SOL American-Continental Falls in Carpenter Cup

The SOL American-Continental Conference fell to Berks County 2-1 in the opening game of Carpenter Cup competition on Sunday. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery.

By Scott Huff

Philadelphia – The journey in the 29^th annual Carpenter Cup was just a short drive though FDR Park for the Suburban One American/Continental team.  The SOL A/C collected just a single hit and was eliminated from the tournament in a 2-1 Father’s Day loss to Berks County at Richie Ashburn Field.

“We played some very good defense, and our pitching gave us more than a chance,” said head coach Frank Decembrino (Cheltenham).  “We hung in there for all nine innings, but we faced some lights out pitching from Berks County.

“We would have liked to keep it going,” added Decembrino.  “Our goal was to win some games and get to play across the street at Citizens Bank Park.  But this is a one and done tournament – and we’re one and done.  It just wasn’t our turn.”

The SOL A/C managed just one hit - a leadoff single by Pat Reilly (Central Bucks East) in the seventh. Blake Gular followed and reached first on catcher's interference, and the SOL A/C had runners on the corners after a fielder's choice retired Gular at second. The threat ended when a runner was gunned down stealing.

Oley Valley ace Nick Distasio set the tone for a tough afternoon at the plate for the SOL A/C by fanning five of the first six batters he faced and struck out six in three scoreless innings on the mound. 

In the fifth, the SOL A/C took a 1-0 lead without collecting a hit. Gular was hit by a pitch, and Alex Kleidon (Hatboro-Horsham) was safe on an error. Gular scored when Danny Long (Pennridge) reached base on an error, and the SOL A/C had a 1-0 lead that held up until Berks County plated a pair of runs in the seventh to take a 2-1 lead.

Decembrino was able to turn to some fantastic pitching over the course of the game.  The SOL A/C threw seven pitchers over the eight innings – and six of those pitchers were able to fire a shutout inning or two.  Senior Calvin Salazar (Cheltenham), senior Brandon Birkhead (Central Bucks East), junior Joey Molitierre (Pennridge), junior Kevin Barron (Hatb

oro-Horsham), senior Dan Jacobson (Upper Dublin), and senior Matt Radwanski (Central Bucks South) all kept the explosive Berks County bats off the scoreboard.

“That group has been a group of good pitchers all season,” said Decembrino.  “I thought we had enough really good arms to make a run in this tournament.”

Decembrino decided to open the game with his very own good arm in Salazar.  Salazar was the ace on a Cheltenham staff on a Panther team that captured the Suburban One League American Conference title.

“It was a tremendous honor to be on the team, and an honor to be named the starting pitcher,” said Salazar.  “We had a great year in high school this year winning the league and getting into the playoffs, and to be able to play in this game was a great way to end the year.

“Of course, winning the game would have been better,” added Salazar who might attempt to ‘walk on’ at the University of Pittsburgh next year.  “Our goal was to get to play on the same field and sit in the same dugout as the Phillies.  We struggled scoring runs, and we didn’t get it done.”

The only SOL A/C pitcher that threw more than a single inning was Birkhead.  The towering right hander fired a scoreless second and third inning for the A/C.

“This was a great experience – a little short-lived, though,” said Birkhead.  “I got a chance to play with the players that I have played against all season.  They turned out to be a great group of teammates.

“When you pitch in a game like this, it is different,” added Birkhead.  “You have somewhat of an idea of what players can do in games during the regular season, but here you really don’t know anything about the hitters.  You just go out and make the best pitches you can make.”

One of the best individual players on the field for the SOL A/C was Pennridge senior catcher Jeff Roedell.  Roedell unleashed a laser from behind the plate to cut down a Berks County base stealer – called a masterful game behind the plate – and almost collected the second SOL A/C hit with a blistering liner that the Berks County fielder miraculously turned into an out.

“It was an awesome experience playing with this type of competition,” said Roedell, who will play baseball at Wilkes University next year.  “There are a lot of college level players playing in this game, and it is a good to get to play against some great players.

“We saw a lot of great pitching from both teams today,” added Roedell.  “Both teams seemed to be a little off-balance all day.  It would have been great to win and get a chance to play at Citizens Bank Park, but we didn’t do what we had to do to get there.”

The 25 Suburban One League American/Continental Conference players may not have gotten to the Citizens Bank Park – but for one short day they became teammates for life.

Who’s Who in the Suburban One League American/Continental Conference
Central Bucks East:  Brandon Birkhead, Thomas Prato, and Pat Reilly.
Central Bucks South:  Matt Radwanski and Steve Trachtenberg.
Central Bucks West:  Matt Peralta and Rob Phillips
Cheltenham:  Kevin Graham, Mark Heimann, Max Perlstein, and Calvin Salazar.
Hatboro Horsham:  Kevin Barron, David Brown, Alex Kleidon, and Eric Lane.
North Penn:  Jerod Malone.
Pennridge:  Danny Long, Joey Molittiere, and Jeff Roedell.
Plymouth Whitemarsh:  Zach Metz.
Souderton:  Blake Gular
Upper Dublin:  Dan Jacobson.
Upper Moreland:  Charlie Hooker and Kyle Irwin.
Wissahickon:  Ryan Becker.

Coaching Staff for the Suburban One League American/Continental Conference
Cheltenham:  Frank Decembrino (Head Coach)
Hatboro Horsham:  Pete Moore
Pennridge:  Tom Nuneviller
Plymouth Whitemarsh:  Chris Manero
Upper Moreland:  Ernie Rehr
Wissahickon:  Shannon Gunby

E-C.Groff, M.Parilla, R.Atkinson. DP-SOL A/C 1. LOB-SOL A/C 4, Berks Co. 5, 2B-D.Schilling. HBP-B.Gular, I.Shaefer. SF-D.Hughes. SB-J.Melone, P.Causa, T. Hoss, H.Hart, I.Shaefer. CS-P.Reilly, D. Hughes.