Pennridge’s Coyle, Long combine to shut down Hatboro-Horsham
HORSHAM >> As a relief pitcher, Dan Long is sometimes tasked with getting Pennridge out of a sticky situation. Other times, it is to prevent the Rams from getting in a bad spot in the first place.
Tuesday afternoon it was the later. With Pennridge holding a five-run edge on host Hatboro-Horsham, Long was sent to the mound in the bottom of the fifth after consecutive walks gave the Hatters two runners with no outs.
“Just try to come in, pitch to the lead. Up five runs, you’re just trying to throw strikes,” Long said. “(Starting pitcher) Nate (Coyle) did a great job, I just tried to come in and do the same.”
After a force out at third on a fielder’s choice, Long struck out the next two batters to end the threat. The senior right-hander heading to Monmouth University next fall kept the Hatters off the board the final two innings to pick up the save as Pennridge earned a 6-1 Suburban One League Continental Conference victory.
“They’ve got a lot of good bats in their lineup so I tried to mix up pitches, keeping them off-speed,” Long said.
The Rams (6-4, 4-2 conference) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second on Jason Souder’s two-RBI double to left then after the Hatters plated a run in the third, Pennridge took control in the fourth, scoring four runs on four hits — two coming on Mitch McLeod’s triple.
“We weren’t really light the bats on fire, so I said before the game ‘Hey, I need someone to step up for us today,” Rams coach Tom Nuneviller said. “And we had a couple guys that did that and put some good swings that found the barrel today.”
Most of that came from the bottom of the Pennridge lineup, as the Rams’ 6-9 hitters — Andrew Fantaskey, Luke Nuneviller, Souder and Riley Hager — collected four of the team’s eight hits, drove in three runs and scored three times. Souder was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs while Fantaskey had a double and scored twice.
“We knew we were coming in seeing a good arm, no matter who they throw, they’ve got a lot of quality arms,” Long said. “First inning, I think (Colin Kennedy) struck out the side, but bottom of the order did a real good job of getting to him and hitting some balls hard and some guys stepped up.”
Hatboro-Horsham (5-5, 3-3) pulled to within 2-1 on Kennedy’s RBI single in the third, but spent most of the afternoon not making the most of its chances, leaving 11 runners on base.
“There’s not one thing that I look at and say ‘Man, I’m disappointed with the guys.’ It’s a great group of guys I’m coaching right now, we didn’t have our best game today,” Hatters coach Pete Moore said. “Pennridge played a clean game. They did a nice job. They had their stud (Long) come in an shut the door down when he had to do it and he gave them three solid innings out of the pen. And he did his job, he shut the door.”
#BASEBALL: Mitch McLeod gives @PennridgeHS a 5-1 lead T4 vs. Hatboro-Horsham with a 2-RBI triple to center. pic.twitter.com/9TD0VibIyF
— Mike Cabrey (@mpcabrey) April 20, 2016
Coyle earned the win for Pennridge, giving up one unearned run on two hits in four-plus innings. The righty gave up two hits, struck out two and walked eight. Long did not allow a hit in pitching three innings for the save. He surrendering one walk and struck out six.
Hatters starter Kennedy took the loss, allowing six runs — all earned — on eight hits in four innings. He walked two and struck out eight, including the first three batters he faced.
Hatboro-Horsham looks to rebound back Thursday when it visits North Penn at 3:30 p.m.
“I really believe in the resiliency of this group,” Moore said. “I think we’ll bounce back, have a very good practice tomorrow and we’ll come out and we’ll compete with North Penn on Thursday.”
Pennridge, meanwhile, looks to stay in at the top of the SOL Continental race — the Rams and Souderton are tied for second, a game back of leader Central Bucks South — when they host Quakertown 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
“I read one of the articles that says every coach says a league win’s a big win. But it is. If you’re trying for a championship, you’re trying to get to the playoffs you’ve got to get wins,” Nuneviller said. “And 14 (conference) games, you can’t give them away. You have to come out ready to go.”
Pennridge opened the scoring Tuesday with a pair of runs in the top of the second. With two outs, Fantaskey doubled. Luke Nuneviller was hit by a pitch to put two on for Souder, who plated both with double to left.
The Hatters cut the margin in half in the fourth when Brian Edgington — who led off with a walk and went to second on a passed ball — scored on Kennedy’s RBI single through the left side of the infield.
#BASEBALL: @souder_kraut gives @PennridgeHS a 2-0 lead with a 2-RBI double T2 vs. Hatboro-Horsham. pic.twitter.com/6UWurQWJTg
— Mike Cabrey (@mpcabrey) April 20, 2016
But Pennridge answered with a four-spot in the fourth. Fantaskey led off with a walk, stole second, went to third on a walk and then came home on Luke Nuneviller’s RBI ground out to make it 3-1. Souder hit his second double — this one to right center — with Riley Hager singling to put two on with one out.
McLeod blew things open on the next at-bat, hitting a ball to center that took a big hop over the center fielder, allowing Souder and Hager to score and McLeod to collect a triple. After a strikeout, Long’s two-out RBI single had the Rams up 6-1.
After Long got out the jam in the fifth, Hatboro-Horsham had a pair of runners on with one out in the sixth, but Long got a strike out and a fly out to center to end the inning.
