Energetic Abington knocks off Plymouth Whitemarsh

ABINGTON >> Abington’s energy was clear all day. From a passionate pregame huddle to cheering in left field after the game, it was clear that the Ghosts were bringing their best against Plymouth Whitemarsh Friday afternoon.

The Ghosts took a lead in the bottom of the second inning, extended it in the third and kept the Colonials off the scoreboard in the sixth and seventh innings to hold on for a 6-4 Suburban One League Liberty Division win at Abington Senior High School.

Chase Wolfe recorded an eight-out save for the Ghosts and his biggest challenge came in the top of the sixth inning. With a 5-4 lead, he surrendered back-to-back one-out singles and walked the next batter to load the bases for the top of PW’s lineup. He got a pop up to second base and a fly ball ball to right field to get out of the jam without allowing any runs.

“I was just trying not to get nervous,” Wolfe, who had a 1-2-3 seventh inning to close out the win, said. “I was just trying to stay focus and not listen to what the bench was saying. That’s all, really. Today the umpire wasn’t really calling the outside strike and I usually work there. I had to focus on getting it in a little more, nothing too serious.”

“I thought our guys today from top to bottom really all contributed,” PW coach Chris Manero said. “You can’t always rely on the same guys all the time. Our top guys have been huge for us all year. Sometimes you don’t have the at-bat you want. You can’t have the same guys pick you up every time. (The sixth inning) was a missed opportunity for sure.”

After Wolfe got out of the jam in the top of the sixth inning, the Ghosts offense added an insurance run in the bottom half of the frame. After a controversial call that called a baserunner safe, then out and then safe again, LJ Wolff delivered with two outs. His slow roller towards the first base line stopped in no man’s land between the pitcher and the catcher and the run from third scored to make it 6-4.

“It’s hard, but I knew for my teammates and for this win I needed to stay locked it,” Wolff, who had three RBIs, said of waiting through the umpire conference. “It’s just how it has to be.”

“There’s things in this game that happened from an umpiring standpoint that didn’t make any sense,” Manero said of the game that featured multiple lengthy umpire conferences, “but our guys kept their poise, they kept their composure. They kept working, they kept battling. They didn’t let it get to them and that’s what we teach them and tell them to do – don’t let anything impact the game except your own abilities. You learn from it, you grow from it as a person. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

After Plymouth Whitemarsh capitalized on two errors to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, Abington (9-5, 8-3 SOL Liberty) responded with two runs in the bottom of the second. Wolff plated the tying run with a sacrifice fly before Mason Kishpaugh’s RBI double made it 2-1 Ghosts.

“If we go scoreless, I don’t know if we get the energy that we had throughout the game,” Wolff said. “It was big, huge. We have to get the energy up.”

The Ghosts added three more in the third. They scored one on an error before Wolff hit an RBI single and Brian Murtha worked a bases-loaded walk, extending the lead to 5-1.

The Colonials (11-3, 10-2 SOL Liberty) cut their deficit in half in the top of the fourth. Tyler Gartland grounded out to score a run and Nick DeLucca’s sacrifice fly made it 5-3.

Chase Olszyk hit a one-out double and scored on a Gavin Rocks single to get PW within one, 5-4, in the top of the fifth.

Jack Hoetzel earned the win for Abington. He allowed four runs on five hits while striking out three batters to two walks in 4 1/3 innings.

Cooper Jones suffered the loss for PW. He allowed five runs on five hits in three innings while striking out four batters to three walks. Lincoln Sharpe came on in relief and allowed one run in 2 2/3 innings. He struck out two batters to three walks and allowed three hits. Johnny Giordano recorded one out with a strikeout to leave the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth.

“This was a big game for Lincoln Sharpe coming out of the bullpen,” Manero said. “He really pitched well. He has not had as much success on the mound this year as he hoped, but I think this could be an important game for him for us to have his arm down the stretch.”

The result keeps the race tight at the top of the SOL Liberty standings. Abington faces first-place Upper Dublin at Trenton Thunder Ballpark Sunday night.

“We thought in this division it would be neck and neck year-round,” Manero said. “Obviously a couple of us got off to a good start, but I think second time through everyone knows everybody. There’s a lot of parity in the league. I think last year our last four of five games were one-run games. Everybody has to expect the atmosphere is going to be like a playoff atmosphere for the rest of the season.”

Abington 6, Plymouth Whitemarsh 4

Plymouth Whitemarsh 010 210 0 – 4

Abington 023 001 x – 5

WP: Jack Hoetzel 4.1 IP 3 K 2 BB 5 H 4 R

LP: Cooper Jones 3 IP 4 K 3 BB 5 H 5 R

S: Chase Wolfe 2.2 IP 0 K 1 BB 2 H 0 R

2B: PW: Luke Caucci, Chase Olszyk. A: Mason Kishpaugh, Logan Moss.