Friday, May 31, 2013

SOFTBALL: Christopher Dock edges St. Basil for district title

Aggressive base running and a whole lot of Lauren Weidler cemented Christopher Dock’s third consecutive District One Class AA title Thursday, as the Pioneers earned a 1-0 victory over top-seeded St. Basil on a steamy afternoon at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.

“It feels so good,” said Pioneers captain Sarah Ryder, the defensive catalyst at shortstop in the district final win. “I think we were kind of the underdogs this time around, which made it even more special.”

SOFTBALL: Tough loss for Panthers

With the way both pitchers were throwing on Thursday afternoon, it was clear that one team would have to catch a lucky break to get any runs across home plate.

And that’s exactly what happened.

Christopher Dock scored the game’s lone run on a two-out error in the sixth inning and came out with a 1-0 win over St. Basil in the District One Class AA championship game at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School in a game which took only 85 minutes to complete.

BASEBALL: Pennridge falls short against Coatesville

For Montgomery Media / MARK C. PSORAS Pennridge's Evan Myers delivers a pitch during Thursday's District One Class AAAA championship game against Coatesville.
For any team, there’s nothing worse than the feeling of letting a win slip away. Even with an early lead, execution is key to finishing off the opposing team. Pennridge didn’t execute as well as Coatesville did in the late innings and it cost the Rams the title.

Despite scoring three runs in the first inning, Pennridge could not halt a late inning rally from Coatesville in a 5-4 loss in the District One Class AAAA title game. Both teams had their ups and downs at the plate, but when the Red Raiders needed to manufacture runs, they made it happen and sunk the Rams.

MONTCO ALL-STAR FOOTBALL: North rolls past South

For Montgomery Media / SUSAN KEEN Souderton's Anthony Williams carries the ball for the North during Thursday's Montgomery County All-Star Football Classic.
For five years, the best football players from the northern Montgomery County high schools had been bringing their pads to Souderton Area High School at this time of year, and on each occasion, they were sent home on the losing end to the South All-Stars.

Of course, none of the North stars who showed up Thursday night had anything to do with any of those losses. In fact, none of them were even in high school when the North last claimed a Montgomery County All-Star Football Classic victory in 2007.

But that didn’t keep the coaching staff from making the players well aware of the dubious streak.

“Oh yeah, coach (Dick) Beck (North Penn) just made that a key point,” North Penn’s Steve Gozur said.

“Coach Beck told us about the five-game losing streak all during practice,” Wissahickon’s Gordan Bentley said. “But he said that it didn’t matter this upcoming game because we knew we had a good team.”

This North team was focused on starting a new streak and taking out some of the frustrations for past North All-Star brethren. Bentley and Gozur each caught a first half touchdown pass to provide a spark as this North squad rolled to a 40-7, mercy-rule victory.

BASEBALL: North Penn falls flat to CR North

When a team reaches the playoffs, whether it is a high school, college or professional team, the adrenaline should be flowing and the team should be riding high.

In the case of North Penn’s baseball team, someone shut off the valve controlling the flow of adrenaline. The Knights came out flat in their District One Class AAAA playoff game at Council Rock North.

The Indians were rolling, especially early, and took a 4-1 victory over the Knights. The win means that North will be the third seed from District One in the PIAA playoffs and North Penn will be the fourth seed.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

FOOTBALL: Montgomery County All-Star Football Classic set for Thursday

Though most high school seniors have already played in their final football game in high school – if not ever – a number of student-athletes will get the opportunity to play in one final game before graduation.

This Thursday night, the best football players from the area will come together to play in the 46th Annual Montgomery County All-Star Classic, a game played between two squads featuring 78 different players.

The North Squad and the South Squad will square off at Souderton High School, with North Penn coach Dick Beck coaching the North and Upper Dublin assistant coach Dan Pring coaching the South.

VOLLEYBALL: Pennridge toppled by Hempfield

Pennridge took on Hempfield in the first round of the PIAA Championships. Hempfield, the District Three champion, upended the Rams three games to one (25-22, 26-28, 9-25, 18-25).

“Game two was key I thought,” Pennridge coach Dave Childs said. “We had game point and they earned the point and then came back to win that game. I think that was a big difference in the game.”

Leading the way for Pennridge was Christian Lizana who had 18 digs and 2 aces, Mike Bollinger 9 kills and 3 blocks, Henry Savage and Devon Rice added 10 kills apiece with Savage chipping in 4 blocks and Rice contributing with12 digs and 2 aces. Matt Ziegler also had 38 assists.

