To view photos of Tuesday’s Council Rock South/Central Bucks West game, visit the photo gallery by clicking on the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
By Scott Huff
The beauty of baseball on any level is that the game is truly never over until the winning team records that last out.And that fact was in clear evidence on Thursday in the Suburban One League Continental Conference opener for host Hatboro-Horsham and visiting Central Bucks South as the Hatters rallied to defeat the Titans, 5-3. Hatboro-Horsham junior Chris Hens clocked a three-run walk-off homer with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure the victory for the Hatters.
“Winning the way we did is about as exciting a win that I’ve ever seen,” said veteran Hatboro-Horsham head coach Pete Moore. “Chris is such a great kid, and it was just a great ending to the game. We actually pinch hit for him earlier in the game, and then reentered him.
“The game could have easily been a 3-2 win for (CB) South,” added Moore. “But we waited for that big hit, and we got it.”
Hatboro-Horsham – which outhit the Titans eight to two for the game – played long ball to account for its first two runs. Senior Eric Heaney hit a solo homerun in the second inning, while senior Mike Sciandro blasted a solo homer in the fifth inning.
“It just goes to show you that anything really can happen in a baseball game,” said Central Bucks South head coach Mike Schaeffer. “We’re up 3-2, get the first out in the seventh inning, and then we misplay a ball into a double. A walk – and a homerun – and it’s over that quick.
“We only had two hits, but we were patient at the plate and walked 10 times,” added Schaeffer. “We had our chances to win the game a number of times, but we needed to get one more big hit.
“It was raining, damp, and misty for much of the game,” continued Schaeffer. “And the ending of the game was just horrible.”
Central Bucks South had opened its season with impressive non-league wins over Council Rock South (11-0) and Lansdale Catholic (9-3).
“I was really happy with the way the field held up during the game,” said Moore. “This was a huge win for us, and a great way for us to start our conference schedule.”
Central Bucks South 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 * 3 2 0
Hatboro-Horsham 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 * 5 8 1
On Tuesday, North Penn scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to secure a 4-3 non-league win over visiting Parkland.
The Knights won the game on a key three-run triple off the bat of Casey Clauss. Austin Tarpey notched the win for North Penn with a six inning – six-strikeout performance.
Parkland 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 * 3 6 1
North Penn 0 0 0 0 1 3 x * 4 7 1
On Tuesday, Quakertown was held to just three hits as the Panthers lost a 6-1 non-league contest to host Springfield (Montco)
Quakertown 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 * 1 3 0
Springfield (M) 0 0 4 2 0 0 x * 6 7 1
Suburban One League National Conference
Pennsbury finished with a 7-7 record in the Suburban One League National Conference a season ago. And with 11 seniors returning for the Falcons – eight with significant varsity experience – head coach Joe Pesci feels that his veteran club can contend for a district playoff spot.
Pennsbury went out and scheduled powerful Germantown Academy in a non-league game on Thursday. The good news for the Falcons was that they led 3-2 after the first inning, and the bad news was that Pennsbury was ‘mercy-ruled’ by the Patriots – 14-3.
“We wanted to make sure that we went out and scheduled good non-league competition,” said Pesci. “We could have scheduled teams that we knew we could beat, but we want to play high caliber teams that will get us ready for the type of teams that we hopefully will play in the playoffs.”
Pennsbury took the short-lived lead in the bottom of the first inning. Senior Jake Greenberg laced a two-out triple with the bases loaded to score what would prove to be all of the runs for the Falcons.
Another quality team that Pennsbury scheduled was Souderton as the result of that game was much more favorable for the Falcons, who defeated the Indians 3-2 on Wednesday. Senior Chris Hunter singled home Zach Sibel with the game winner in the last of the seventh inning. Sibel had singled to open the inning – stole second base – and scored on the Hunter base hit.
“Souderton has tied the game in the top of the seventh inning, and it was good to see our kids battle right back,” said Pesci. “And for our number nine hitter – (Chris Hunter) to deliver the game winning hit was a real plus of us.”
Another plus was the pitching performance of junior Paul Gosselin. Gosselin threw a complete game for the Falcons and matched his seven innings of pitching with seven strikeouts.
“We know the type of competition that we are going to face in our own league,” said Pesci. “And to get ready for a Council Rock North, we have to be able to challenge ourselves in the non-league schedule.”
Germantown Academy 2 3 8 1 0 * 14 10 2
Pennsbury 3 0 0 0 0 * 3 6 4
On Tuesday, Council Rock North opened its 2011 season with an 11-1 mercy-rule victory over Archbishop Ryan.
Darren Lauer was the winning pitcher for the Indians throwing the first three innings, while Mike Tentilucci and Alex Sable collected extra base hits.
Archbishop Ryan 0 1 0 0 0 * 1 4 3
Council Rock North 6 0 0 5 x * 11 7 0
On Tuesday, Council Rock South won its first game of the season as the Golden Hawks rallied to defeat Central Bucks West 10-9 in a non-league slugfest, while Truman lost an 8-7 contest to Bishop Egan.
Suburban One League American Conference
Norristown (2-0) featured excellent pitching as the Eagles opened its season with a pair of conference wins. The conference-leading Birds edged Upper Moreland (1-1) by a 4-3 score on Tuesday, and followed with a 4-1 win over Cheltenham (1-1) on Wednesday.
“We still haven’t hit the ball the way I know we are going to hit,” said Norristown head coach Jim Teeter. “But we have won both of these games by relying on our pitching.”
Norristown claimed the win over Upper Moreland behind a superlative effort from junior lefty Patrick Campion. Campion threw six strong innings with six strikeouts and also was a perfect 3-3 from the plate with three runs batted in.
“Campion is going somewhere to play on the next level,” said Teeter. “It is going to be very interesting watching this season go along. He is that good.”
The Eagles also received fine pitching in the win over the Panthers.
Roddy Vaughn tossed five strong innings to gain the win, while Evan Grimes came in to strike out three of the six hitters he faced to earn the save. Brandon Iorio belted a three-run homerun for Norristown in the first inning.
“So far so good,” said Teeter. “The (conference) schedule is going to be demanding, but I like it. I love the fact that you are going to play a team three times and see who the best team is in the head-to-head battles.”
Cheltenham 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 * 1 3 0
Norristown 3 0 1 0 0 0 x * 4 6 2
On Wednesday, Upper Moreland (1-1) scored a seventh inning run to defeat host Upper Merion (0-1), 2-1.
Kyle Walder earned the win for the Golden Bears with a seven inning – seven-strikeout performance. Walder and Ryan Snyder drove home runs for Upper Moreland.
Ray Gambone was the tough luck loser for the Vikings.
Upper Moreland 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 * 2 3 1
Upper Merion 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 * 1 3 4
On Wednesday, Plymouth Whitemarsh (1-1) held off visiting Wissahickon (1-1) and defeated the Trojans – 13-9.
Matt Minetola collected two hits in two at-bats and drove home three runs to spark the Colonial offense.
Wissahickon 2 0 0 0 0 7 0 * 9 11 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh 4 0 0 2 3 4 x * 13 13 0
Friday – April 1, 2011 (weather permitting)
**Conference Games**
Norristown @ Wissahickon**
Upper Merion @ Plymouth Whitemarsh**
Upper Dublin @ Cheltenham**
Hatboro-Horsham @ North Penn **
Bensalem @ Southern
Council Rock North @ Central Bucks East
St. Joe Prep @ Central Bucks South
Notre Dame (NJ) @ Pennsbury
Saturday – April 2, 2011
Bristol @ Bensalem
Phoenixville @ Upper Merion
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