, and I can’t thank my seniors and the guys who were out here enough for establishing what I want at Neshaminy. I’m very proud of them.”
Neshaminy closed out its season with an 18-7 record.
Souderton 010 110 0 3-8-2
Neshaminy 000 000 0 0-3-1
Souderton (3) – Conlan Wall ss 3-1-1-0; Luke Taylor 3b 4-0-0-0; Frank Pollock 1b 3-0-1-0; Evan Bromley pr 0-0-0-0; Jake Horton dh 3-1-2-1; Moses Clemens lf 3-1-1-0; Dylan Kummery rf 3-0-2-1; Jordan Morales p 2-0-0-0; Bill Norbeck c 3-0-1-0; Hogan Despain 4 3-0-0-0; Evan Moyer cr 0-0-0-0; Joey Santone cr 0-0-0-0; Brian Reiner cf 0-0-0-0; TOTALS 27-3-8-2.
Neshaminy (0) – Matt Yauger 2b 3-0-0-0; Cory Joyce ss 3-0-0-0; Joe Kaleck c 3-0-0-0; Dalton Turner 1b 3-0-1-0; Tyler Jones 3b 3-0-1-0; Gus Natelli cf 3-0-0-0; Andrew Mays dh 2-0-1-0; Tommy Pease rf 1-0-0-0; Chris James lf 2-0-0-0Dan Errigo p 0-0-0-0; ; Jake Fehrle p 0-0-0-0; TOTALS 23-0-3-0.
E-Souderton 2, Neshaminy 1. LOB-Souderton 5, Neshaminy 3. 2B-Conlan Wall. HR-Jake Horton. SAC-Tommy Pease.
Souderton IP H R ER SO BB
Jordan Morales (W) 7 3 0 0 7 0
Neshaminy IP H R ER SO BB
Dan Errigo (L) 4.1 6 3 2 1 2
Jake Fehrle 2.2 2 0 0 2 0
WP-Jake Fehrle 2.
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