William Tennent bats come springing to life in non-league win over Lansdale Catholic
WARMINSTER >> A cold, soggy day on the diamond quickly got a whole lot better for William Tennent.
Greg Delgado found a nice, soft landing spot behind the 382-foot sign in center field, his two-run homer in the first powering the Panthers into the early lead.
“It was awesome. It felt good off the bat,” said a smiling Delgado, who would finish the day with three runs and three RBIs. “I worked a good count, saw a curveball coming and (LC starter Joe Starpoli) hung it, and I hit it well.
“It feels awesome just coming out here and playing baseball. The weather’s been so bad lately, and being able to come out here and play with these guys is just awesome.”
William Tennent slugged its way to a 16-6 non-league win over the Crusaders to even its record to 1-1. The Panthers were able to push 16 across by the fifth, enforcing the 10-run rule.
“That’s a big number. That doesn’t happen every day — might be a school record or something,” Delgado said happily of the 16 runs, made possible by 15 hits, including five for extra bases. “Real big day. We saw the ball well and everybody hit well.
“I think we’re strong. We have a lot of depth. Guys coming off the bench can swing it. I feel like we’re a good-hitting team.”
And that includes the leadoff and No. 2 spot, filled by the Delgado brothers. Junior Xavier Delgado led off the bottom of the first with a hard-hit infield single, followed up by the towering shot to center by Greg Delgado, a senior captain.
Said Greg of his younger brother: “I love that little guy. It’s nice hitting behind him because he’s always on.”
Hits Keep on Comin’
Tennent pushed another run across in the first off an error to make it 3-0 then blew it open in the second.
The Panthers extended their lead to 8-1, getting RBI hits from Joe Shannon, Jaiden Gries and Nick Meltzer.
“These guys came out and played hard today. (On Tuesday) we took a hard loss (to Truman) but these guys bounced back and we’re ready to go. We’re looking forward to (Tuesday and the Suburban One League Continental Conference opener at Central Bucks West).
“I’m very excited to see what comes next for these guys. I’m proud, a proud captain.”
Patrick McCauley came off the bench to belt a deep, two-run double to center to increase the Panther lead to 10-6 in the fourth, and then a six-run fifth finished it off, keyed by two more reserves.
Julian Manes crushed a bases-clearing double and Alex Tiburcio ended it by ripping a single up the middle to score Manes for the 16th run.
“It’s cold, not exactly baseball weather, but we got a game under our belts. And today we swung the bats much better,” Tennent coach Rick Penecale said. “We’re young but I think we have some talent. And it’s about coming together, getting some continuity and going from there.”
LC Battles Back
The Crusaders (0-1) also saw some promise offensively, putting together hits in bunches.
Against Tennent right hander Matt Monaghan, LC got on the board in the second off an RBI double by Shane Stewart then cut it to 8-3 in the third when Andy Guippone drove one in.
LC got as close as 8-6, with Matt Horenci smacking a three-run double down the left field line in the fourth.
“I’m very happy with the offense this early in the season. This is our second time on the baseball field so I’m just happy we swung it well,” said Crusader coach Nick Villucci, whose squad opens Philadelphia Catholic League play Tuesday at Archbishop Ryan. “That was huge, a huge improvement over last year.”
