Council Rock South scores 4 in 1st, tops Souderton to end 3-game skid
LOWER SALFORD >> First innings continue to frustrate the Souderton baseball team.
Before the Indians had a chance to swing the bats, they already found themselves trailing Council Rock South in Wednesday afternoon’s SOL crossover contest, the visiting Golden Hawks sending nine to the plate in the top of the opening frame, collecting four hits and scoring four runs.
“Our nemesis has been the first inning,” Souderton coach Mike Childs said. “We can’t get out of our way in the first inning, that’s what stinks. They hit some singles, scored some runs and now we’re playing from behind the whole game and we’re pressing.”
A Tyler Lutz RBI single in the Indians’ half of the first cut the margin to three. And while Souderton put at least one runner on base the next six innings, it could not break through again off Trey Sajeski, who threw a complete game to help South snap a three-game skid with a 4-1 victory at Vic Alderfer Memorial Ball Park.
“That was huge for us,” Sajeski said. “I think it was a big momentum shift for us cause we lost, I think, our last three so making a playoff push it’s definitely a momentum change for us.”
Sajeski, a senior committed to Binghamton, also went 2-for-3 with an RBI single. The right-hander allowed one earned run on four hits, walked five, hit one batter and struck out one.
“Getting early strikes with a fastball in the court,” Sajeski said. “And then kind of mixing up with a changeup and curveball later in the count really helped me get them to roll over and get a lot of ground balls today.”
With two outs and a runner on first in the bottom of the seventh, Sajeski reached 100 pitches on a strike to avoid a four-pitch walk then sealed the win when his next offering resulted in a fly out to first.
“I needed to complete that,” he said. “I got to get that over for a strike and then try to repeat that same pitch next pitch.”
Souderton (6-7, 5-6 SOL Colonial), which has lost four of its last five, has given up a run or more in the first in seven of its 13 games with 21 of its 45 total runs allowed coming in the inning.
CR South’s four runs were the second-most the Indians gave up in a first inning behind the six North Penn posted in a April 11 game Souderton rallied back to win 8-7 in eight innings.
“It our first-inning nemesis has been our problem, probably for over half of the games this year where we’ve fallen behind in the first inning by three or four runs,” Childs said. “It’s not like one, it’s three or four and we got to battle back. And that’s a tough spot to play from when you’re trying to battle back and trying to get wins especially now with the late window here with six or seven games that matter.”
Souderton starting pitcher Jeremy Fallon took the loss but bounced back from the tough start to go all seven innings, allowing the Golden Hawks (6-6, 5-5 SOL Patriot) just two hits over the final six – a Sam Serpiello double in the third and a Sajeski single in the fifth. The righty allowed four runs – all earned – on six hits, walked one, hit one batter and struck out nine.
“The scored those four and the rest of the game is nothing,” Childs said. “Jeremy settled in and he was lights out the rest of the game and threw a complete game. It was just we didn’t have the timely hits either. So the timely hits are obviously important.”
Souderton came into Wednesday’s game holding the 24th and last qualifying spot for the District 1-6A playoffs and dropped to 25th heading into a road SOL Colonial game against Central Bucks South 3:45 p.m. Friday.
“I’d love to say we’re going to run straight through, that’s a perfect world,” Childs said. “We just have to take it one game at a time, play aggressive, attack the baseball. I just told them in the huddle there’s nothing to think about anymore, just step in, rip, hit the ball, play the ball and go out and have fun.”
CR South, which moved up from 25th to 23rd in the 6A rankings, visits Bensalem in an SOL Patriot matchup 3:45 p.m. Friday.
“We just got to keep playing like this,” Sajeski said. “Bring a lot of energy to the game and hopefully we can make a push for it.”
The Golden Hawks had not scored four runs in a game since beating Council Rock North 4-3 April 3 but needed just a half inning to do so Wednesday.
Consecutive singles by Petrie – who left the game with an injury after his hit – and Johnny Mendola then Chase Ennis getting hit by a pitch loaded the bases with no outs for Sajeski, who connected on an RBI for a 1-0 lead.
“That one I was just sitting fastball,” Sajeski said. “I think it was a 1-1 count. I was sitting fastball, I was going to adjust curveball and I got the fastball and just drove it up the middle.”
Bases still loaded, Billy O’Neill put South up 3-0 with a two-RBI double to left center. After a strikeout, Reed Curtier drew a walk to load the bases for Zach Rementer, who made it 4-0 with an RBI sacrifice fly to center.
Chris McKenna led off the bottom of the first with a double to right center then scored from third three batters later when Lutz hit a two-out RBI single to left.
Joey Crecca started the bottom of the fourth with a single while on the following at-bat Fallon reached on an error. Zach Pollock’s sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third with one out but the Indians could not get a run as the next two batters grounded out.
Souderton put two runners on with two outs in the fifth on a hit by pitch and a walk but Sajeski stranded both with a pop out in foul territory.
The Indians had another two on in the sixth after an error on Joey Nase’s two-out grounder. South, however, got a force out at second on a fielder’s choice the next at-bat.
Council Rock South 4, Souderton 1
Council Rock South 400 000 0 – 4 6 2
Souderton 100 000 0 – 1 4 0
WP: Trey Sajeski 7 IP 4 H 1 R 1 ER 5 BB 1 SO 1 HB.
LP: Jeremy Fallon 7 IP 6 H 4 R 4 ER 1 BB 9 SO 1 HB.
2B: CRS-Billy O’Neill, Sam Serpiello; S-Chris McKenna.
Council Rock South: O’Neill 2 RBI; Sajeski 2-3, RBI.
