Council Rock North baseball returns to states with win at Upper Dublin
FORT WASHINGTON – In its second-round matchup with No. 22 Springfield just two days earlier, Council Rock North trailed the Cougars 3-1 going into the bottom half of the sixth inning. More to the point, the Indians had only two hits in the May 25 contest, to that point.
“We got to the fifth inning of the last game and I thought that if we don’t start hitting the ball, we’re going home soon,” stated CR North head coach Matt Schram.
“That first game was a good wakeup call for us.”
“This game, I wasn’t worried. We had a great practice yesterday and I had a feeling we were going to find it; I just felt like we were going to swing the bats today.”
The coach’s vision was spot-on. Facing No. 3 seed Upper Dublin Friday afternoon, May 27 at the Cardinals’ home field, the sixth-seeded Indians not only hit the ball in every inning, they also scored runs in every frame on their way to a 10-0 six-inning, mercy-ruled triumph over the Cardinals.
The lopsided win not only got the bats uncorked for the Rock, it advanced defending District 1 champion CR North to states for the second consecutive season. On Tuesday, May 31 in the District 1 semifinals at Methacton, the Indians will face Ches-Mont League Champs Downingtown West, a 10-1 victor over Spring-Ford (results not available at press time).
All is not lost for Upper Dublin, however. The Cardinals fall to the fifth-place bracket and will get a chance to make their way into states with a playback contest that will also be held on Tuesday, May 31 against an opponent that is TBD.
While the Indians had a hard time buying a hit in their District 1 opener at home against Springfield, everyone hit in this game for the Rock. Keying the win were No. 5 and 6 hitters Seth Leuz and Chase D’Arcangelo.
A senior who plays rightfield, Leuz hit 3-for 4 with a pair of RBI. Leuz, who came through with a big single in a two-run sixth inning that helped the Rock get past North Penn in last year’s D-1 title tilt, has a true batter’s mentality when he steps into the box.
“If I’m the first hitter, I’m going to try to hit a single and get on base. If someone’s on second base, I’m going to try to get them in with a single or a double. If someone’s on third, I’m going to try to hit it in the outfield somewhere.”
“It’s smart baseball – the name of the game.”
Classmate and first baseman, D’Arcangelo was even better with the bat, hitting 3-for-3 with a double and a pair of RBI.
“I was just trying to look, first-pitch fastball,” said D’Arcangelo. “First-pitch fastball is the easiest pitch to hit in the at-bat and I got them each time.”
Leuz had the first hit in the game and it produced the winning run with two outs, a single to center field with a pair of runners on.
“I started off the season really well and once we went around twice facing teams, they kind of figured out what to do against me so I struggled,” explained Leuz.
“Now, these teams, they don’t know much about us and I’m taking advantage of that.
“I’ve been really working hard on my at-bats and getting some extra swings with coach so I feel like it’s coming back.”
After D’Arcangelo reached on an infield single, senior third baseman Tyler Nowmos pushed two more runs across with a 2-run single up the middle.
Senior James Closser followed with a slow-moving grounder to the mound that was picked up and thrown over first base by UD starter Conor McFadden for run number four.
Leadoff hitter Cavan Tully opened the second inning with a bunt single and that was followed with walks to Jared Schram and Matt Hand. That was all for McFadden as he gave way to junior righthander Jason Greene.
With the sacks jammed, Leuz laced a single to left field and D’Arcangelo followed with a sac-fly to center. Nowmos followed with a rope to second base that ended the inning but the damage was done.
Council Rock was on top, 6-0, well on its way to the win it needed to reach states.
“It feels great to know that we have a couple of baseball games to play yet,” said Schram.
The Indians registered lone runs in each of the last four innings on run-scoring hits by left fielder Matt Shenot (2B), D’Arcangelo (2B), Jared Schram (1B) and a sac-fly to centerfield by Closser.
The pitcher of record, CR North sophomore righthander Gavin Ferrandino registered the win on the hill, tossing four scoreless innings of two-hit baseball. He walked four batters and struck out three.
“We threw the ball well today,” said Ferrandino. “I didn’t have great control but I battle through it.
“Even when they did make contact, it was usually right at someone.”
McFadden suffered the loss after giving up six runs on four hits with four walks and one strikeout.
Senior C.J. Kilgariff finished up for the Indians on the mound, tossing two scoreless innings without giving up a hit. Not a single ball made its way to the outfield with Kilgariff on the mound and only four saw their way past the infield when Ferrandino was pitching.
NOTES: Along with Hand, Schram and Closser, Leuz was part of the Council Rock-Newtown Little League All-Star team that came oh-so-close to becoming the first from Bucks County since 2005 to return to the Little League World Series. CR Newtown lost however, 8-5 to Toms River National in the 2010 Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship.
Contact Steve Sherman at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter
Council Rock North 10, Upper Dublin 0 (6 innings)
(May 27 at Upper Dublin)
CR NORTH 421 111 X – 10 12 1
UPPER DUBLIN 000 000 X – 0 2 1
WP — Gavin Ferrandino 4IP, 0R, 2H, 4BB, 3SO; LP — Conor McFadden 1.1IP, 6R, 4H, 4BB, 1SO.
MULTIPLE HITS: CRN — Cavan Tully 2-for-3, Seth Leuz 3-for-4, Chase D’Arcangelo 3-for-3; UD — none.
EXTRA-BASE HITS: CRN — D’Arcangelo 2B, Matt Shenot 2B
RBI: CRN — Shenot, Schram. Leuz 2, D’Arcangelo 2, Nowmos 2, Closser; UD — none.
