Scott Huff recaps the PIAA Class AAAA opening round games on Tuesday that featured SOL squads.
By Scott Huff
Hatboro-Horsham Works More Seventh Inning Magic
Hatboro-Horsham is almost ridiculous the way the Hatters win games in the late innings, and Hatboro-Horsham followed that script again as the Hatters (1-3) eliminated District 11 champion Nazareth (11-1) – 5-4. The contest was played @ Parkland High School.
“The way that we have been able to win so many games late just shows you the character of the kids,” said Hatboro-Horsham head coach Peter Moore. “We have won three playoff games by one run, and the players believe that we are going to win those games.
“And the best thing about winning those games late, is that we seem to have a different player step up each time to win the game,” added Moore. “We have been in a lot of tight games this year, and we almost always find a way to win those tight games.”
The Hatters jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead on RBIs by Chris Hens and Grant Opalisky, however Nazareth rebounded and took a 4-3 lead going into the sixth inning.
The sixth inning – that’s too early for the Hatter heroics.
Hatboro-Horsham did score a run in the sixth to knot the score – and the Hatters tied that knot with some aggressive base running and equally aggressive coaching.
Hatboro-Horsham had a runner on first (Opalisky) and a runner on third (Casey Saverio) wit
h two outs and two strikes on the batter. The Hatters executed a perfect double steal with Saverio sliding under the tag with the game-tying run.
“We are a pretty smart team on the bases, and we had two excellent runners on base,” said Moore. “We work on that play all the time in practice, and we really didn’t hesitate to try it in that situation.”
The Hatters scored the game-winning run in the top of the seventh inning. Saverio – who collected four hits – singled home Zach Crim with the game winner.
Almost lost in the late inning heroics was the outstanding game pitched by senior Casey O’Donnell. O’Donnell threw a complete game for the Hatters – allowed just a single earned run – and had 11 strikeouts.
“Casey was outstanding,” said Moore. “To keep a good hitting team like them to just five hits is just outstanding.”
Hatboro-Horsham will now advance to a PIAA Quad-A quarterfinal game against Wyoming Valley West (2-1). The District 2 champions advanced to the quarterfinal game with a 9-2 victory over Penn Manor (3-2).
The game will be played at noon on Thursday - @ Parkland High School.
“We know the surroundings, and it is a top notch facility,” said Moore. “We are comfortable there.”
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters 300 001 1 -5 9 1
Nazareth Blue Eagles 003 010 0 -4 5 2
Central Bucks South Closes Out Memorable Season
Central Bucks South concluded a glorious season with its first ever state baseball appearance as the Titans (1-1) were eliminated in the first round of the PIAA state tournament by Central Dauphin (3-3) – 6-4. The first round game was played at Immaculata University.
“One bad game, and your season is over,” said Central Bucks South head coach Mike Schaefer. “We had an amazing run the last two weeks, but we just didn’t play that way today. We left a lot on the field today, and we gave away more than we got.
“We beat some teams in this run – Conestoga, Spring-Ford, CB West, Hatboro-Horsham, and Council Rock South – that are some of the best teams in the state,” added Schaefer. “It seemed like we had everything clicking, but it just didn’t happen today.”
The game began on Monday and was suspended by rain with the score knotted at 2-2 in the bottom of the first inning. Central Dauphin broke the tie with a run in the second inning, but South knotted the score at 3-3 after three innings.
The Rams scored two runs in the fourth inning and added a single run in the seventh inning to take a 6-3 lead. South did not go quietly scoring a run in the seventh and brought the tying run to the plate. However, the seventh inning magic didn’t appear for the Titans – and the season is over.
Dylan Glassmire had two RBIs for the Titans, while Brian Happ and TJ Ohntrup had single RBIs for CB South.
“I told the players after we got off the bus to remember that there will be a District One 2012 baseball championship banner in the gym,” said Schaefer. “This has been an amazing season, and we needed a little luck today.”
It turned out that the only luck the Titans would get on this day was bad luck.
Central Dauphin Rams 210 200 1 -6 12 0
Central Bucks South Titans 201 000 1 -4 7 2
Upper Dublin Closes Out Memorable Season
Upper Dublin concluded a glorious season with its first ever state baseball appearance as the Flying Cardinals (1-4) were eliminated in the first round of the PIAA state tournament by District 12 champion La Salle – 10-1. The first round game was played at La Salle University.
Upper Dublin head coach Ed Wall and senior Jesse Kohler gave each other a robust hug moments after the remarkable Cardinal season came to a close.
“This was not the fairy tale ending we wanted, but this season was still a great story,” said Kohler who was a catalyst to the UD season that saw the Cardinals soar to a Suburban One League American Conference co-championship. “This was a team that was really wasn’t loaded with talent, but this was a team that played with friendship and brotherhood.
“We truly believed in our hearts that we had a chance to win states,” added Kohler who collected two of the four singles UD had in the loss. “The pain of losing this game will go away – but the memories we made this season will never go away.”
“What this team accomplished this season was huge,” said Wall. “This is the level of play that we expected from this team all season, and we want this to be an example of the level of play we can expect every year.
“The end result might not be what we wanted, but we are extremely proud of the big picture,” added Wall. “We graduate 11 seniors and it was great for them to get the experience of playing in a state tournament. I am very proud of them – proud of the entire team.”
Upper Dublin proved it could play with favored La Salle and led 1-0 after the first three innings. The Cardinals scraped out their only run in the second inning without a hit courtesy of a pair of Explorer errors.
But then came a five run La Salle explosion in the fourth inning – followed by still another five run Explorer explosion in the fifth inning. And that 1-0 lead was suddenly a 10-1 deficit over the course of just two innings.
“We knew coming into the game that they could hit the baseball,” said Wall. “We seemed to get through the first couple of innings, but after they saw our pitcher the second time through the lineup – things changed.”
La Salle will advance to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs against Central Dauphin – and the Upper Dublin season is one for the history books.
And that history book will tell a wonderful Cardinal story.
Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals 010 000 0 -1 4 2
La Salle Explorers 000 550 x -10 12 3
PIAA Quad-A ‘News & Notes’
Council Rock South (1-2) will face Coatesville (1-5)in a quarterfinal game to be played on Thursday (6/7) at Spring-Ford High School – game time – 1 pm.
The PIAA Quad-A scoreboard in the ‘western bracket’ saw Altoona (6-1) advance to the quarterfinals with a 9-4 win over Seneca Valley (7-1), while Mount Lebanon (7-2) eliminated McDowell (10-1) by a 7-4 margin. Altoona will meet Mount Lebanon in the quarterfinals on Thursday (6/7).
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