Four SOL baseball teams will be in action on Tuesday. Scott Huff previews the four games.
By Scott Huff
An interesting fact concerning the three remaining Suburban One League Quad-A baseball teams in the playoffs is that those teams could capture a PIAA District One baseball championship without winning a SOL conference title. Both [N-10] Pennridge (9-5) and [N-12] North Penn (9-5) finished in a tie for third place in the SOL Continental Conference behind both conference champion Central Bucks East (12-2) and Central Bucks South (10-4). [N-7] Council Rock North (9-5) was a second place finisher in the SOL National Conference behind conference champion Neshaminy (11-3).
“When we beat Boyertown to get into states, we had a huge sigh of relief,” said Pennridge head coach Tom Nuneviller as PHS, NPHS, and CRNHS have all qualified for states. “But then we began talking about how we didn’t win our league championship and how great it would be to win a district championship.”
The Rams, Knights, and Indians have had to navigate their way through stormy district playoff waters without the benefit a high seed in the playoffs that would have given a bye in the first round – and for both Pennridge and North Penn not a single home game. Council Rock North has won two of its three playoffs games on the road.
“Sometimes playing on the road can be a good thing,” said Council Rock North head coach Matt Schram. “It becomes part of a routine – the kids crank up their music and focus on the game. It brings them together, and togetherness can be a big part of being successful. We’re not upset at all with a bus ride as long as we’re still playing baseball.”
The Rams and Knights will leave Perkasie and Lansdale respectively for Plymouth Meeting to play each other in their PIAA District One Quad-A semi-final game on a field that Villanova University calls home, while the Indians will exit Newtown and travel to Glen Mills to meet [S-4] Ches-Mont National Conference champion Coatesville in the other semi-final contest.
P.S.
Springfield – which finished in 4th place in the SOL American Conference - won itself a PIAA Class AA District One championship as the [2] Spartans marched to an 8-1 victory over [1] Bristol. Springfield will also be an SOL road warrior as the Spartans will travel to meet Philadelphia Catholic League District 12 representative Neumann-Goretti at Great Valley in the next round of the Class AA playoffs.
PIAA District One Quad-A Semifinals
Tuesday – May 28, 2013
4 pm
[N-12] North Penn Knights vs. [N-10] Pennridge Rams @ Villanova University Ballpark in Plymouth Meeting
- Winner/Loser Gets: the winner of this game will play the winner of the [N-7] Council Rock North vs. [S-4] Coatesville game on Thursday (5/30) for the PIAA District One Quad-A Championship, while the loser of this game will play the loser of the CR Rock-Coatesville game to determine the # 3 and # 4 seed in the state playoffs on Thursday (5/30).
Season Resume: North Penn finished the regular season as the 3rd place finisher in the SOL Continental Conference with a 9-5 record, while Pennridge also finished in 3rd place in the SOL Continental Conference with a 9-5 record. During the regular season Pennridge defeated North Penn twice by scores of 4-0 and 18-8.- Playoff Resume: North Penn has won three consecutive road games as the Knights opened with a 9-3 win over [S-5] Conestoga, followed with an 8-3 victory over [N-4] Perkiomen Valley, and captured a berth in the state playoffs with a 5-0 win over unbeaten [S-1] Strath Haven. Pennridge won three consecutive road games as the Rams opened with a 7-3 win over [S-7] Great Valley, followed with a 7-1 victory over [N-2] Neshaminy, and captured a berth in the state playoffs with a 4-1 win over [N-6] Boyertown.
- Knight head coach Kevin Manero says: Obviously we go into this game against a team that we know and that knows us. Pennridge is very good – very well coached – and very disciplined. Like us, they are playing with a lot of confidence right now. I expect it to be a very good game, and we will go out there to try and win every inning one pitch at a time. Whatever teams wins this game will be a good team to go to the district final.”
- Ram head coach Tom Nuneviller says: “At this time of year, you can’t expect just one guy to carry you. We are going to need a team effort to beat a team that is as good as North Penn. Even though we beat them twice this year, you can never under estimate a team like North Penn. We are both hot right now, and we are both playing with a lot of confidence. I think the fact that both North Penn and us have reached this point in the playoffs says a lot about how good our league really is. It should be a great game.”
[N-7] Council Rock North Indians vs. [S-4] Coatesville Red Raiders @ Glen Mills High School
- Winner/Loser Gets: the winner of this game will get the winner of the [N-12] North Penn vs [N-10] Pennridge game on Thursday (5/30) for the PIAA District One Quad-A Championship, while the loser will play the loser of the NP-Pennridge game to determine the # 3 and # 4 seed in the state playoffs on Thursday (5/30).
- Season Resume: Council Rock North finished the regular season in 2nd place in the Suburban One League National Conference with a conference record of 9-5, while Coatesville finished the regular season as the Ches-Mont National Conference champion with a record of 14-5.
- Playoff Resume: Council Rock North opened the playoffs with a home win over [S-10] Penncrest by a 9-8 score in 9 innings, followed with a 10-5 victory over [S-2] Unionville, and captured a state playoff berth with a 9-8 victory over [N-3] Methacton in a game that lasted 10 innings. Coatesville had a first round bye, collected a 10-0 home victory over [N-5]Central Bucks South, and followed with a 5-0 road win over [N-1] Central Bucks East that earned the Red Raiders a berth in the state playoffs.
- Indian head coach Matt Schram says: “This has been a crazy run of games with all extra inning games, and the rallies that we have put together late in games. I go into each game thinking that it is going to be a low scoring game, and then I’m always wrong. I really expect this game with Coatesville to be low scoring with the pitcher (Brian Brown) they have pitching. He is going to Duke – has great command – and a great change up. All reports we get say that he is one terrific pitcher. This has been a great run from the kids on the field – to the kids on the bench. We are really excited to see what happens next.”
PIAA Class AA Playoffs
Tuesday – May 28, 2013
Springfield Spartans vs. Neumann Goretti Saints @ Great Valley High School
- Winner Gets: the winner of this game will play the District 12 champion on Thursday (5/30) while the loser will see its season end.
- Season Resume: Springfield finished the regular season as the 4th place finisher in the Suburban One League American Conference with a conference record of 7-7, while Neumann Goretti finished the season as the 3rd place team in the Philadelphia Catholic League Blue Division with an 8-4 record.
- Playoff Resume: Springfield opened the playoffs with a 7-6 victory over New Hope-Solebury and followed with a District One championship as the Spartans defeated top seeded Bristol by an 8-1 score. Neumann Goretti has not played a Class AA playoff game.
- Spartan head coach Chris Shelly says: “Neumann Goretti is an established program that dropped down from AAA to AA this year. I have a ton of respect for them, and we are going to have to play our best baseball to beat them. I do know, though, that our players will not back down. It is going to be a difficult challenge for us, but if we play like we played against Bristol we can give them a game. Anthony Scafidi will throw for us – and any time he is on the hill we have to feel that we have a good chance to win the game.”
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