Council Rock South baseball responds, tops CB South in opener (VIDEO)
NORTHAMPTON – Don’t say anything about non-league games not counting to Council Rock South head coach Ted Kirner. He won’t like it.
“Baseball is one of the sports without the power rankings so our playoff lives depend on the 14 league games,” stated Kirner.
“I don’t know where that comes from – that these (non-league) games don’t matter. They certainly matter to me and our best players are going to play every single game.
“Everybody is battling for a starting job and everybody is battling and pushing each other.
“With the kind of energy that we have going for us right now, that’s not something you want to mess with.”
You can hardly blame the Golden Hawks skipper for echoing that sentiment. Under sunny skies and a brisk wind on their home field, his team had just opened the season with an impressive 7-4 win over visiting Suburban One League (SOL) Continental Conference rival CB South, despite trailing 4-1 after an inning and a half.
After giving up a pair of runs in the top of the first inning and two more in the top of the second, the Hawks exploded for six runs of their own on just four hits – all singles – in the bottom of the second.
Smashing singles for CR South (1-0) in the six-run frame were Cody Kutler, Matt Smith Ryan Kolimaga and Josh Kim, the only player with multiple hits for the Hawks, despite exiting the game with a noticeable gimp with one out in the top of the third inning. Kolimaga, Crane, Kim, Josh Blaustein and Shaun Stackhouse pushed runs across the plate in the winning frame.
Kim’s single tied the game at 4-all and a grounder by Stackhouse pushed a pair of runs across when it was dropped by the Titans first baseman.
“They hit the ball, they put it in play and they capitalized – that’s the name of the game,” said CB South head coach Brian Klumpp.
“After they got the six-run big inning, we kind of rolled over and kind of laid down for them.
“But give them credit; they hit the ball all over the field and found holes.”
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The way the game started, the Titans (1-1) looked like they were on their way to their second win of the season after blanking Neshaminy 1-0 on March 24 behind a 1-hit, complete-game masterpiece thrown by junior Dan Klepchick.
With two outs in the top of the first inning and shortstop Kyle Rossi (2-for-4) standing on third, CB South infielder Tom Dugan crushed an RBI double to left field, then came home on an RBI single by third baseman Andrew Dietz.
The Hawks got a lone run back in the bottom of the frame on a grounder by Kutler but CB South went back to work in the top of the second, getting a run-scoring single by leadoff hitter Tyler Watson and an RBI double by outfielder Tyler Rossi.
At that stage of the game, the Titans had registered four runs on five hits, to go along with five stolen bases. What’s more, CR South had committed three errors in the contest before the battle had two innings completed.
“Free bases will kill you in any game at this level,” commented Kirner. “The Suburban One League is filled with really good baseball players that will make you pay if they get on for free.”
After the Hawks’ big inning however, the CR South pitching tandem that included junior Noah Davidson, who started, and sophomore John Barber, rolled five consecutive zeros across the scoreboard.
For his part, Davidson – who recorded the win – surrendered a two-out triple in the third inning and a leadoff double in the fifth. But he clamped down on the ensuing batters, leaving those Titan baserunners stranded where they landed.
“After that second inning, he settled down and was able to command the strike zone and get ahead of batters,” explained Kirner. “What followed were outs; you eliminate those free passes and good things are going to happen.”
Barber looked splendid, mowing down the last six batters in order including CB South’s 1-, 2- and 3-hitters Tyler Watson, Tyler and Kyle Rossi.
“What made that outing special is the fact that he just filled the zone up,” said Kirner. “He got ahead of almost every batter and was able to pound the zone and have his way with them.”
While the Titans got four extra-base hits in the game including Casey Sloms’ triple with two outs in the third inning and a double by Kyle Rossi, it was scattered over various innings.
“Early in the game, we were aggressive in the count and we were jumping on them. That’s when we were getting baserunners,” said Klumpp. “After the second inning, we kind of took ourselves out of at-bats when we got a down in the count.”
The Hawks had no extra-base hits at all. However, CR South strung together a walk and four of its five singles in the second inning, a frame in which it sent 10 batters to the plate. Two CB South errors – one in the outfield and one in the infield – did nothing to help the Titans’ cause.
“I tell the guys all the time, ‘when you give them free runs and when you make errors, that’s what kills you,’” stated Klumpp. “It ended up costing us today.”
In the other dugout, the coach was proud of the way his team responded, despite the early deficit.
“The way that our guys battled at the plate, got on base, moved runners around and made things happen – that’s what it takes , specifically early in the year,” said Kirner.
“I commend my team for giving up four runs and coming right back.
“They didn’t quit; there’s a lot of resolve in this group.”
The Hawks are coming off a 10-8 season (8-6 in the SOL National) and a first-round exit in the District 1 tournament in 2015 and enter the season without the services of catcher Connor Macaulay (Lafayette), lefthander Jordan Silverman (Rider), shortstop Nick Ponente (Arcadia) and second baseman Dean Obarowski.
After going 6-8 in the Continental Conference last year, CB South has entered the season under the tutelage of a new head coach in Klumpp, who guided the pitchers at Archbishop Wood for the past five years. During his time at AW, the Vikings claimed two District 12 trophies and one Philadelphia Catholic League Championship.
Senior Dan McCartin sustained the loss for the Titans, charged with all seven runs (5 earned) in one and 1/3 innings of work.
NOTES: Josh Kim re-entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the sixth, grounding out to first base. Josh also scored twice for the Golden Hawks.
Contact Steve Sherman at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter
Council Rock South 7, Central Bucks South 4
(March 29 at CR South)
CB South 220 000 0 – 4 7 4
CR South 160 000 X – 7 5 3
WP — N. Davidson (CRS) 5IP, 4R, 7H, 1BB, 3SO, 1HB
LP — Dan McCartin (CBS) 1.1IP, 7R, 5H, 1BB, 1SO, 1SO, 0HB
MULTIPLE HITS — Kyle Rossi (CBS) 2-for-4; Josh Kim (CRS) 2-for-3.
EXTRA-BASE HITS: 2B — Tom Dugan (CBS), Tyler Rossi (CBS), Kyle Rossi (CBS); 3B — Casey Sloms (CBS).
