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PHILADELPHIA – No one really believed the SOL American-Continental could rally from a 13-run deficit in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s Carpenter Cup semifinal against Burlington County at Citizens Bank Park.
Until, that is, the SOL staged the most tenacious of all comebacks.
“It was a joke at the beginning – it was like, ‘Oh, we’re going to come back and get 13 runs,’” Methacton’s Todd Rubendall said of his team's 14-1 deficit heading into the ninth. “But it almost came true.”
The SOL was just one batter away from sending the tying run to the plate when Burlington reliever Michael Cooper recorded the game’s final out on a fly ball to right field, preserving the 14-9 win.
“We didn’t come all the way back, but it’s still a great experience these guys will remember,” said Hatboro-Horsham coach Pete Moore, the coach of the SOL. “They’ll remember we almost came back after we were down 14-1, and they’ll take away good memories of being here.
“It’s an awesome experience. For all the kids to put in their memory bank and tell their kids they played at Citizens Bank Park.”
Although the loss ended the SOL’s dream of a trip to Wednesday’s title game, nothing could detract from the thrill of playing on the field that is home to the world champion Phillies.
“To play with guys like this – it’s a blast,” Pennridge sophomore Dylan Tice said. “This is where all the magic happened with the Phillies.”
And for a while, it looked as though the SOL was about to work some magic of its own in the ninth inning.
The improbable rally was started by an unlikely hero – Norristown’s Ian Hammer, an alternate on the roster who was given special permission to get an at-bat in the ninth inning. By the time the inning was over, Hammer had a pair of hits and had scored a pair of runs.
“Coach came up to me and said I was batting,” Hammer said. “It was a surprise because I wasn’t expecting to get playing time.
“It’s something I’ll remember forever. It’s a childhood dream. As a child growing up, you always want to play in a big league park. It was a blast.”
Hammer got things started with a single to center, and one out later, Rubendall, who had three hits in five innings, doubled.
“The last inning was so much fun,” the recent Methacton grad said. “We were down 14-1, and at that point, it was kind of like, ‘You know what – we’re down so many runs, we just have to have fun, make things happen and see if we can come back.’”
Quakertown’s Jayson Rathjens lined a two-run single to left, and when a routine grounder by North Penn’s Matt Albaugh went through the shortstop’s legs, it was clear that things were going the SOL’s way.
Rathjens scored when Methacton’s Mark Romano lofted a sacrifice fly to center to make it a 14-4 game, and the SOL was just getting started.
North Penn’s Justin Davey singled off the second baseman and immediately stole second.
“That was pretty special,” he said of the ninth inning rally. “Everybody was stringing together hits, everyone was getting on base. It was cool to go out like that in my last (high school) game for North Penn.”
A single to center by Pennridge junior Ray Puskar plated a pair, and Tice, whose RBI single in the sixth put the SOL on the scoreboard, drew a two-out walk.
“I guess it kind of showed the talent on this team,” Tice said of the SOL’s comeback. “Everyone knows where these guys are coming from. All these guys are athletes. They want to win.”
Hammer followed and picked up his second hit of the inning, and two more runs crossed the plate when Central Bucks East’s Mike Divona – another alternate who had a pair of at-bats in the ninth - singled to center. Rubendall legged out an infield single, and after Rathjens drew a walk, the bases were loaded.
That’s where the rally ended as Cooper coaxed a fly ball to right field for the game’s final out.
“We started saying, ‘If we can get (Mark) Romano up, that would be the tying run,” Moore said. “That kid has a lot of pop in his bat. We were feeling real confident if we got him up.”
Romano was in the on-deck circle when the game ended, but no one was hanging their head after this loss.
“This is an unbelievable experience,” Rubendall said. “Not everybody gets a chance to play on the same field as Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley.”
Things were exactly going the SOL’s way through the first eight innings. After six innings, both teams had 10 hits, but Burlington County led 12-1. Three errors and eight walks had a whole lot to do with that run differential.
“It was real tough,” Rathjens said. “I don’t know how we fell back that far – one bad thing after another.”
On a day when the SOL’s pitchers struggled, Hatboro’s Matt Hollenbeck struck out the side in the seventh, allowing only a two-out walk. It was the closest thing to a one-two-three inning the SOL had all day.
