Gartland delivers a walk-off as Plymouth Whitemarsh edges Hatboro-Horsham

WHITEMARSH >> Luke Gartland thought he had won the game, but left no doubt about it one pitch later.

With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game, Gartland thought his right foot had been hit by a pitch that would have driven in the winning run. The plate umpire ruled the ball hadn’t made contact with the Plymouth Whitemarsh sophomore, so when the next pitch came, he swung.

Gartland’s first varsity hit was a memorable one, with his flare to right field serving as a walk-off winner as the Colonials topped Hatboro-Horsham 4-3 in a terrific nine-inning game on Friday afternoon.

“It’s just pure adrenaline and emotion,” Gartland said of running to first base off the hit. “It’s my first varsity season and to get my first hit at the varsity level in that fashion, it’s just amazing.”

As long as they’ve shared the same SOL conference, the Colonials and Hatters have played some great games against each other. After losing the 2020 season, they picked right back up this spring with the first of their two regular season games seeing both sides trade big outs, clutch hits and a lot of resilience.

The Hatters twice rallied to tie the game, but only one team gets to win on a given day. Hatboro-Horsham coach Pete Moore never likes losing, but with his team short on varsity experience this season, he couldn’t have asked for more from his guys on Friday.

“That’s as good of a high school baseball game as you’re going to get, there was plenty of emotion and passion from both sides” Moore said. “You tip your cap to them, they played a great game and their kid got a big hit there at the end. I’m proud of my guys, they came out and competed.”

PW didn’t need long to get on the board as leadoff hitter and UNC committed senior shortstop Joe Jaconski put the fourth pitch he saw over the left-center fence. For a while, it seemed like that was all the run support starter Tom Yanoshik would need but the Hatters kept battling.

Cole Fisher, the Hatters’ starting pitcher, got his team’s first hit with a fourth inning leadoff double. He moved to third on an error, allowing catcher Justin Kahrimanian to bring him in on a sac fly to center field.

“Going extra innings like that, both teams are so good and it’s a close game like that, everyone’s cheering and into it, that’s when everyone is going to play their best,” PW catcher Mike Miller said. “That’s when it means the most to you as a player.”

Miller, a junior, had one of the biggest hits of the day in the fifth inning. A heavyweight on the Colonials’ wresting team who batted cleanup on Friday, Miller came to the plate to very appropriate walk-up music, using Stone Cold Steve Austin’s entrance theme.

Like the shattering glass that announced the Texas Rattlesnake’s entry to the ring, Miller made a recognizable sound when he pinged a two-run double of his bat in the bottom of the fifth to put PW up 3-1. Coming into the game mired in a bit of a slump, Miller struck out his first time up but had put a good swing into a line out an inning earlier and built on it his next time up.

It wasn’t a Stone Cold Stunner, but it was enough to chase Fisher from the mound and put the hosts in good position.

“Coming up with the bases loaded, I was looking to put the ball in the outfield high in the air,” Miller said. “I was just trying to shorten up my swing and it helped me today. It may not have gotten out, but it went far enough for me.”

Miller credited teammate Joe Capriotti, an outfielder who made a couple important grabs despite not batting Friday – for his walk-up music.

“It was a funny idea, it stuck and I just liked it,” Miller said. “I grew up watching WWE and that’s my man right there, I love Stone Cold.”

Hatters freshman Stephen Plefka came on in relief and prevented any further damage and pitched three scoreless innings after before the Colonials got him for the winning run.

Down but not out, Hatboro-Horsham rallied in the top of the seventh. Yanoshik started the inning but after the leadoff man reached, his day was done and Ray Tomassetti came on to try and close the win. He got two outs but at the expense of two walks, which loaded the bases for Hatters outfielder Jimmy Tooley.

The only player on Hatboro-Horsham’s roster with real varsity experience, the senior came through for his team by lacing a single just out of reach for Jaconski at short and driving in two to tie the score 3-3.

“He’s the guy we wanted up in that situation,” Moore said. “It didn’t surprise me that he got the hit there but it’s great for him and great for us that he did. It’s a tough loss but I think our guys are starting to believe in themselves a little more each time out.”

Moore said he’s been most impressed with how close his team is already. Friday, he noted there were guys who weren’t playing that were in the middle of team huddles firing everyone else up and even with the youth and inexperience, they want to pick each other up and make plays for one another.

Tomassetti didn’t give up another run, escaping the seventh without further harm and retiring the side in order in the eighth and ninth innings. Like Hatboro-Horsham, the Colonials players were eager to support each other and Miller said everybody had Tomassetti’s back when he came into the dugout at the mid-point of the inning.

“The whole time, we weren’t quiet, we were up, we were loud and we were together as a team,” Miller said. “No one put their head down when they scored those runs, we wanted to come in and hit. In the ninth inning, we had a lot of fire and energy. We were ready to go.”

Third baseman Jesse Jaconski, who had three hits in the game, worked a one-out walk in the bottom of the ninth ahead of a double by Jack Hildebrand that put the winning run 90 feet from home. Miller was intentionally walked to load the bags, then Plefka got a grounder that shortstop Ryan Toprowski made a great play on to get the force-out at home for the second out.

Up came Gartland, who was 0-3 in the game to that point. Gartland was ready to walk to first and call it a day when he thought the ball hit his foot but when he didn’t get the call, the sophomore calmed down, got a couple words of advice from coach Chris Manero and got back in the box.

He didn’t care how it happened, he just wanted to get his teammate home from third and collect the win. Lofting the next pitch to right, Gartland made it a hit to remember.

“It’s definitely better winning it in that fashion,” Gartland said. “A walk-off in extra innings, it’s a nice moment to have early in the season and hopefully sets a tone for the rest of our season.”

“Your first varsity hit’s a walk-off? You can’t beat that,” Miller chipped in.

PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 4, HATBORO-HORSHAM 3
HATBORO-HORSHAM 000 100 200 – 3 2 1
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 100 020 001 – 4 8 1
HR: PW – Joe Jaconski. 2B: PW – Mike Miller, Jack Hildebrand; HH – Cole Fisher.