Hatboro-Horsham strikes fast, topples rival Wissahickon

HORSHAM >> The Hatboro-Horsham machine was rolling early, with hard-hitting Jack Elwell greasing the wheels.

Elwell lined an RBI double to right-center field in his first at-bat, and the Hatters were on their way against rival Wissahickon on Wednesday.

“When (leadoff) Trey (Porter) gets on, I know it’s gonna be a big inning,” said Elwell. “He gets on and then I get on, and Cole (Fisher) knocks us in. That happens a lot. It’s a good way to start the game.”

Elwell went on to a 4-for-4 performance and the Hatters racked up a dozen hits in another impressive outing, this one a 9-2 victory over the Trojans on a sunny afternoon on the diamond at Hatboro-Horsham.

“The hats are rolling,” Elwell said of his squad, which improved to 12-0 (12-0 SOL Liberty). “It’s not gonna stop.”

The Hatters further solidified their No. 1 spot in the District 1-6A rankings, with a home game against rival Plymouth-Whitemarsh up next on Thursday. Wissahickon (7-5, 7-5 SOL Liberty), very much in the playoff mix in District 1-5A, hosts Abington Friday.

“Our offense played pretty well today, gave our pitcher (Stephen Plefka) more confidence on the mound,” said Elwell. “He threw a complete game – you gotta give it to him too. He had a great game out there.

“The third inning was a good inning for us, felt good for everyone.”

RBI hits by Elwell and Will Bruner gave the Hatters a 2-0 lead in the first against Wiss starter Nate DeVincent.

“Nate DeVincent, in my opinion, is one of the top two or three pitchers in the league,” Hatters coach Pete Moore said. “He throws hard, and I was wondering how we would react to his velocity, because we hadn’t seen a guy throw that hard in a while. The fact we put up two in the first was a really good sign for us, and it allowed us to relax and play our game.

“I tip my cap to (DeVincent) because he’s a tough kid. He took that one ball off the stomach (and threw to first to get Noah Schlosser out in the second). He has great mound presence, keeps pounding the zone. He’s a very good pitcher that should have a nice career beyond high school.”

The third inning is what broke the game open for the Hatters.

Five consecutive hits to start the frame spurred a four-run outburst. Porter, Elwell and Fisher all singled, Bruner doubled, and Ryan Toporowski singled, as the lead grew to 5-0. Nick Katherine’s sacrifice bunt brought another run in and it was 6-0 Hatters.

Elwell’s RBI triple to deep center set off another big burst in the sixth.

“He’s a stud. He’s the epitome of a competitor,” Moore said. “He comes out, and goes hard at everything he does. He absolutely flies. He hits the baseball extremely well. (With a double, a bunt single, an infield single and a triple), he showed all of his abilities today. We’ve been lucky to have him and Trey at the top of the order the last two years and that kind of speed really puts pressure on other teams.”

Fisher’s RBI single and a sac fly to center by Katherine widened the gap to 9-2 in the sixth.

Plefka retired the final seven batters he faced to close out strong.

“We love Plef because we know he’s gonna go out there, fill up the zone,” Moore said. “He wants the ball all the time. He’s an extremely hard worker. And I’m just real proud of the work he put in in the offseason, to give himself a chance to be successful this year. He transformed his body, focused on his mechanics, and came back a lot better than he was in the fall, through the hard work that he put in on his own.”

Plefka limited the Trojans to two runs off of five hits while striking out three and walking two in his complete-game effort.

Kasey Weiss drew a walk and scored on a sac fly by Morgan Wilson in the fourth for Wiss, and Blake McClintic’s solo home run in the fifth brought the Trojans within 6-2.

“We knew coming into this game and we knew coming into this season how talented Hatboro-Horsham is and how well-coached they are. It’s a very well-respected program,” Trojans coach Andy Noga said. “I’ve known by coaching with Pete how well-prepared his teams are gonna be. I’m proud of the way we battled.

“I’m very proud of the way Nate battled. He’s our guy this year. He’s taken the ball in every big-time situation we’ve asked him to. This is a very talented lineup that he went up against today and he challenged their hitters.”

Hatboro-Horsham 9, Wissahickon 2
Wissahickon 000 110 0 – 2 5 4
Hatboro-Horsham 204 003 x – 9 12 0
WP: Stephen Plefka (7IP, 2R, 2ER, 5H, 3K, 2BB).
LP: Nate DeVincent (42/3IP, 6R, 5ER, 9H, 6K, 2BB).
HR: W-Blake McClintic. 3B: HH-Jack Elwell. 2B: HH-Elwell, Will Bruner.
Multiple hits: W-DeVincent 2-for-3; HH-Elwell 4-for-4, 3R, 2RBI; Cole Fisher 2-for-4, 2R, 2RBI; Bruner 3-for-3, BB, R, 2RBI.