Third-inning explosion lifts William Tennent over Upper Dublin
UPPER DUBLIN >> William Tennent scored four runs in the third inning Friday afternoon to highlight a 5-3 win over Upper Dublin in a Suburban One League cross-conference matchup at Upper Dublin High School.
The Panthers started the inning with five straight hits — four singles and a double.
The double came off the bat of Xavier Delgado. After No. 9 hitter Nick Meltzer and leadoff man DJ Dickson singled, Delgado stepped to the plate and ripped an extra base hit to centerfield, scoring Meltzer and breaking the scoreless tie.
“We jumped on first-pitch fastballs,” Delgado said of the Panthers big inning. “He was trying to get at us early, so we huddled up, we talked and just decided to not let that first fastball get by us.
“I was sitting fastball first pitch. I think it was on the second pitch I was just trying to stay through the zone and level it out. I was actually trying to not do too much, just move the runners over because I have Armando Delgado and Alex Tiburcio behind me hitting. I just wanted to give them an opportunity as well. I didn’t expect the ball to go that far.”
Armando Delgado followed with a single, knocking home Dickson.
Xavier Delgado scored on an error and Tiburcio brought home Armando Delgado with another single to make it 4-0.
“We strung some hits together,” Tennent coach Rick Penecale said. “When you string five or six hits in a row like that together, you’re going to have a big inning and that’s what we did. We had that one big inning there.”
Upper Dublin battled back into the game in the bottom of the fourth, scoring three runs to cut its deficit to one.
Jarrod Matz started the inning with a walk and Alex Goldenberg was hit by a pitch to put two runners on with no outs and knocked Tennent’s starting pitcher from the game.
Matz advanced to third when Brian McPeak flew out to centerfield and scored on a wild pitch. Kyle Rizzo, courtesy running for Goldenberg, advanced to third on the wild pitch and scored when Carter Pestrack hit into an error.
Pestrack scored on an Elijah Peck single to make it 4-3.
Tennent reliever Matt Monaghan didn’t give up much beyond that. He had five strikeouts to no walks over four innings and allowed one run — unearned — on three hits.
“He’s one of those kinds of kids — you know what you’re going to get,” Penecale said. “He’s going to throw strikes. He’s not overpowering. He’ll make the team put the ball in play and with the way we’ve been fielding, that’s what we need.”
Jared Lamberg pitched the final four innings for the Cardinals in relief of starter Peter Johnson. Lamberg struck out four batters and walked four while allowing one run on three hits.
“(Lamberg) came in and settled things down,” Upper Dublin coach Ed Wall said. “He wasn’t spot on all the time, but that was his longest outing of the season. I was really happy with the way he came out and performed and kept us right there in the ballgame.”
The Cardinals had their chances to score early. They had runners on first and second with no outs in the bottom of the first inning and came up empty, with one runner getting thrown out at home. In the second and third innings runners were stranded on third.
“We have to keep trying to find momentum,” Wall said. “(Thursday’s win over Hatboro-Horsham) was (Thursday), today is a new day. We’re preaching that to them, trying to find some opportunities to knock those guys in. (Tennent) just made the right pitches at the right time and made the plays — have to give it to them.”
