Hopson helps Radnor upset Marple Newtown
Radnor managed one of the biggest upsets of the Delco baseball season Wednesday.
The Raptors, who entered the day with five wins, rallied past Central League frontrunner Marple Newtown, 5-2.
Dante Hopson paced the offense with four RBIs, including a clutch, two-run single in the top of the seventh to make it a 5-2 score. Travis Church chipped in with a hit and an RBI for the Raptors (6-8), who worked six walks.
Jonah Horwitz scattered five hits over five innings to get the win. Freshman Danny Armstrong threw two innings of scoreless ball to pick up his first career save.
The win was extra special for Radnor coach Mark Jordan, who coached Marple to the county’s only PIAA baseball championship back in 2018.
Justin DiBona led the Tigers (12-3) with a single, double and an RBI. Jimmy Wigo added a hit and two stolen bases. Marple had won five in a row prior to Wednesday.
Elsewhere in the Central League:
RIDLEY 7, CONESTOGA 2 » Dan Stickney’s three-run double in the fourth inning was the big blow. Jeremy Stranix was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, while Jake Naumann finished 2-for-2 with a walk and two ribbies for the Green Raiders.
Ryan McNichol scored a pair of runs and Jim DeCarlo added a single and a walk in the winning effort.
Mike Happersett tossed six strong innings of threehit ball to earn the win. He struck out four and allowed only one earned run. HARRITON 4, STRATH HAVEN 2» The Panthers received a solid effort from Alex Pak, threw six innings in relief of starter Zane Malarkey. Pak gave up three runs on five hits and struck out seven.
Haven’s bats produced only four singles against Harriton pitchers Finn Lamb and Henry Wheeler, who combined for seven punchouts. Sam Milligan was 1-for-4 with a run scored and Matt Kane coaxed three walks.
In the Catholic League: BONNER-PRENDERGAST 3, LA SALLE 2 » The Friars wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the league playoffs with an eight-inning victory over the defending champions.
Kevin McGonigle led off the top of the eighth with a single and advanced to second on a Jaxon Kehoe sacrifice bunt. Joey DeMucci followed with a single up the middle to score McGonigle with the go-ahead run.
Harry Carr pitched two no-hit innings of relief to get the win. He struck out four.
Kevin Henrich was excellent over six innings of work and exited after reaching his pitch limit. Henrich struck out eight and allowed two runs on three hits.
Bonner grabbed the early lead in the first. Kehoe walked, stole second and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Mike Anderson walked and crossed home on an error to give the Friars a 2-0 lead in the third. NEUMANN-GORETTI 2, CARDINAL O’HARA 1 » Pat Ahearn was superb on the mound for the Lions. Despite suffering the loss, Ahearn needed only 80 pitches to
throw seven innings.
Brenden Till’s run-scoring single in the seventh forced extra frames. Kevin McGuire supplied three hits for O’Hara.