District 1-6A Baseball: North Penn upsets top seed Spring-Ford in quarterfinals
UPPER PROVIDENCE >> It’s had a very breezy run through the spring thus far.
But on Thursday, a stern reality presented itself to Spring-Ford. A reality borne out by an 8-2 loss to North Penn in the quarterfinal round of the District 1 Class 6A playoffs; one all too apparent to Rick Harrison.
“A lot of our guys haven’t played meaningful baseball,” the Rams’ field boss said after seeing his district top seeds dropped into the 3-5 place playbacks. “(Dylan) Ducharme and (Jack) Kisela are some of the only ones who have.”
PHOTO GALLERY: Spring-Ford vs North Penn District 1-6A Baseball
Another reality was how a bataround first at-bat can take a team out of its normal routine. The Knights presented that reality by scoring five times to start the game, then padded that advantage three more times while limiting the Rams (16-2) to solo runs in the second and sixth.
“Scoring in the first is important,” NP head coach Kevin Manero noted. “Spring-Ford can bunt, steal and play disciplined. Scoring a lot takes those things off the table.”
Then there was pitcher Dylan Brown showing his stuff as a NCAA Division 1 prospect. The Notre Dame commit was touched for nine of Spring-Ford’s 11 hits and both its runs, but he displayed a measure of control on the hill by walking none and striking out six.
Brown fell one out short of turning in a complete game, getting to the 100-pitch limit after facing two batters in the seventh. He gave way to Eric Hamilton, who closed out the game after Ducharme (2-for-4) singled and Billy Bean reached base on a fielding error.
“Our starting pitcher threw the biggest game of his high-school career,” Manero said. “We have a lot of guys in the pen who can do the job.”
As such, the ninth-seeded Knights got the early qualification for the PIAA 6A playoffs and number among the four teams still in the running for district gold. The Rams, in turn, go into playbacks with the main certainty their top-seed status gives them home-field advantage for the rest of districts.
“I think we came out not really ready,” Harrison said. “That takes away from the game. They (NP) made big hits and manufactured runs. Every inning, they had their leadoff batter get on base.”
The early scoring outburst exacted a toll of its own on Spring-Ford starting pitcher Jackson Malouf. The senior hurler needed 51 pitches to get out of the first inning and neared the 100-pitch limit when he was pulled in the fifth after facing NP’s leadoff batter.
He finished with three strikeouts and three walks when Luke Czachor came on in relief.
“That (pitch count) certainly hurt,” Harrison noted. “There were balls we should have made plays on. It was a tough mountain to climb.”
The Knights’ fast start at the plate saw them parlay four hits, a sacrifice fly, a Ram error, a hit batter and a wild pitch into their early run total. Sam Cohen’s RBI double was the big blast of the at-bat, with Justin Egner and Colin Orndorff contributing other run-producing hits.
Cohen (3-for-3) had another RBI double in the third. Steve Corrado added an RBI two-bagger of his own in the sixth, and a final run scored in the top of the seventh on a fielding error off Jeff Sabater’s hit to third.
“We have guys who hit the gaps,” Manero said.
Spring-Ford got one back in the second when Billy Bean (single) scored off Jarrett Gordon (2-for-3) singling up the middle. In the sixth, Nick Cagliola (single) advanced to second off a wild pitch before Griffin Straface (2-for-4) singled to right.
North Penn’s semifinal-round opponent will be the winner of Friday’s quarterfinal between fifth-seeded Boyertown and fourth-seeded West Chester Henderson Tuesday, June 1. Spring-Ford’s first opponent in playbacks will be established once game results from the bottom part of the bracket become official.
“In the back of our minds, we know it’s good to have a tomorrow,” Harrison said. “But now we don’t have a tomorrow for sure. We have to keep working at it.”
NOTES >> The Spring-Ford defense distinguished itself by turning in double plays in the second, fourth and fifth innings. The twin-killings were initiated, in order, by catcher Cole Casamento, third-baseman Aydan McNelly and Bean in right field.
