Upper Dublin finds swagger in time to rally past Springfield, earn share of SOL American title
UPPER DUBLIN — After working out of another jam in the top half of the sixth inning, Upper Dublin came in to hit.
After a quick pep talk by assistant coach Rob Albert, the Cardinals went to bat down two and running out of time. Eight batters later, they were in the lead and had the bounce back in their step.
A shutdown inning followed and Upper Dublin held on for a 5-4 win over visiting Springfield Twp Wednesday.
“I don’t know what it was,’ Upper Dublin coach Ed Wall said. “Coming off a tough game (a walk-off loss at Wissahickon) on Monday, we had a really good practice (Tuesday) and today. Salzar did a good job, he had us frustrated, a lot of credit should go to him. But that sixth inning was a lot of fun to watch.’
Upper Dublin got some extra good news shortly after the game had ended. Cheltenham topped Wissahickon, giving the Cardinals a share of the Suburban One League American title with the Trojans after both teams compiled 12-2 conference records.
For the Spartans, it was an all too familiar scene. Springfield has been haunted throughout the season by an overall solid showing that doesn’t yield a win. Wednesday, it was the Spartans being unable to put Upper Dublin away early.
“That’s why you have to take advantage of the opportunities they give us,’ Primavera said. “We did but we also had many we didn’t take care of and that’s how you lose games.’
Springfield pitcher Julian Salzar threw a strong outing to take the complete game loss. For five innings, he kept Upper Dublin’s hitters off balance and limited the Cardinals to two runs on three hits. In the sixth inning, Upper Dublin finally caught up, posting five hits in the frame en route to three runs.
“Julian threw a great game but he always throws a great game,’ Spartans coach Dennis Primavera said. “We had our chances to win. It was a really great baseball game. We’ve had our chances in most of the games we’ve played this year and we’re always a play short.’
That Upper Dublin was in position to make a late rally was a credit to its pitchers, Cole Swiger and Matt Thompson. Swiger got the start and gave up four runs, six hits and four walks in five innings of work. But the junior never allowed Springfield to break the game open.
Swiger faced four innings with at least two baserunners, but only allowed the Spartans to plate multiple runs in one frame. Thompson also faced two runners in the sixth inning, but he held Springfield off the scoreboard to set up the home half dramatics. Getting a gritty effort on the mound did not go unnoticed.
“That’s huge,’ Cards senior Christian Huckfeldt said. “Cole Swiger did a great job today and Matt Thompson did a great job of coming in and slamming the door. They did a great job of keeping us in the game.’
Springfield was able to take advantage of Upper Dublin’s ealry miscues, capitalizing on two Cardinal errors
Swiger, who has plenty of pop, started the sixth off with a hard hit ball for a single that got the Cardinals fired up. While Swiger was erased on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Conor McFadden, UD was starting to feel it. McFadden helped the cause by taking second and third base on a wild pitch and passed ball to set up a run.
Huckfeldt followed up with a single to plate McFadden then got around to third himself when Justin Horn grounded to short. McFadden’s hustle on the fielder’s choice came up huge, as Springfield only had two outs with Steven Bell coming up.
“We had a chance to make a double play, we didn’t do it,’ Primavera said. “We had a chance with two guys on to make a play, hit it, do some damage and have a big inning. We just fall short.’
Bell delivered with a sharply hit single of his own to drive in Huckfeldt and tie the game 4-4. Catcher Thomas Juelke singled to move Bell and Thompson came up in a key spot. The No. 9 hitter cashed in with a single of his own that drove Bell home and put him three outs away from a win on his Senior Day.
“Coach just talked to us about having the swagger at the plate and having the mojo we’ve had all year,’ Huckfeldt said. “We didn’t have it to start.
“He’s a very good pitcher and he throws us off a bit with his odd motion but we did a great job adjusting, finally, in the sixth inning.’
Springfield got out of the inning there, but Thompson was feeling it and got three straight ground balls to end the game. Huckfeldt, who moved from first to third when Thompson went to the mound, made a great grab for the second out and Horn had a nice stop on an Aaron Caplan grounder to get the final out.
Both squads will now prep for their District I fates. Springfield has won the last three titles at Class AA, but the addition of Devon Prep adds a new wrinkle to the postseason this year. At 13-7 overall, Upper Dublin has a strong case for a bid in Class AAAA and the Cardinals will go about business as usual.
“The guys relaxed and trusted the tools they’ve been working on all season,’ Wall said. “It was good to see us finish that game cleanly.’
“We have a good group of leaders,’ Huckfeldt said. “Sophomores, juniors or seniors, we’re all one big family and we know we’ve got each other’s backs no matter what happens.’
