Souderton stops Bears’ season
BOYERTOWN >> Jordan Morales was deep into Sunday’s game on a scorching 95-degree afternoon in Boyertown. Among the 18 outs recorded, 14 were strikeouts, matching a seasonhigh for the Souderton lefthander.
Sitting atop a water cooler aside of the visiting dugout, Morales had one question: “Can I go back out there?”
Not Sunday, no, his 105 pitches prohibiting the chance at a complete game or upping his season-high strikeout total. But Morales and the Souderton American Legion baseball team do get to go back out there, just as long as they keep doing what they’ve done since March – winning.
They did on Sunday as Morales dazzled in his six innings of two-hit baseball while the eight of nine starters aided an 11-hit effort as Souderton eliminated host Boyertown, 4-1, during the Pa. Region 2 tournament.
Shortstop Conlan Wall led the Post 234 offense with a 2-for-4 day with a two-run double in the third inning. He also pitched a scoreless seventh inning to back up Morales’ gem.
Frank Pollock (RBI) and David Guilbon also had two hits apiece for Souderton.
Souderton, which is comprised almost entirely of the group that won the PIAA 6A championship during the high school season, advanced to Monday. Souderton’s opponent and game time was to be determined based on later games Sunday.
Boyertown pitcher Nolan Kline battled through seven innings, keeping Souderton to four runs despite 11 hits. He struck out four and walked none.
He kept the Bears within shouting distance, allowing the tying run to come up to the plate with runners on second and third in the final inning.
But with only three hits for the game, courtesy of Broc Babb, Ethan Martin and Caleb Harrison, a comeback was a bridge too far for the Bears, who finished their season 17-8.
The Berks County League runners-up acquitted themselves well in the tournament after falling to Fleetwood Post 625 on the opening night before bouncing back with a 6-3 win over Quakertown Saturday.
“It was a good season, in the league and overall, we played really great together,” Bears first baseman and pitcher Jared Waldman said. “We’ve played together ever since we were younger, from in town to 9-year-olds and all the way through. You never think this day would come, but now it’s here ... I won’t be picking up a baseball again because I’m not playing in college, so it’s kind of emotional. Time to reflect on a good career.”
“I think we were playing our best baseball now. I loved to see the team come together. This was the strongest bond I’ve ever felt with a team,” shortstop Chris Davis said. “Looking back on this season and the last three seasons, it’s been an incredible experience and I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”
For final-year players like Waldman and Davis, the significance of just suiting up for the Bears, an indelible fixture of summer life in Boyertown, wasn’t lost on them.
“I remember going to Mid-Atlantic games and to the one state title game when they won it and my first time out there (as a player) I was like, “This is it. I’m a Legion Bear.” This is all I’ve ever wanted since I was younger playing baseball.”
The Bears’ seven outgoing players include Davis, Waldman, Caleb Harrison, AJ Kline, Dustin Graber, William McDevitt and Sean Sutterby.
Souderton could be forgiven for not being big on sentiment as Post 234 bounced back for a 3-0 loss to Norchester Saturday night that was just their third loss of the campaign.
“We had our little setback, but we want to keep rolling and playing our game. Every day we come here and love playing baseball and love each other’s company,” Morales said.
It’s been a grind for Souderton, but it knows how to handle itself in the postseason.
“After winning the state championship and then coming right back here and playing 19 games in 19 days, it was kind of crazy,” Morales said. “It took a lot out of us. But at the same time, everybody showed up and put the time in.”
The teams traded runs in the first inning, Conlan Wall driving in Aaron Groller on an RBI single for Souderton while Chris Davis, who reached third on a two-base error on a pickoff attempt, came home on Martin’s two-out double.
Post 234 got its winning margin on run-scoring hits from Wall and Frank Pollock in the third for a 3-1 lead. Luke Shank’s infield single scored Gulibon for an insurance run in the sixth.
Morales’ fastball was explosive as the game progressed as he struck out the side in the sixth and ended with 14 strikeouts, tying the 14 he had in his first start of the spring high school season.
“Playing in playoffs, we’ve been in this atmospehre before and know what we have to do to be a good team out there,” Morales said. “There’s something pretty special about this team.”