“You just have to throw strikes,” the Hatters’ sophomore said. “Every hitter’s an all-star, but you have an all-star defense behind you. You have to let them hit it and let your defense do their work.”
As for playing in Citizens Bank Park, Hollenbeck admitted it was an unforgettable experience.
“It was a dream,” he said. “You go in the stands to watch a game so many times, and you never know what it’s like to step on the field. We got to do that today, and it was fun. “
Other players offered similar sentiments.
“It’s incredible,” Davey said. “You think about all the cool stuff that’s happened here – the Phillies winning the World Series – and all the good players that played here. It’s just an honor to be here playing on the same field as some of those guys.”
“It’s amazing,” Rathjens said. “Everything about this park is amazing. You don’t get to play on a field like this every day. It’s once in a lifetime.”
BURLINGTON COUNTY 14, SOL AMERICAN-CONTINENTAL
Burlington County: Shane Lynch 2b 3 1 0 0; Mark Zagunis ph/2b 1 0 0 0; John Montemurro cf 4 0 0 0; Marc Mount cf 2 0 1 1; Matt Cann c 2 2 1 1; John Grady c 2 0 0 0; Eric Barbieri 1b 4 1 2 2; Eric Sellitto 1b 1 0 1 0; Shaun Flynn ss 1 1 1 1; Mtthew Szukics ss 3 0 0 0; Ryan Fletcher dh 3 0 0 0; J. Kunz-Mulholland dh 2 2 2 0; Tyler Powell lf 3 3 3 1; Ryan Lavell lf 1 0 0 0; Dakota Havens rf 2 0 0 0; Charles Szymczak ph/rf 4 1 1 0; Buey Garofalo 3b 2 1 1 1; Troy Foster ph/3b 2 2 2 23 Jim Goodwin p 0 0 0 0; Trevor Sotell p 0 0 0 0; Cliff Naneldt p 0 0 0 0; Michael Cooper p 0 0 00 0. TOTALS 42 14 15 10
SOL American-Continental: Brett Saverio 2b 2 0 0 0; Jayson Rathjens rf 3 1 2 2; Shawn Leo cf 2 0 0 0; Matt Albaugh c 4 1 0 0; Robbie Zinsmeister ss 2 0 1 0; Mark Romano 1b 2 1 1 1; Joe Mullin 1b 2 0 1 0; Justin Davey cf 3 1 1 0; James O’Toole lf 2 0 0 0; Ray Puskar 3b 3 1 2 2; Dave McInerney c/cf 1 0 1 0; Dylan Tice 2b 3 1 1 1; Rob Swartz dh 1 0 0 0; Tim Wessel dh 2 0 0 0; Ian Hammer ph 2 2 2 0; Kyle McLaughlin rf 1 0 1 0; Nick Sun lf 2 0 1 0; Mike Divona ph 2 0 1 2; Jordan Hofferman 3b 1 0 0 0; Todd Rubendall ss 4 1 3 1; Keith Moyer p 0 0 0 0; Jordan Carter p 0 0 0 0; Matt Schoettle p 0 0 0 0; Kurt Roberts p 0 0 0 0; Matt Hollenbeck p 0 0 0 0; Nick Hinkson p 0 0 0 0. TOTALS 44 9 18 9.
Burlington County 161 031 020 14-15-4
SOL American-Continental 000 001 008 9-18-4
E-SOL 4, Burlington 3. DP-Burlington 2, SOL 1. LOB-Burlington 12, SOL 11. 2B-Mount, Sellitto, Kunz-Mulholland 2, Foster, Rubendall. 3B-Roster. HR-Powell. S-Romano. SB-Flynn, Powell, Szymczak.
IP H R ER BB SO
BURLINGTON
Goodwin (W) 3 3 0 0 0 1
Sotell 3 7 1 1 0 2
Nanfeldt 2 2/3 5 7 2 1 1
Cooper 1/3 3 1 0 1 0
SOL AMERICAN-NATIONAL
Moyer (L) 1 2/3 5 7 4 4 4
Carter 3 4 4 3 1 2
Schoettle 1/3 1 0 0 0 0
Roberts 1 0 1 1 3 0
Hollenbeck 1 0 0 0 1 3
Hinkson 2 5 2 2 2 1
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