SOFTBALL: St. Basil's Eberhard no-hits Lower Moreland

Montgomery Media / SCOTT ROMAN St. Basil's Nichole Eberhard tossed a no-hitter to lead the Panthers past Lower Moreland in Wednesday's District One Class AA semifinal matchup.
Throwing a no-hitter is always impressive, but it’s just that much better when it happens in the district playoffs. Nichole Eberhard put a charge in St. Basil’s district and state hopes with an absolute gem in the mist of the Panther’s 9-0 District One Class AA semifinal win over Lower Moreland on Wednesday.

“I was a little concerned going in, only because we haven’t played in 13 days,” St. Basil coach Steve Sonneborn said. “It kind of showed early, but I thought [Eberhard] was on today. What she did was great, what’s why she is All-Academy.”

BASEBALL: Springfield falls short of Neumann-Goretti

It took a lot for Springfield to win the District One Class AA championship and earn a shot at play-in game for the PIAA tournament. The Spartans ran out of magic as their post-season run came to an end at the hands of Neumann-Goretti Wednesday afternoon, 4-3.

“I feel proud, obviously, of the way my guys played,” Springfield coach Chris Shelly said. “I can’t be more proud of their heart and their character. That’s what we preach to these guys, it was a 4-0 game and our guys are fighting tooth-and-nail and had a shot to almost win it.”

Springfield suffered from a lack of offensive production for most of the game, however, it had the opportunity to make it a moot point in the sixth inning. After Luke Pollock flew out to third after a tough at-bat, Ed Bacino and Marten Pauwels reached safely after both were hit by pitches.

BASEBALL: Holy Ghost Prep blanks Upper Moreland for title

Montgomery Media / BOB RAINES Upper Moreland second baseman Nick Corbett moves over to cover first to force Holy Ghost Prep's Bobby Reading on a sacrifice bunt.
In the bottom half of the third inning, Upper Moreland’s Eddie Decker ripped a double to center field. Unfortunately, for the Bears, it would be the closest they would get to scoring all day.

Holy Ghost Prep pitcher Tim Brennan tossed a two-hitter while shutting out the Bears as the Firebirds defeated Upper Moreland, 6-0, in the District One Class AAA championship game at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth Township on Wednesday afternoon.

For the second consecutive year, Upper Moreland (18-4) was knocked out in the district title game after being crowned champions in 2011, and this time hurt just as badly as last year for Decker and the Bears.

BASEBALL: Pennridge edges North Penn to reach final

For Montgomery Media / MARK C. PSORAS Pennridge players celebrate after defeating North Penn in their District One Class AAAA playoff game on Wednesday.
Experience is the ultimate edge and the Pennridge baseball team is calling on theirs at the perfect time.

The Rams already secured a spot in the PIAA playoffs and with their 4-3 semifinal win over North Penn Wednesday afternoon at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth, they earned a spot in the District One Class AAAA championship game. Pennridge is on a ride it may never experience again.

The last time a team coached by Tom Nuneviller reached the district championship was in 2007, when it lost to Souderton. The Rams’ coach also has tasted postseason success when he led his 1987 Rams to a state championship.

“When I went through it as a player, we did not really know what it meant,” Nuneviller said. “We knew we got out of school early to go to some field to play a team we never heard of. As a coach I live and die on every pitch.”

SOFTBALL: North Penn falls to Neshaminy

The North Penn softball team has done a lot of good things this season, including putting together a winning streak at the end of the year to qualify for District One Class AAAA playoffs and making it into the PIAA playoffs for the second straight year.

But there is one thing that the Maidens finally couldn’t do.

“We just wanted to defend our title,” North Penn coach Rick Torresani said, “and we won’t get that chance now.”

The Maidens ran into a hot pitcher in Neshaminy’s Lauren Quense, who held the Maidens to two hits in pitching the Redskins to a 2-0 victory at William Tennent High School Wednesday. Neshaminy will play the winner of the other semifinal, either Pennsbury or Central Bucks East. That semifinal will be played today.

SOFTBALL: Lewis lifts Pioneers over Springfield

Christopher Dock saw its five-run lead slowly slip away in the top of the seventh inning Wednesday against Springfield, but it didn’t take long for the Pioneers to get the one run they needed in the bottom half.

Pitcher Lauren Weidler led off with a sharply-hit single up the middle. Sarah Ryder’s groundout moved Weidler over to second and a wild pitch moved her over to third.

