MARPLE TWP. — Bonner & Prendergast’s Harry Carr was mired in a minor hitting slump prior to Monday. He found the remedy for his woes via Cardinal O’Hara pitching.
Carr, an outstanding senior shortstop/pitcher, crushed two home runs to help lead the Friars to a 13-4 shellacking of their Catholic League rivals.
“I’ve been struggling and not getting the results I want,” said Carr, who is bound for the Big East Conference and Butler University. “It felt good today. I got hold of one – two actually – and I was just trying to not do too much.”
Carr jacked one over the fence in the top of the third inning on the same same day Bonner unveiled its alternate gold top, which the team calls its “County Connect Jersey.” The jersey is an ode to Bonner squads of yesteryear, a sharp-looking throwback.
“We always circle this one on our calendar because it’s a big rivalry,” said Carr, who closed the game on the mound. “We take every game seriously. We always have the same mentality no matter who we are playing.”
Carr’s roundtripper off O’Hara starter Noah McMullen followed Michael Coleman’s solo homer in the first inning. In the sixth inning, Carr obliterated a pitch from freshman reliever Jack Coleman, giving the Friars a 10-3 lead.
Michael Coleman also hit his way out of a funk, going 4-for-5 with four RBIs. The Friars (12-4, 6-3) sit in fourth place in a loaded Philadelphia Catholic League, behind Conwell-Egan (7-3), Neumann & Goretti (7-2) and La Salle (8-1).
“Same thing with M.C., who was flailing a little bit at the plate and he had four hits today, which was great to see,” Bonner coach Steve DeBarberie said. “I tell the guys that some days it’s going to be this guy and some days it’s going to be that guy (leading the offense). As of late, though, we’ve really been all putting it together at the same time. We’re a very deep lineup and when everyone is swinging the bats, we can score a lot of runs.”
Junior ace Cory Sheridan pitched six strong innings, allowing only one earned run on four hits. He struck out seven. Sheridan, an Aston resident, transferred from Salesianum after his sophomore year. An intense, hard-throwing right hander, Sheridan leaned on a filthy curveball and biting slider to get swings and misses.
“I grew up with my dad always pushing me to be the best player that I can be,” Sheridan said. “I just try to stay locked in and focused at all times.”
Sheridan, committed to North Carolina State, knows he made the right decision joining a Bonner & Prendie team that advanced to the PIAA semifinals in each of the previous three seasons.
“I love it here,” he said. “I love all the guys. They brought me in, welcomed me like I’ve been here since my freshman year. The coaches are great and they are teaching me a lot of things. They have helped me adjust quickly to being in a new program and it’s great that we’re playing good baseball right now.”
After Carr’s first homer gave the Friars a 4-1 advantage, the Lions (4-9, 4-5) scored two in the bottom of the third to trim the deficit to one. Nate Evert doubled home Kevin McGuire, who reached on an error.
CJ Nocella hit a sacrifice fly, and Ryan Friel drove in a run with a single to put the Friars ahead 6-3 in the fifth inning. Before Carr’s second blast busted the game wide open, Austin Cannon smoked an RBI single to put the Friars ahead 7-3.
Bonner & Prendie leadoff hitter Jaxon Kehoe went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Friel finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Quinn Bryan and Cannon (two RBIs) each had a pair of base knocks.
Jimmy Coppock and Brendan Till both singled and scored runs for O’Hara.
In the Central League:
Strath Haven 3, Haverford 2 >> All-Delco Luke D’Ancona outdueled Jimmy Boyle in a marquee matchup. D’Ancona scattered six hits and two runs while striking out nine over six innings. Rob Mattai earned the save.
Boyle hurled a complete game with 10 K’s. He allowed three runs on six hits.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first, the Central League-leading Panthers (12-2, 9-2) answered with three runs in the bottom half. Zane Malarkey, D’Ancona and Eli Price (two hits) each had one RBI.
Shane Durkan ripped a run-scoring triple for the Fords (9-5-1, 7-3).
Lower Merion 7, Springfield 0 >> LM ace Van Miller twirled a four-hit shutout with five strikeouts.
Sean Williams (eight K’s) went the distance for the Cougars. Jake Adams hit a double.
Marple Newtown 3, Ridley 1 >> Aidin Curran pitched all seven frames, giving up four hits and one run while fanning eight. Paul DeFruscio and Jackson Burger led the Tigers at the plate with two hits apiece.
Chris Kimmel gave the Green Raiders six solid innings on the mound. He allowed three runs on eight hits and struck out six. Bobby Doherty homered for Ridley’s only run.
Penncrest 11, Conestoga 6 >> Gavin Brown went 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs for the Lions (8-5, 7-4). Ben Ettien singled, doubled and drove in three runs. Harry Giles and Nico Tozzi (four runs scored) each had two hits.
Radnor 12, Upper Darby 2 >> Eli Frankel’s two-run single in the sixth inning closed out the win for the host Raptors (8-6, 6-5). Kyle Millenberger and Teddy Monahan each scored twice and Zach Fein had a hit and two ribbies.
In the Bicentennial League:
Delco Christian 17, Church Farm 7 >> Matteo DeBellis paced the Knights with four hits, including a double. Reid Darnall legged out a triple. Sam Dixon made two incredible catches in left field. Josey Lyren was the winning pitcher.
