Comeback keeps hopes alive for Souderton
Post 234 rallies with 2 runs in 6th to eliminate Pennridge
Brett Moyer blasted an RBI double to right center field, breaking a 6-6 tie as Souderton scored twice in the bottom of the sixth inning to rally past Pennridge 7-6 Monday afternoon at Memorial Stadium to reach the final day of the Bux-Mont American Legion playoffs.
“It was a fastball over the middle of the plate,” Moyer said. “I know they were trying to pitch around me so I was just looking for something I could drive and put in the gap.”
Pennridge plated four runs in the top of the second to take a 4-1 lead but three Post 255 errors helped Souderton score four times to go back ahead 5-4 in the third.
“We had the real bad inning. We did come back and overcome it, but we just couldn’t hold on for whatever reason,” Pennridge coach Rocky Wright said.
Pennridge regained the advantage with a pair of runs in the fifth – Ed Kerrigan’s RBI single to center making it 6-5. But the lead returned to Souderton for good in the sixth.
No. 9 hitter Greg Gallagher led off with a double to left center. He went to third on a Luke Barnum sacrifice bunt then scored on Nolan Bolton’s RBI single up the middle on a draw in field
With Bolton on second and two outs, Moyer delivered with a double to the gap.
“He can hit with anybody,” said Souderton coach Paul Meara of Moyer. “I don’t care if he has two strikes. Some kids they get two strikes they’re overmatched. I’ve never seen him overmatched.”
Souderton advances to the final day of the league tournament to face the winner of Monday night’s contest between Hatfield-Towamencin and Quakertown.
Post 234 either takes Quakertown at 4 p.m. Tuesday with the winner taking on Hatfield Towamencin for the league title in the day’s second game or Souderton plays Hatfield-Towamencin at 4 p.m. and would need to win twice for the championship.
A Hatfield-Towamencin victory Monday clinches a Region 2 berth for Souderton since the Titans clinched one of Bux-Mont’s two regional spots by claiming the regular season crown.
“Play Quakertown, you got to win, just like today. You play Hatfield you just play for fun, play for that final, that championship. Kind of fun,” Moyer said. “If you play Hatfield, you don’t want them to win both of them, win the league and the playoff round so, I don’t know, that little added bonus.”
For Pennridge, its season ends with back-to-back losses after reaching the winner’s bracket final.
“These guys are not going out trying to make errors and I get that. But sometimes, no matter what you do you can’t get out of your own way,” Wright said. “And that happens, that’s all about baseball. And I told them in the huddle down there that it’s not so much about the baseball it is the life lesson.”
After Souderton took the lead in the sixth, starting pitcher Dan Knechel put Pennridge down in order in the seventh to cement a complete-game victory, Knechel gave up six runs – five earned – on 10 hits, struck out two and did not walk a batter.
“I felt like I threw pretty well,” Knechel said. “I was battling today. They were hitting the ball really well. A couple cheap hits here and there, but that comes with the game.”
Ian Kacergis took the loss. Pennridge’s starting pitcher tossed seven innings, allowing seven runs – just two earned – on seven hits. He walked two and struck out three.
Souderton took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Barnum – who reached on an error – scored on an error on a Moyer grounder.
Pennridge posted a fourspot in the top of the second. Tyler Wright brought the first two runs home with his bases-loaded double. A Kolby Rush RBI single made it 3-1 while Luke Nuneviller scored on a double steal.
But Souderton responded with four of its own in the bottom of the third. After a Mitch Amenta one-out RBI single, Kyle Lennon struck out, but a dropped third strike and error allowed Derek Freed to score.
Amenta came home to tie the game after a wild pitch on ball four to Matt Reinert while Lennon scored to make it 5-4 after Gallagher reached on an error. In the top of the fifth, Rush scored on an Andrew Fantaskey single and er- ror while Ed Kerrigan gave Pennridge a 6-5 edge with his RBI base hit.