Conestoga shocks top-seeded North Penn in District 1-6A second round

TOWAMENCIN >> Jacob Marcus’ unerring fastball and slider threw one big twist into the District 1-6A Playoff bracket.

Marcus racked up eight strikeouts, surrendering just one run off of two hits in five innings of work, pitching 16th-seeded Conestoga to a 2-1 upset victory over No. 1 North Penn. 

“I wanted this game,” said a determined Marcus on this sunny Wednesday afternoon at NP. “We were saying the whole day, ‘seeds don’t matter, seeds don’t matter. It’s the team.’ We’re just gonna keep winning. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing.”

The victory advances the Pioneers to a quarterfinal matchup at No. 8 Boyertown on Friday. 

“It feels good. We’re moving on,” said Marcus, a senior. “These guys behind me, I couldn’t have done it without them. I couldn’t have thrown my slider the way I did or my fastball the way I did if I didn’t know these guys were behind me the whole way. You gotta have confidence in the guys behind you to do anything.”

Conestoga rode Marcus’ right arm and pushed a run across in the third and fourth innings.  

“I’m just so happy for our guys. They are a tremendous group, especially our senior class,” Pioneers coach Matt Diamond said. “They have been leaders throughout the whole season. For them to be able to accomplish something like this, that’s such a special thing for them. 

“Jacob was phenomenal. He had actually injured his non-throwing arm earlier this year but that actually game him a little rest because we hadn’t been throwing him for a little bit. His arm looked very alive today and he just did a good job of mixing up pitches, hitting his spots and keeping guys off balance.”

Marcus’ younger brother, Cameron, came on to pitch the final two innings. 

“A little change of pace,” Diamond said of the junior, who pitched to contact and got the six outs he needed. 

Early Jump

Along with the pitching by the Marcus brothers, Diamond pointed to the two timely hits by Owen Margolis and Christian Moesler as being crucial to the Pioneer cause. 

Margolis layed down a pretty bunt that hugged the third-base line, bringing in Cameron Marcus (double) for a 1-0 lead in the third. 

After North Penn tied it in the bottom half, Conestoga went ahead for good in the fourth when Moesler singled in Luke Czepiel (walk), making it 2-1.

That would have to be enough, because North Penn starter Danny Kirwin was firing a gem for the Knights. There were just six hits total in this contest dominated by the pitchers, and Margolis and Moesler had two big ones for Conestoga. 

After falling in the first round of districts a year ago, the Pioneers are on their way. 

“That made this group of seniors a very hungry group,” Diamond said of 2017. “And we learned from that experience. And I think it’s carrying over into this 2018 postseason.”

“Whoever we’re playing is not gonna have an easy game,” Jacob Marcus said of the next round. “Seeing another day as a Pioneer, it’s very special.”

NP Ties It

Ryan Bealer led off the Knights’ third with a walk then advanced to second on an errant throw on a pickoff attempt. 

With one out, Rob Weiss singled, and another throwing error by the Pioneers allowed Bealer to come around and score, making it 1-1. But Conestoga’s defense tightened and Marcus kept dealing. 

“We tell the guys all the time that if you make the plays and you throw strikes, you will give yourself a chance to win,” Knights coach Kevin Manero said. “We made the plays and we got great pitching. Danny threw the best game he’s thrown all year. He was 88-90 (mph), threw a nasty breaking ball, was around the zone the whole time.

“We had chances to win the game in the last two innings and today we just didn’t get the break.”

Hunter Hamlin’s two-out single in the sixth gave the Knights life, and Weiss followed with a walk. But Cameron Marcus got Tyler Siddal to ground out to short, ending the threat. 

In the seventh, the Knights had a runner on third with two outs. Billy Collins ripped a foul ball down the left-field line, just inches from the promised land for the Knights.

Moments later, Cameron Marcus got Collins to pop out to end it. 

North Penn reached the first round of states last spring and was hoping to come back this year and make a similar run to that of the 2009, 2013 and 2015 State Title Teams.   

“We prepared all offseason,” Kirwin said. “We woke up at 4:30 (a.m.) in the winter three times a week. So we prepared ourselves but baseball’s baseball. Stuff happens…It’s a tough one.”