Council Rock North baseball had no answer for Pennridge pitching (VIDEO)

EAGLEVILLE – Pennridge had three runners picked off the basepaths while defending District 1 Class AAAA champ Council Rock North didn’t have a single man erased off a base. The Indians committed just one error while the 17th-seeded Rams made three gaffes in the field.

And yet Pennridge was the team that walked off with the win Thursday, June 2 at Methacton High’s Robert Morris Childress Field, taking their first District 1 crown since 1987 and preventing No. 6 seed Rock North from becoming the first in the program’s history to win back to back district titles.

“The two guys on the mound just did a great job; we didn’t have an answer for them,” said CR North head coach Matt Schram. “They mowed us down.”

The two guys on the mound for the Rams the coach was referring to were junior Andrew Mayhew and senior Dan Long. The starter, Mayhew shut the Indians out, limiting the defending champs to a lone hit, a one-out single by Jackson Parker in the third inning.

Coming on with one out in the sixth inning and Matt Hand on first with a walk, Long surrendered an infield single to right fielder Seth Luez before inducing a double-play ball to short by first baseman Chase D’Arcangelo. Only an error at short prevented Pennridge from hurling a shutout on this day.

Long fanned Tyler Nowmos to end the sixth-inning rally.

Meanwhile, the Rams stung Rock North starter Gavin Ferrandino for a pair of runs in the second inning after stringing together a pair of two-out singles sandwiched by a double.

The double – drilled down the right field line by designated hitter Jason Souder – and a single up the middle by right fielder Luke Nuneviller provided the scoring punch for Pennridge.

The Rams added a run off CR North reliever C.J. Kilgariff in the fifth inning with centerfielder Mitch McLeod reaching second on a two-base error committed on a miscommunication between Matt Shenot in left field and Parker in center.

With two outs, McLeod came around to score from third base on an infield single by second baseman Andrew Fantaskey.

While Pennridge made more mistakes in the field than did North, the Rams’ defense came through when it counted most.

Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Council Rock tried to rally in its last chance at the plate, with senior James Closser reaching on a single to left field and Parker getting on board via an error at second base.

With two strikes, Cavan Tully laid down what looked like a perfect bunt down the third base line. However, Pennridge catcher Joe Robinson pounced on the slow-moving dribbler and fired it to third base, cutting down the Indians’ lead baserunner.

“The catcher – the only play he had was at third base because of where (Tully) put the ball,” said Schram. “He puts that ball five inches further and there’s bases loaded and nobody out.

“That was the turning point of that inning.”

Long retired the side with no further damage, fanning Shenot on a 2-2 pitch and inducing a popup to North catcher Jared Schram, earning the Rams their first D-1 trophy in 29 years.

Both teams advanced to the state PIAA Tournament, which begins Monday, June 6. Pennridge faces District 3 third-place finisher Cumberland Valley while North takes on District 12 runner-up Father Judge.

Contact Steve Sherman at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter

District 1 Class AAAA Championship

Pennridge 3, Council Rock North 1

(June 2 at Methacton)

CR NORTH 000 001 0 – 1 3 1

PENNRIDGE 020 010 0 3 7 3

WP — Andrew Mayhew 5.1IP, 1R, 1H, 4BB, 4SO; LP — Gavin Ferrandino 4IP, 2R, 4H, 1BB, 3SO.

MULTIPLE HITS: P — Andrew Horne 2-for-3; CRN — none.

EXTRA-BASE HITS: P — Jason Souder 2B; CRN — none.

RBI: P —Souder, Luke Nuneviller, Andrew Fantaskey; CRN — none.