Seventh-inning heroics lift North Penn over Central Bucks South

TOWAMENCIN >> Tyler Siddal picked his spot.

“I thought it was a good time to do it,” North Penn’s leadoff man said of laying down the bunt to start the Knights’ at-bat in the seventh. “Usually in those situations, I like to do that, get the defense thinking.”

Siddal legged out the bunt single, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and then — on a bunt by No. 2 hitter Jake Drelick — Siddal raced home to score when the throw to third traveled into the outfield, and just like that, the Knights were 3-2 winners over rival Central Bucks South.

“The kid can run,” Knights coach Kevin Manero said of the speedy Siddal. “He’s really good in terms of small ball but he also drives the baseball. So he’s up there in a situation where he’s trying to get something started and we’ve been telling our players a lot that what I wanna see out of them is more of doing things on their own, thinking on their own, taking the game over by themselves.

“If it comes from them and they’re taking ownership of it, then they’re just becoming smarter, more confident baseball players.”

The Knights’ confidence and decision making has helped produce a 5-0 start in the Suburban One League Continental Conference, including this low-scoring, pitching-heavy win over the Titans (3-1 conference).

“A good, tight, gritty game, really for both teams,” said Manero, whose team climbed to 8-2 overall.

Pitching Duel

North Penn right-hander Danny Kirwin had the Titans blanked for five innings, allowing just one hit during that span against a potent South lineup.

“Danny did what he had to do today,” Manero said. “He was typical Danny Kirwin today. He looked really good.”

Kirwin struck out five, walked four, and didn’t run into any trouble until the sixth.

That is when South (3-4) was able to load the bases, and on came Knights lefty Mason Blankenburg. He limited the damage, getting Dylan Gruber to hit into a double play, then after an RBI single by Jake Trachtenburg tied it at two apiece, the Knights got out of it when catcher Jake Drelick threw out Trachtenburg on a steal attempt.

Titans starter Brock Viet did his part, throwing six innings as the teams battled to a 2-2 draw.

“He did a great job today,” South coach Brian Klumpp said. “Brock did a great job of mixing pitches, keeping them off balance.”

Said Manero: “They pitched us very well today. They put a starter out there who was able to hit his spots, was able to throw multiple pitches for strikes, kept us off balance really well. It was definitely the best-pitched game against us all year.”

Jake McKeown came on in the seventh for South. Pitching controlled the game and then Siddal’s speed around the bases put a finish to it.

“We’re real confident with the top of our offense,” said Siddal, who scored twice in the victory. “Before we went out there, coach (Manero) said he would take the top of our lineup over any lineup in the state of Pennsylvania. That puts some confidence in us.”

Nice Swing for Collins

North Penn broke the scoreless tie when Billy Collins ripped a two-out double to right, making it 2-0 in the third.

“Billy, earlier, was really pulling off the ball. He made a really good, at-bat adjustment,” Manero said. “He just let his hands do the work and drove the ball to the right side.

“We’ve been hitting the ball well all year, making good adjustments against good pitching, so I’m happy about that, but I do feel a lot better about us now, today. I just think (Tuesday) and today, we put together two really clean efforts on the mound (in wins over Souderton Area and South) and in the field, and that’s when I know we’re starting to play the kind of baseball we’re gonna have to play to win games late in the season.”