Wissahickon bats come to life in shutout win over Upper Dublin

LOWER GWYNEDD >> Wissahickon batted around and scored six runs in a robust first inning, capped off by Andrew Booth’s 340-foot exclamation point.

“It felt good off the bat. I had to watch it for a couple seconds,” the center fielder said of his towering, two-run home run over the left-field fence.

The Trojans pounded out 11 hits Thursday en route to a 13-0, five-inning shutout of rival Upper Dublin, as Wiss bats came springing back to life in a Suburban One League American Conference victory.

“We had been struggling offensively recently but we just came out, swung the bats, and everyone — one through nine — just did a great job,” said Booth, who was 2-for-2 with a walk, a run and three RBIs.

Joe Hornig’s two-run, line-drive double to right, Brian Hynes’ two-run single up the middle, and Booth’s two-run shot into the trees in left powered the Trojans to their 6-0 lead off Cardinal starter Elijah Peck.

“That was great. We just got so much confidence in that first inning,” Booth said. “And then Quinn (Rovner) came out in the second and just threw, and we rallied off that.”

Rovner, who had to take an AP test prior to the game, arrived to the mound with gusto in the second inning. Teague DiNicola held down the fort in the first, forcing Upper Dublin to leave two men stranded.

“Teague got himself into a little bit of a jam in that first inning so for him to work out of it and still get a zero allows us to come out in that first at-bat and go from there,” Trojans coach Andy Noga said.

Peck and Karan Acharya drew first-inning walks for Upper Dublin but Wiss ended the threat, and momentum swung swiftly into the Trojans’ favor.

“They came ready to play,” Cardinals coach Ed Wall said. “We didn’t have a chip on our shoulder and we weren’t ready to come out and battle.”

Wiss pushed four more runs across in the second, keyed by Jackson Tappen’s RBI single.

“We’ve been preaching disciplined at-bats,” Noga said. “We have a lot of talented baseball players but our approaches at the plate had to change. And we did a very good job of that today, looking for our own individual pitches to drive.”

Added Noga: “It was very good to see us come out and finally put some crooked numbers on the board.”

The Trojans padded their lead in the third, when Booth drew a bases-loaded walk and Tappen delivered a two-run single.

Meanwhile, Rovner wasn’t allowing much, racking up five strikeouts in the second and third innings and another in the fifth.

“He came in and he does what he does,” Cardinals coach Ed Wall said. “He’s a super competitor that shoves it right down your throat. It was good to see a freshman, Kyle Rizzo, come up with a hit there at the end and Drew Stover laced one to center, and Drew’s a sophomore, so to see those guys have good at-bats against a quality pitcher like that, it’s a blessing.

“But 13-0, there’s not much to say other than moving on to the next one (at Upper Moreland Friday) and getting ready for it.”

The Cardinals (9-9, 6-6 SOL American) are in firm position for a District 1-5A Playoff berth, but would like to further improve their seeding.

“Going from four wins last year to being a playoff contender, there’s a lot to be excited about, but we still gotta go out and make it happen,” Wall said. “It’s exciting but we still have two massive games to go.”

Wiss (6-11, 5-8 SOL American) wants to continue its surge against Methacton Friday on Senior Day.

“These guys have worked their butts off all year,” Noga said. “It hasn’t been the year we wanted, but these guys have continued to show up to work every day.”