By Scott Huff
Abington lost both of its elite starting pitchers to injury the last few weeks – and the Ghosts struggled to get victories with six straight losses.
But junior flame-thrower Greg Mugnier is back on the bump – and Abington (4-8) responded with a 2-0 Suburban One League National Conference victory over visiting Bensalem (5-7).
“We had won four games in a row, and then we lost both our # 1 (Mugnier) and our # 2 (Jesse Leary) pitcher,” said Abington head coach Dave Torresani. “There is no secret that pitching is important to winning baseball games.
“Greg hasn’t been able to throw a lot since he got hurt on April 18th,” added Torresani. “We sent him out there with a pitch count, but he didn’t get anywhere close to that. I was absolutely surprised that he could throw a complete game.”
Mugnier – who is now 3-1 for the season – had five strikeouts for the Ghosts.
The only runs of the game came for Abington in the home half of the third inning. Junior Ben Salus doubled home one run, and Salus would steal home for the second run. The Ghosts outhit the Owls seven to four for the game.
“This was a real quality win for us,” said Torresani as the Ghosts will finish their conference season with William Tennent and Truman. “(Bensalem head coach) Rick Lee has done a great job with them this year, and they have been playing great in the second half of the season.”
Abington will ‘host’ a non-league game at Roslyn Park this Friday night when the Ghosts meet Hatboro-Horsham.
“It’s Senior Night for the players, and they always look forward to playing this game under the lights,” said Torresani. “It’s a great game for the community.”
Bensalem Owls 000 000 0 - 0 4 3
Abington Ghosts 002 000 x - 2 7 0
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William Tennent (2-10) rallied twice during the game as the Panthers edged visiting Neshaminy (4-8) – 7-6.
“It feels really good for the players to come up with a win,” said William Tennent head coach Chris Marchok. “We went the entire months of March and April without a win, but the players are working just as hard now as they did at the beginning of the season.
“Chuck Delagol weathered a very tough start to throw a complete game for us,” added Marchok. “He is only a sophomore, but he has grown up right before my eyes. He has shown great leadership for just a sophomore.”
The Panther offense was led by the two-hit games of Brandon DiBona, Mike Wasserleben, and Jeff Ledford.
“(Neshaminy head coach) Dennis Cox always has his team have a great approach to hitting,” said Marchok. “I have a young team, and so does he. But both teams will have young guys who got a chance to compete at the varsity level this year.”
Neshaminy Redskins 311 100 0 - 6 6 3
William Tennent Panthers 230 200 x - 7 9 2
Suburban One Continental Conference
Central Bucks East (7-5) created a traffic jam for second place in the conference standings as the Patriots defeated host Central Bucks South (7-5) – 4-1.
CB East, CB South, and North Penn (7-5) are in a dead heat for second place behind first place Pennridge (10-2).
“It’s been a long way back for our team,” said CB East head coach Kyle Dennis as the Patriots have won their last six games. “We started the season 0-3, but we have battled back and we are now playing our best baseball of the season.
“We have two very important conference games left against Quakertown (2-10) and Souderton (4-8),” added Dennis. “We beat Quakertown 12-10 and lost to Souderton – these games will not be gimmies.”
CB East had a wonderful game pitched by senior Jason Goldberg. Goldberg threw a complete game to earn the key win for the Patriots.
“Jason had great location and had command of all of his pitches,” said Dennis. “And we played great defensively behind him. Ben Hauser, Kris Davis made great plays in the infield, and our outfield covered a ton of ground.”
Central Bucks East Patriots 031 100 0 - 4 7 0
Central Bucks South Titans 010 000 0 - 1 7 4
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North Penn (7-5) snapped a four game losing streak with a 6-3 victory over host Quakertown (2-10).
The Knights received a strong six-inning pitching effort from Alex Lashkevich who earned the win. Chris Boroch came on in the seventh inning and threw a shutout inning to register the save.
Craig Lepre led the NP offense with a pair of RBI, while Ryan King and Casey Clauss each had solo RBI for the Knights.
North Penn Knights 230 001 0 - 6 12 3
Quakertown Panthers 000 300 0 - 3 4 3
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Pennridge (10-2) avenged a 10-0 loss to Souderton (4-8) as the Rams gored the Big Red – 5-1.
“We were up 3-1, but they came back and scored a run and had the bases loaded,” said Pennridge head coach Tom Nuneviller. “But Jared (Schaffer) battled hard in that inning and got himself out of that jam.
“Jared has throw very well for us all season,” added Nuneviller as Schaffer improved to a perfect 5-0. “And Dylan (Tice) came in a pitched a strong seventh inning to close the game.”
The Pennridge offense was fueled by a two-hit, two RBI game by Andrew DeCew. Cody Zickler had a pair of RBI for the Rams, while Tice drove home the fifth run for the winners.
Pennridge Rams 003 000 2 - 5 7 1
Souderton Big Red 000 010 0 - 1 5 1
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Hatboro-Horsham (5-7) used three pitchers in the sixth inning to secure a 5-4 victory over host Central Bucks West (5-6).
The Hatters used starting pitcher Zach Crim – setup man Casey O’Donnell – and closer Eric Heaney to limit the Bucks to a pair of runs and preserve the lead and the win.
“We haven’t had as many opportunities to use Eric as we would have liked this year in the closer role,” said Hatboro-Horsham head coach Pete Moore. “But when he has had the chance, he has been very effective. He throws around 83-84 miles an hour and has a sharp slider that he will throw with any count.”
The Hatboro-Horsham offense was fueled by junior second baseman Chris Hens who collected three RBI.
“Chris may be the biggest surprise of the year for us,” said Moore. “He hit the walk-off homer early in the year, and he has continued to hit all season. I can’t remember the last time he didn’t have a good at-bat.”
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters 020 012 0 - 5 9 0
CB West Bucks 002 002 0 - 4 5 2
Suburban One League American Conference
Wissahickon (7-9) remained mathematically alive for a guaranteed spot in the upcoming PIAA District One playoffs with a 9-2 victory over host Plymouth Whitemarsh (9-6).
“There are some things that have to go our way, but we still have to try and win out,” said Wissahickon head coach Shannon Gunby. “We hit the ball today better than we had all season, and that is a really good sign.”
The Trojans banged out eight doubles in the win. Senior Mike Kropnick collected three doubles, scored two runs, and had two RBI. Wissahickon outhit the Colonials 14-8 for the game.
Greg Neducsin improved his record to 5-1 for the Trojans in a complete game effort.
“He forced them to scratch out hits, and they didn’t really bunch any hits,” said Gunby. “He threw strikes and made them put the ball in play.”
Wissahickon will close the season at Upper Merion (7-7) and at Upper Moreland (11-3).
“These will be two very huge games for us,” said Gunby. “If we finish 9-9, we’ll see what that gets us.”
Wissahickon Trojans 401 102 1 - 9 14 1
PW Colonials 000 200 0 - 2 8 2
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