Emma Lewis then stepped to the plate with a chance to win it for Dock.

BOYS LACROSSE: La Salle battles past Radnor

For Montgomery Media / ADRIANNA HOFF La Salle's Sean Coleman looks for away past Radnor's Jack Wilson during Wednesday's state tournament action.
To a man, the La Salle High boys lacrosse team knew its PIAA tournament opener against Radnor was not going to be decided by skill and finesse.

The Explorers expected a Pier Six brawl, and that’s exactly what they got.

But by game’s end, it was La Salle that ran the gauntlet and came out the other end, emerging with a 6-4 victory and a berth in Saturday’s quarterfinals where the returning state finalists will take on Garnet Valley, a 9-5 winner over Great Valley in another opening-round game.

BASEBALL: Brown powers Phillies past Red Sox

PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies have lost their leading hitter from last season and their best all-around offensive player of the last decade this month. The franchise’s most prolific power hitter not named Mike Schmidt has a bum knee on the same bum leg where his Achilles’ tendon snapped 19 months ago.

And the offense was a mess before all of that happened.

It might be snapping out of it. Rather, Domonic Brown might be single-handedly dragging the Phillies out of the doldrums.

Brown’s solo home run in the fourth inning gave the Phillies the lead, and another solo bomb in the eighth provided a much-needed insurance run as the Phils again pressed within a game of .500 with a 4-3 win over Boston at Citizens Bank Park.

PHILLIES NOTES: The team's future getting brief look

PHILADELPHIA — Get used to seeing even more of Freddy Galvis in the starting lineup, and welcome Cesar Hernandez to the infield for a cameo, as well.

The Phillies had a vision of Galvis and Hernandez making up half of their starting infield someday. The vision just wasn’t in late May 2013.

That likely will be the case before this week is through, since the Phils placed third baseman Michael Young on the bereavement list so he could tend to a family matter. The assignment means the Phillies can add a player to the roster for between three and seven days to fill in for Young, and that choice was Hernandez.

The 23-year-old second baseman got the nod after hitting .308 with six triples, 15 stolen bases and 28 runs in 48 games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season. He didn’t arrive at Citizens Bank Park until game time Wednesday, so Kevin Frandsen got the start at second base, with Galvis at third.

Friday, May 24, 2013

DISTRICT ONE POSTPONEMENTS

Today’s District One baseball and softball tournament games have been postponed until tomorrow.

North Penn at Pennridge softball, noon at Pennridge High School, not Druckenmiller Park

West Chester Henderson at Pennsbury softball, 1 p.m.

Downingtown East at Neshaminy softball, 1 p.m.

Villa Maria at Upper Merion softball, 11 a.m.

Central Bucks East at Hatboro-Horsham softball, 4 p.m.

Coatesville at Central Bucks East baseball, 1:30 p.m.

Pennridge at Boyertown baseball, 3 p.m.

North Penn at Strath Haven baseball, 4 p.m.

Council Rock North at Methacton baseball, 3 p.m.

Springfield vs. Bristol baseball at Temple Ambler, 4 p.m.

BASEBALL: Upper Moreland topples Pottstown, secures spot in states

For Montgomery Media / KEVIN HOFFMAN Upper Moreland's Eddie Decker slides safely into home plate under Pottstown catcher Derell Boyerget during Thursday's District One Class AAA playoff action.
Upper Moreland got to the District One Class AAA semifinal game by a mercy rule victory over Marple Newtown Tuesday afternoon. It looked like the Golden Bears were in for a similar result when they took an early 4-0 lead on Pottstown Thursday.

With Upper Moreland holding a four-run advantage after the second inning, Trojans pitcher Bailey Brown settled down and retired nine straight Golden Bears hitters.

“He came off and he said to me, ‘I feel good, I feel real good,’” Pottstown coach Jeff Evans said. “I think that’s the mark of a real good pitcher.”

Brown’s counterpart Eddie Decker had a solid outing as well, as he was nearly un-hittable through four innings. A third inning single by Pottstown third baseman Erik Haas was Decker’s only blemish though four.

“I wasn’t trying to do too much,” Decker said. “I was just trying to put the ball in play and let my fielders back me up like they always do.”

Offensively the Golden Bears spread the wealth as five different players got hits and five players scored runs as they eased to a 6-1 victory and a spot in the district title game.

VOLLEYBALL: North Penn battles past Pennridge in consolation match

When North Penn squared off with Pennridge in the district playback game, both teams knew their season would continue in the state tournament. However, seeding at states and, of course, pride was on the line for the two Suburban One Continental Conference schools. North Penn fought to a higher seed and the pride.

