Zimmerman’s homer helps Marple walk off, move on

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Luke Zimmerman was the most valuable player of the Central League for a reason. He has a knack for the dramatic.

Marple Newtown’s senior ace wasn’t on the mound Wednesday — he dominated in the Tigers’ first-round win — but made an enormous impact with his bat. Zimmerman smashed a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift No. 3 Marple to a 9-8 victory over 11th-seeded Kennett.

Marple erased a 8-4 deficit with a four-run rally in the bottom of the sixth. Kevin Merrone had a triple, and Andrew Cantwell smacked his first homer of the season.

Steve Morrison gave the Tigers (20-1) 2.1 innings of shutout relief. He quieted the Kennett bats when the Tigers needed it the most. Morrison gave up no hits and struck out two to earn the win.

“We persevered,” Marple coach Mark Jordan said. “It was gut-check time and now we’re in the semifinals.”

In other District 1 Class 5A quarterfinal action:

Wissahickon 5, Interboro 2 >> Fresh off their first playoff victory since 1982, the second-seeded Bucs couldn’t recover from a 4-0 deficit in the second inning. Tim Convery and Mike Ventura each had a run-scoring single for the Bucs (17-4).

Jared Dellispriscoli pitched well in relief, striking out eight while allowing only one run. Interboro plated both its runs in the fifth inning. They had two runners on to begin the seventh but left them stranded.

Dom Scrivano went 2-for-4 for the Bucs.

Seventh-seeded Wissahickon travels to Marple Newtown for a semifinal game Friday.

Henderson 6, Penncrest 3 >> The Cinderella story lasted two days. The 16th-seeded Lions, who stunned the District 1 universe with a blowout win over No. 1 Holy Ghost Prep in the opening round Monday, couldn’t pull off another shocker against the No. 8 Warriors.

Andrew Rosenberg had a two-run double, and Dylan Bittle was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored for Penncrest. Kevin Mills added a double.

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