By Scott Huff
The first half of the Suburban One League baseball season is coming to a close, and the view from the top, middle, and bottom of the conference standings is surprisingly the same.
Suburban One League National Conference
Truman (5-0) has earned its perch on top of the conference standings with an impressive start.
“We are very fortunate to be 5-0 right now - we have won three one-run games that could have gone either way,” said Truman head coach Jeff Vitale. “It looks like that is the type of season we’re going to have this year – battles every single game.”
Included in those games were a 12-11 win over Council Rock South, an 11-10 win over Neshaminy, and a 9-7 win over Council Rock North.
“We were down 9-0 in the second inning against Council Rock South and were able to come back and win that game,” said Vitale. “That win gave us a big boost and proved to us that we can come back and win any game with our bats.
“We have swung the bats extremely well, but we can’t do that every game,” added Vitale. “Our pitchers are going to have to step up and throw better.”
One of the pitchers that has thrown well this season for the Tigers is senior Brandon Tepper. Tepper has three saves and a win throwing mostly in relief for Truman.
“Brandon has been getting us out of a lot of jams late in the game,” said Vitale. “He has great control and throws strikes. Plus he plays several positions on the field when he is not pitching.
“He and his brother Kyle have the magic touch,” continued Vitale. “Brandon has the touch pitching the ball, and Kyle hitting the ball.”
Kyle Tepper leads the Tigers in hits this season.
Truman catcher Brian Beyer – headed to the University of North Carolina – has been a Division One player behind the plate.
“Runners don’t even try to take leads on him,” said Vitale. “Brian has just shut down the opponent’s running game.
“He is the most talented player on our team – no question,” added Vitale. “And he hasn’t been close to full throttle at the plate, and you know that he is going to hit.”
And why not – every player in the Tiger lineup is a hitter.
Suburban One League Continental Conference
Central Bucks East (2-3) has the view from the middle of the conference standings as the Patriots look up to both North Penn (5-1) and Pennridge (4-1) at the top of the standings.
“We played both North Penn and Pennridge right out of the gate, and we weren’t hitting the ball the way we can,” said Central Bucks East head coach Kyle Dennis. “But we came up with some big wins against CB South and Quakertown, and if we play well against CB West and Souderton, we can close out the first half in decent shape.”
The Patriots feature a pair of terrific senior outfielders that have committed to play at the collegiate level in Ryan Pater and Sean Trymbiski.
Pater – signed, sealed, and yet to be delivered to St. Joseph’s University – plays a wonderful center field for CB East.
“Ryan plays the game the right way,” said Dennis. “He can hit for average, and he can hit for power. And he plays a great center field defensively. He covers a tremendous amount of ground.
“Plus he is a quality kid to have on the team,” added Dennis. “He’s a senior – and he still gets the water at practice. He sets a great example for others.”
Trymbiski – signed, sealed, and yet to be delivered to Albany University – plays a terrific right field for the Patriots.
“Sean is a flat out hitter, and can run like a deer,” said Dennis. “He has a cannon for an arm in right field.
“We moved him up to the number three spot in the batting order to get him an at-bat in the first inning,” added Dennis. “He is going to produce in the middle of our lineup.”
The CB East pitching staff features seniors Kris Davis and Jason Goldberg, along with junior Zack Grace. Davis will play both soccer and baseball at Elizabethtown, while Goldberg will play baseball at Salisbury.
“Kris really knows how to compete and will challenge hitters, and Jason has great command,” said Dennis. “And Zack has shown a great fast ball.
“We started the season slow, but we were figuring things out,” added Dennis. “We’re excited about playing the games ahead of us.”
Suburban One League American Conference
Upper Dublin (1-6) won its first game of the season against Cheltenham (3-7), and hopefully the win will give the Flying Cardinals some needed confidence to competitive in the conference.
“Before the Cheltenham game, we did some team bonding and tried to get our mind off baseball,” said Upper Dublin head coach Ed Wall. “We had a nice and relaxed practice, and we talked about beginning a brand new season with the Cheltenham game.
“Last year Wissahickon lost its first five games, and they came back and had a great season,” added Wall. “There is no reason why we can’t do the same thing. We really still have our hopes alive.
“With the new schedule of playing each team in your conference three times, you can come back up in the standings very quickly,” continued Wall. “We will be playing some young kids, and we hope to take advantage of that opportunity.”
Freshman Dan Jacobson threw a nice five innings in a loss to Norristown with a five-inning, six strikeout outing. Jacobson allowed just two earned runs and issued a pair of walks.
“Ethan Gregg has been playing great baseball for us,” said Wall of his senior. “He had three hits and scored a pair of runs against Norristown. He has been a good leader for us.”
Upper Dublin will play its third conference game in three days against Upper Moreland today.
Suburban One Sports.com
Top Ten
1. Truman Tigers
2. Council Rock North Indians
3. North Penn Knights
4. Pennridge Rams
5. Council Rock South Golden Hawks
6. Central Bucks West Bucks
7. Norristown Eagles
8. Neshaminy Redskins
9. Abington Ghosts
10. Upper Moreland Bears
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