Boyertown 6, Quakertown 3
It was the kind of response Rick Moatz was seeking Saturday.
After seeing his team upended on the first day of the Pa. Region 2 Tournament, Moatz got a much different outcome from his Boyertown American Legion baseball team. The Bears stayed alive in the doubleelimination competition by dispatching Quakertown, 6-3.
Boyertown remains one of the six clubs still in the regional field. They did so by reversing one unpleasant condition from their 5-3 loss to Post 625: Turning double-digit strikeouts into a near-similar number of walks.
“We did a little better,” Moatz said. “We had some early bad pitches, but we made it hard on their pitcher by not swinging at those pitches.”
The nine free passes the Bears drew included four during their breakout fifth inning, when they scored five times to go ahead for keeps. Jared Waldman and Sean Sutterby each walked with bags full to cap an outburst that featured Pat Wieand’s two-run double.
“That was key, being down 3-1 was huge,” Waldman said. “My teammates kept on adding to it. It was a good inning for us ... getting rested. We kept hitting with confidence,”
Waldman boosted Boyertown’s confidence with a solid complete game on the mound. He scattered six hits, walked none, struck out two and kept the Blue Jays from adding to their run total over their final at-bats ... all in under 100 pitches.
“I knew our pitching needed to be stellar today,” Waldman said. “i gave it all I had. This could be my last time pitching herem, so it was the best way for me to go out.”
“He was bold today,” Moatz added. “He was big at bat, too, getting on base three times.”
Boyertown’s fifth-inning bataround started off with Chase Mercon drawing a walk, finishing Quakertown starter in favor of Andrew Nace. Chris Davis then singled to left-center, and Caleb Harrison walked on a full count to set the stage for Waldman forcing a fourpitch free pass and run.
Following Wieand’s twoRBI double, Sam Legerton brought another run in when his grounder to short got him safe on a muffed throw.
“I thought their pitcher was tiring, and he was losing it at that point,” Moatz said. “We made him throw pitches. We came up with a couple hits, too, which was good to see.”
Quakertown broke up both the no-hitter and shutout in the bottom of the third. Successive singles by Sean Brennan, Sam Rice and Nate Barnes preceded Bradley Barnes reaching base on a muffed relay throw, enabling both Brennan and Rice to score.
Boyertown got on board in the top of the fifth, bunching four hits on the way to its run. Jared Waldman and Sean Sutterby singled before Pat Wieand hit a shot to center that brought Waldman home.
The Blue Jays regained a two-run lead in the bottom half of the fourth, Adam Ritter hitting a leadoff double and scoring off a Brennan single.
Fleetwood Post 625 5, Boyertown 3
Only one thing could have made Adam Schultz’ night complete Friday: Pitching a complete game.
The dictates of the American Legion baseball pitch count left Schultz one out short of achieving that. But he still gets considerable credit for hurling Post 625 past Boyertown, 5-3.
Schultz racked up 10 strikeouts against a pair of walks, and he shut the Bears down after the third inning. The Wildcats supported his mound efforts with the tying run in the fourth, and the margin of victory in the fifth.
“He hit 103 on his last batter,” 625 manager Rich Spatz said, “so we had to pull him. But it all worked out.”
The ‘Cats, making their first-ever visit to a stateregional tournament, took a 1-0 lead in the first inning with Angel Velez’ single driving in Nick Sager. It scored again in the third, Andrew Torres singling Sager home, for a 2-1 lead Boyertown overtook with a pair in the bottom of the frame.
A Sager grounder to second base pulled the Schuylkill/Berks second seeds even with Boyertown in the fourth, Josh Rehr (single) coming home on the play. In the fifth, Rehr doubled home Velez after Torres (single) was awarded home plate off a balk by Boyertown reliever Tony Xanthopoulos.
Boyertown’s first run in the second inning came off a Billy Coleman single that drove in Caleb Harrison, who was hit by a Schultz pitch and moved to third on a pair of wild pitches. In the third, Pat Wieand scored off a Chase Mercon fielders’ choice play before Sam Legerton (walk) came home off Chris Davis’ sacrifice fly to right.
Schultz’ double-digit strikeout total was a particular concern of Boyertown manager Rick Moatz.
“He threw pitches we shouldn’t have swung at,” Moatz said.