The Knights won a war of a match, coming back from down one game to take the contest 3-2. The victory was a combination of inspired play by North Penn and numerous unforced errors on Pennridge’s part. Although the season did not end for Pennridge, it is clear that they have some work to do going forward. North Penn, on the other hand, will take momentum and the third District One seed into the state tournament.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

STUDENT-ATHLETES…


La Salle College High School has announced that 55 members of the Class of 2013 who have been recruited to participate in athletics by a college or university. The 55 student athletes will participate in twelve sports at 35 different colleges and universities stretching from Maine to California. They include: (from left) front row, Andrew Stone (Notre Dame, Track/Field), Jeff Cimbalista (Yale, Lacrosse), Andrew Grajewski (Monmouth, Lacrosse), Brendan McGonigle (Holy Cross, Lacrosse), Nick Hreshko (Monmouth, Lacrosse), Stefan Bergman (Michigan, Lacrosse), Matt Rambo (Maryland, Lacrosse), Sean Coleman (Harvard, Lacrosse), Conor Resch (Yale, Lacrosse), Mike Pascali (Mount St. Mary's, Lacrosse), Andrew Eidenshink (Fairfield, Lacrosse), George Uhrich (U.S. Naval Academy, Lacrosse), Adam Schaal (Boston University, Lacrosse) and Joe Markmann (La Salle, Golf); middle row, R.J. Napolitano (Penn State, Tennis), Jack Magee (St. Joseph's, Track/Field), Chris Melillo (Notre Dame, Baseball), Matt Greco (Holy Cross, Track/Field), Pat Dougherty (Iona College/Water Polo), Dan Fleck (Iona College, Water Polo), Ryan Barr (Penn State, Water Polo), Mark Grasela (Temple, Soccer), Chris McCrea (St. Joseph's, Soccer), Frank Russomano (Villanova, Soccer), Jack Dusing (Muhlenberg, Soccer), Nick Master (Massachusetts, Hockey), Scott Serpico (Bucknell, Rowing), Matt Morozzi (La Salle, Rowing), Pat Shafer (Temple, Rowing), John Breslin (St. Joseph's, Rowing), Adam Wisniowski (Drexel, Rowing), Jake Ford (Pennsylvania, Rowing) and Amar Stukes (La Salle, Basketball); back row, Christian Lutschaunig (Penn State Schreyer Honors College, Tennis), Jonathan Neufeld (Bates College, Tennis), Brian McNamara (St. Joseph's, Lacrosse), Corey Muggler (Dartmouth, Track/Field), Tom Coyle (Stanford, Track/Field), Luke Persichetti (Yale, Track/Field), Jon Naji (Franklin & Marshall, Football), Dad Poquie (Penn State, Football), Chris Kane (Kutztown, Football), Ryan Winslow (Pittsburgh, Football), Patrick Hoffman (U.S. Naval Academy, Football), Trent Simmons (Bloomsburg, Football), Tom Spiteri (Colgate, Football), David Losier (Kutztown, Football), Greg Rogers (William & Mary, Swimming), Evan Holder (Johns Hopkins, Swimming), Sean Regan (U.S. Military Academy, Swimming), Joe Maginnis (Duke, Swimming), Steve Smith (Fairfield, Basketball) and Brian Fischer (Drexel, Golf). Not in the photo are Shea O'Neill (Penn State, Rowing) and Ben Wild (Franklin & Marshall, Soccer)

BOYS LACROSSE: La Salle tops St. Joseph's Prep for PCL title

For Montgomery Media / ADRIANNA HOFF La Salle's Brendan McGonigle controls the ball while St. Joseph Prep's Anthony Marini closely follows during Wednesday's Philadelphia Catholic League title game at Plymouth Whitemarsh.
For all of its quality and experience, La Salle High’s lacrosse team has had a bad habit lately of taking its collective foot off the accelerator.

So Wednesday night, in the Philadelphia Catholic League championship game, when the Explorers gave back all but one goal of a four-goal lead in the third period, and they gave it back to archrival St. Joseph’s Prep, there was reason for concern.

To make matters worse, a penalty called against La Salle as the third period expired had the Hawks, already juiced on momentum, primed to tie the game, or worse.

Then, the Explorers turned the game around with one play.

