Plefka pitches Hatboro-Horsham to SOL Liberty victory over rival Plymouth Whitemarsh

WHITEMARSH >> It was just the type of pitching performance Hatboro-Horsham was looking for against rival Plymouth Whitemarsh, and Stephen Plefka’s fingerprints were all over it.

“Every time he gets on the mound, you know he’s gonna compete,” Hatters coach Pete Moore said. “He’s gonna pound the strike zone for us. He was at his best, just dominating the strike zone. He was throwing multiple pitches for strikes. And he works at a pretty quick pace too, which keeps the guys behind him in it.”

Plefka pitched five strong innings to key a 3-2 win for the Hatters in a Suburban One League Liberty Division battle at Colonial Yards Wednesday.

“I was doing my job, and the players behind me did well too,” said the lefty. “None of this is possible without them.”

Plefka allowed just one run off of two hits while striking out four and walking one, as the Hatters raised their record to 3-0.

Plefka retired the side in his final inning of work.

“The fastball-change-up combo was pretty deadly,” he said. “This game is definitely the one that’s circled on the calendar. We’re always excited to play PW. They’re a great team. This is a huge win for us. We’re rolling, and we gotta keep rolling. We don’t wanna take our foot off the gas pedal.”

The Hatters, 11-5 in the Liberty a season ago, scored an impressive victory over the defending champs.

“Last year, we came here and played these guys in a really tough game early in the year and they wound up beating us,” Moore said. “So for us to come out with a win this year, it’s great. It’s a small part of the puzzle but it’s an important part of the plan, playing a quality program like PW.”

Both Plefka and Colonials starter Ray Tomassetti cruised through the first three innings, not surrendering a run.

Hatboro struck in the fourth.

The Colonials had two untimely errors and Logan Fischer drew a walk to load the bases.

Catcher Zach Greenberg came through, slicing a double to left to score a pair and put the Hatters up 2-0 on a cold afternoon at PW.

“Zach has been great behind the plate — receiving, throwing, and then had a huge hit down the line for us today,” Moore said. “We don’t really look at it like the bottom of the order. We see it as a second top of the order.”

Greenberg came up big in the nine spot and later on in the fifth, an RBI single by No. 6 hitter Nick Katherine stretched the lead to 3-1.

Said Moore: “Nick has been really good for us early on.”

Joe Redmond’s RBI double to left had brought the Colonials within 2-1 in the fourth but then Plefka retired the last four batters he faced, including a strikeout to end the fifth with the Hatters up 3-1.

“He may not end up with double-digit strikeouts, but he’s gonna get strikeouts in key situations,” Moore said. “And he’s gonna give the guys behind him opportunities to make plays. ‘Plef’ is a guy who pitched a lot of quality innings for us last year as a freshman.”

The Hatters then handed the ball to Cole Fisher, who finished things off.

Jesse Jaconski, who scored both Colonial runs, singled to right and later scored on a wild pitch to bring PW within 3-2 in the sixth, but then back-to-back strikeouts by Fisher ended the threat.

In the seventh, Tyler Gartland drew a walk and then with one out, Johnny Giordano singled to put runners on first and second, but then Fisher struck out Luke Caucci and got Jesse Jaconski to fly out to end it.

“Games usually aren’t won or lost in the last inning. It’s what you do in the innings before, and unfortunately, we just didn’t do enough,” Colonials coach Chris Manero said. “Every time we play Hatboro-Horsham, it’s always a close game.

“I always tell our guys, whether you win or lose a game, the most exciting thing is you get to come out and do it again the next day.”

PW is back home Thursday against Upper Dublin at 3:45 p.m. and the Hatters are at Abington at 3:45 on Thursday.

Hatboro-Horsham 3, Plymouth Whitemarsh 2
Hatboro-Horsham 000 210 0 – 3 4 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh 000 101 0 – 2 5 3
WP: Stephen Plefka (5IP, 1R, 1ER, 2H, 4K, 1BB).
LP: Ray Tomassetti (5IP, 3R, 1ER, 3H, 6K, 4BB).
2B: HH-Zach Greenberg; PW-Joe Redmond.