The SOL American/Continental defeated the Philadelphia Catholic League squad in Monday’s opening round of the Phillies Carpenter Cup at Richie Ashburn Park. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
The SOL American/Continental squad showcased its prowess at the plate and on the mound in Monday’s 8-2 win over the Philadelphia Catholic League in an opening round game of Carpenter Cup play at Richie Ashburn Park.
Ricky Dennis (Central Bucks East), Bobby Wittemann (Central Bucks South), Randy Frankenfield (Wissahickon), Brian Maher (North Penn) and Robbie Welhaf (Central Bucks East) combined to allow just eight hits over the nine-inning contest.
Dennis recorded the win on the mound, allowing two hits and one run (unearned) while fanning four in two innings.
“He did a really nice job to start,” said Upper Moreland coach Ernie Rehr.
Dennis threw to teammate Jon Mullin, an alternate behind the plate after Central Bucks East’s Ben Hauser was injured in an American Legion game a day earlier.
“We really love the way Jon plays the game,” Rehr said. “We tried to have the South guys throw to their catcher.”
The American/Continental Conference scored three unearned runs in the top of the first inning to go on top 3-0. Highlights of the inning included a single by Mullin and a solo home run by Methacton’s Tyler Kirkpatrick.
The PCL answered with a single run in the bottom of the inning, and they made things interesting with a single run in the third off South’s Bobby Wittemann, who worked three innings and allowed just one run.
In the sixth inning, the American/Continental Conference went on top 4-2 after North Penn’s Brady West, who had a pair of hits, scored on an RBI double by Upper Moreland’s Robert Knox. The UM outfielder also had two hits.
Wissahickon’s Randy Frankenfield took the mound in the bottom of the sixth and worked two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out three.
“He shut them down for two fantastic innings and picked off a kid at first, which was a game changer,” Rehr said.
In the seventh, West delivered a two-run single to put the American/Continental on top 6-2.
“That was huge,” Rehr said. “That really gave us a nice cushion to finish the game out.
North Penn’s Brian Maher threw a scoreless eighth before Central Bucks East’s Robbie Welhaf allowed a single run in the ninth.
“Maher started with a double play on a ground ball and got out of a jam,” Rehr said. “Our pitchers did a fantastic job.”
So did the SOL’s hitters, who pounded out 18 hits. The American/Continental closed out the scoring with a pair of runs in the ninth. Highlights of the inning included a triple by Central Bucks East’s Vince Careghini and an RBI single by Ben Morina.
“There was a lot of offensive production,” Rehr said. “It’s difficult when you play Carpenter Cup because you can’t bunt and you can’t do a lot of the things you do in a normal baseball game.
“You look at 18 hits and only have eight runs, but there was a lot of base to base movement – not a lot of gaps being hit until later in the game. It was a lot of singles for the most part.”
Players contributing a pair of hits were West, Knox, East’s Sean Usowski and Wissahickon’s Nick Falso. Knox also delivered a defensive gem.
“He had a fantastic play at the end of the game – it looked like it was going into the gap, and that could have given them momentum, but he made a great play on it,” Rehr said.
The American/Continental Conference will play the winner of Tuesday’s Tri-Cape/Berks County game on Friday at 2:30 p.m. at Richie Ashburn Park.
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