Council Rock North baseball advances to PIAA quarterfinals (VIDEO)
ASTON – Council Rock North had a game plan coming into its PIAA opener against Father Judge. That was to throw strikes, don’t walk anybody and play flawless defense.
Led by senior righthander Matt Hand, who tossed a complete game, the District 1 runner-up Indians executed the plan precisely, nipping Judge 2-1 Monday, June 6 at Neumann University’s Bruder Field to advance to a state quarterfinal matchup against District 1 fifth-place finisher Marple-Newtown, a 4-2 winner over District 3 champ Ephrata.
“Our game plan was all about executing pitches,” explained CR North head coach Matt Schram. “We talk about that all the time ‘don’t worry about striking guys out but executing pitches’ and he did it to perfection today.
Hand, a righthander headed to Lehigh, recorded his 10th win of the season, limiting the District 12 third place finishing Crusaders to one run on six hits, all of which were singles.
And no, he did not walk any batters in seven innings of work.
“That was the plan – to work ahead. I guess that’s the plan for every pitcher; that’s not rocket science,” said Schram.
“If they were going to beat us, they were going to beat us with the bats.”
On the other side of the field, Judge senior Dan Hammer allowed just two hits in six innings of work. In the end, the difference in the game was the defense. The Crusaders (16-7) committed three errors in the field while Council Rock (21-4) didn’t make any gaffes.
“I said it all season long and I’ll say it again. We have one of the best defenses in the state of Pennsylvania,” stated Hand.
“Coach told me to let them put the ball in play and make sure you’re throwing strikes and I am extremely confident that we field the ball really well.”
Facing Hammer – a 95 MPH fastballer who is drawing Major League interest – the Indians had trouble generating any offense at all, though they scored just enough to win.
“We were facing a pretty good pitcher in Hammer and we were prepared for that,” explained Hand.
“We knew it was going to be tough coming out but all these ball games are going to be close.
“You’re down to the last eight in the state. Every team has good pitching and every team has good defense and it just comes down to little things.
“I think we had that today.”
Trailing 1-0 in the fourth inning with center fielder Jackson Parker on second base, right fielder Seth Leuz laced a two-out single up the middle that deadlocked the score at a run apiece.
“Seth has been that guy all year; we can count on him,” said Hand. “He’s a great two-strike hitter as well so we never get down on ourselves when he has two strikes on him.
“He seems to always be able to put the ball in play.
“It was a big hit for us; we needed it.”
In the sixth inning, again with two outs, it was Leuz who came through with the winning stroke with Parker on second base. Facing a full count, he bounced a slow moving dribbler to short that was picked up and promptly thrown past first base, the third such error in the contest for the Crusaders.
For his part, Parker reached base all three times he went up to bat, lacing a one-out single to left field in the first inning, getting on board on an error in the fourth and finally walking in the sixth.
“He is the quietest MVP in the league,” said Schram. “He’s an infielder actually but we made him an outfielder. He comes from a family of outfielders so it’s the perfect place for him.”
Hand probably hit the ball the hardest for the Rock. Up to bat with one out and a man on second base in the fourth inning, he roped a ball to straightaway left field, only to see Judge outfielder Billy Kelly haul the ball in with very little movement.
“They had their defense shifted a little bit,” explained Hand. “They knew we were going to be a little bit late on the fastball with Hammer. They were playing us straight up in the gap. I thought when I hit it, it might fall in for an extra-base hit. But they were playing perfect defensively so there was no chance of that.”
Ironically, Hammer was the only player with multiple hits in the game. With two outs and men on first and second in the fourth inning, he laced a single to centerfield that scored catcher Tom Penko.
He also stroked an infield single to short with one out in the seventh inning. Pinch-hitter Charles Kelly followed with a single to right field, drawing a visit to the mound from Coach Schram.
The Rock skipper said he never considered pulling Hand, however. Matt hadn’t thrown that many pitches and the Indians’ ace pitched a 1-2-3 fifth inning and also retired the side in order in the sixth.
He didn’t follow suit in the seventh but he got Judge outfielder Kevin Schmitt to pop up to second base and retired the side by inducing a fly ball to centerfield.
With the win, Council Rock advances to the top eight in the state and the PIAA quarterfinals for the second year in a row. The second round of the tournament continues Thursday, June 9 at a place and time that is to be determined.
Contact Steve Sherman at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter
PIAA Class AAAA Tournament (first round)
Council Rock North 2, Father Judge 1
(June 6 at Neumann University)
JUDGE 000 100 0 – 1 6 3
CR NORTH 000 101 X – 2 2 0
WP — Matt Hand 7IP, 1R, 6H, 0BB, 6SO; LP — Dan Hammer 6IP, 2R, 2H, 2BB, 4SO.
MULTIPLE HITS: FJ — Hammer 2-for-3; CRN — none.
RBI: FJ — Hammer; CRN — Seth Leuz.
