Central Bucks South defeated Council Rock South to capture the District One AAAA title. Check out all of the results for SOL teams in action Thursday. To view photos of the CB South/CR South game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Scott Huff
Immaculata University - Central Bucks South captured the PIAA Quad-A District One championship over Council Rock South as the [N-12] Titans collected the title with a 2-0 victory over the top seeded [N-1] Golden Hawks. Both CB South and CR South will advance to the state tournament as the top two seeds from a five team District One field.
Central Bucks South junior Bobby Witteman was masterful for the Titans firing a two-hit shutout gem. Witteman painted the corners with an artist’s touch with five strikeouts and only one walk.
“We wanted Bobby to work away from their hitters – they are the best team in the area,” said Central Bucks South head coach Mike Schaefer. “They have people that can hurt you from one to nine in their lineup. Bobby had a great change-up all day and was able to mix in some curves and fast balls.”
Witteman – who didn’t really find a place in the Titan rotation until midseason – has emerged as the ace of the staff during the district playoff run.
“I guess some people might call me the ace at this point,” said Witteman who allowed just a bloop double and a solid single by South’s # 9 hitter – Steve Wright. “At the beginning of the year I didn’t know how much I would get to pitch, but as the season went on Coach Schaefer showed confidence in me and started giving me the ball.”
“Bobby had great command of his pitches,” said Titan junior catcher Jon Mullin who drove home the only runs of the game in the second inning with a two-run double. “I know what he is capable of doing, and he did a great job of hitting spots on the outside edge of the plate.”
The only runs of the game came in what proved to be the decisive second inning. With one out, Kyle Lewis stroked a single for the Titans. With two outs, sophomore Matt Radwanski lofted a fly ball to shallow center field that was dropped for the only error of the game by either team – and the Titans had runners on second and third. Mullin drilled his two-run double – and the 2-0 lead would stand up as the final score.
“You can’t make mistakes in important games like these,” said Council Rock South head coach Greg Young. “You have to be able to take care of the little things, and they made us pay for that one mistake.”
Lost in the glare of the Central Bucks South district championship was a gutsy performance by Council Rock South senior pitcher Brian Donnelly. Donnelly gave up just the two unearned runs and limited the hot Titan bats to only five hits.
“This is a tough loss – any loss in a district final is a tough loss,” said Donnelly. “But we still have games to play – important games. Give that pitcher (Witteman) credit, he competed and kept us off-balance the entire game.”
The fact that CB South was able to win a district title was questionable throughout its championship run.
“I was the (SOL Continental) conference rep for the district seeding meeting, and when I went there I wasn’t too sure we would even be in the playoffs,” said Schaefer as CB South finished as the fourth place team in the conference with a meager 8-6 record. “There was a question of whether us or Neshaminy would get the final seed, and when they put our name on the board I was happy.
“We didn’t play the type of baseball we could play early in the season,” added Schaefer as the Titans stumbled early and lost five of their first eight conference games. “We came on at the end of the season, and we are playing our best baseball right now.”
The marvelous journey to the district title began with a win over the PIAA defending state champion Conestoga Pioneers and was followed with a victory over the defending District One champion Spring-Ford Rams. Next came a win over Marty Martens - who had no-hit the Titans earlier in the season - and the CB West Bucks. The semifinal win came against a Hatboro-Horsham team that had beaten CB South not once – but twice – during the SOL Continental Conference regular season.
And that miraculous championship run concluded with the win over the top seeded team in District One – Council Rock South.
“You can’t write a script any better than that,” said Schaefer. “There is a reason why things happen. I tell my players that sometimes it is just in the stars. Our 10 seniors have worked so hard in the off-season, and they deserve where we are today.”
And where they were on Thursday afternoon is where every team in District One wanted to be – holding the District One trophy.
Council Rock South Golden Hawks 000 000 0 -0 2 1
Central Bucks South Titans 020 000 x -2 5 0
Hatboro-Horsham Earns # 3 Seed
Hatboro-Horsham earned itself the # 3 seed from District One with its 10-5 win over Upper Dublin. H-H and UD were deadlocked 4-4 going into the last of the sixth inning when the Hatters scored six runs to collect the win. With the loss, the Flying Cardinals are now the # 4 seed from District One.
Zach Crim – who earned the win on the mound with two innings of one-run ball in relief – started the sixth inning rally when he was hit by a pitch. He advanced to second on a passed ball and scored on Ryan Kelly’s single. Kyle Scannell followed with a single, and Kelly scored on Tyler Zingle’s sacrifice fly. Conner Crookham’s RBI double made it a 7-4 game, and Casey Saverio’s RBI single gave the Hatters a four-run edge. A two-run homerun by Chris Hens capped the six-run outburst.
Crookham was 2-for-4 with a run scored and RBI. Saverio was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Hens was 1-for-4 with three RBIs, and Zach Prendergast was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Luke Felix tied the game 4-4 in the fifth inning with a three-run homerun.
Hatboro-Horsham will face the District 11 champion Nazareth in the first round of the state playoffs on Monday, while Upper Dublin will have a Monday date with the District 12 champion La Salle High School.
Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals 000 400 1 -5
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters 103 006 x -10
The Bucks Stop Here
Central Bucks West saw its season come to an end one game short of a state playoff berth as the [N-8] Bucks were defeated by [S-12] Coatesville – 9-5.
“This season has been a fun ride for both the players and the coaches,” said Central Bucks West head coach Jim Ertel. “Our goal was to get to states this year and we didn’t accomplish that, but when you look at the whole season we accomplished a lot.
“We started out good and got a 4-1 lead, but we just couldn’t hold them down,” added Ertel. “Our pitching depth isn’t our strong point, and it seemed like they scored a lot of runs with two strikes and two outs.”
TJ Mayo had a huge day for the Red Raiders with six RBIs, while Marty Martens (three hits) sparked the CB West offense.
“Marty Martens, along with (Hatboro-Horsham’s) Chris Hens have to be the two best players in our league,” said Ertel. “He had a tremendous year as both a pitcher and a hitter.”
Central Bucks West Bucks 220 000 1 -5 9 1
Coatesville Red Raiders 150 300 x -9 9 1
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