Playing a man down in the opening moments of the final period, the Explorers got the ball in transition. And before the Hawks’ defense could settle, Sean Coleman fed Matt Rambo for a put-away goal. And for all intents and purposes, the Hawk was dead.

La Salle closed the contest with three more unanswered goals and ran away with an 11-6 win and its second straight PCL championship.

SOFTBALL: DeCew, Pennridge blank Owen J. Roberts

For Montgomery Media / TOM KELLY III Pennridge's Paige DeCew delivers a pitch during Wednesday's District One Class AAAA playoff game against Owen J. Roberts.
Heading into last week’s Pioneer Athletic Conference softball playoffs, Owen J. Roberts looked like the team to beat, as well as a squad peaking at the right time.

Over a span of eight days, though, the Wildcats saw their hopes of a fruitful postseason dashed by a couple of uncharacteristic losses.

Pennridge pitcher Paige DeCew shut down the normally potent Owen J. Roberts offense Wednesday afternoon as the visiting Rams dealt the Wildcats a 3-0 defeat in a District One Class AAAA second round game.

SOFTBALL: Casagrand lifts Hatters past Perk Valley

Montgomery Media / SCOTT ROMAN Hatboro-Horsham's Nicole Casagrand steps to the plate with a pitch during Wednesday's District One Class AAAA playoff win over Perkiomen Valley.
After giving up a three-run homer that surrendered the lead, Hatboro-Horsham’s Nicole Casagrand’s game could have gone crashing down. Fortunately for the Lady Hatters, their anchor rebounded in the circle and at the plate to propel her team into the third round of districts.

Second-seeded H-H looked on the verge of being upset by No. 18 Perk Valley before a late inning comeback that was capped off by Casagrand’s walkoff single. The Lady Hatters won 6-5 and will march on to the next round of the District One Class AAAA tournament after scratching some runs across, then losing the lead and finally coming back in the late innings.

SOFTBALL: Red-hot Maidens roll past Central Bucks South

After North Penn’s softball team beat Garnet Valley in the opening round of the District One playoffs, coach Rick Torresani was talking about how his team couldn’t get the big hit when it needed it.

Torresani had better watch what he says now after the Maidens batted around twice and knocked defending PIAA Class AAAA champion Central Bucks South out of the playoffs with a 14-3 second-round thrashing which ended after five innings due to the mercy rule.

BASEBALL: Springfield edges New Hope in 10 innings

For Montgomery Media / SUSAN KEEN Springfield players celebrate after winning in the bottom of the 10th inning of Wednesday's District One Class AA playoff game against New Hope.
It wasn’t pretty, but Springfield’s bid at a district championship three-peat is still alive.

Between Springfield and New Hope-Solebury, a combined 11 errors were committed. Eight unearned runs crossed home plate, eight batters were hit by pitches and zero extra-base hits were recorded, but it was the Spartans who came up big when it mattered most.

Fitting to the way the game turned out, the Spartans scored their game-winning run on a misplayed routine groundball in the bottom of the 10th inning in a three-plus hour marathon game. The final result was a 7-6 win for the Spartans over the visiting Lions in a District One Class AA quarterfinal at Springfield High School on Wednesday afternoon.

BASEBALL: North Penn eases past Perkiomen Valley

For Montgomery Media / MARK C. PSORAS North Penn's Eddie Posavec avoids the tag of Perkiomen Valley catcher Donovan Squartino to score during Wednesday's District One Class AAAA playoffs.
For the second game in a row, the North Penn baseball team scored an early knockout.

The Knights got all the offense they needed in their first at-bat Wednesday afternoon and went on to earn a convincing 8-3 victory over Perkiomen Valley in the second round of the District One Class AAAA Playoffs.

“It was a big jump coming up with that 5-0 lead early,” said cleanup man Chris Kersey. “We did the same thing on Monday (in the win over Conestoga), and it really sets the tone for the game and gives us the momentum going forward.”

North Penn scored four runs in the first inning on Monday in its 9-3 opening-round win and followed up by plating five in the first against North No. 4 seed Perk Valley.

BASEBALL: Dalton leads Pennridge past Neshaminy

All day in school, Trevor Dalton had one eye on the clock and his mind drifting toward his playoff baseball debut. The Pennridge senior was told the night before he was going to start the second-round game against Neshaminy and it consumed his thoughts.

Dalton knew what he needed to do to help his Rams reach the next round of the District One Class AAAA baseball tournament. Behind his strong start and timely hitting, the North’s 10th-seeded squad upset the North No. 2 Redskins 7-1 Wednesday afternoon.