Quakertown edges H-T for Region 2 berth
Titans’ rally falls one run short
Hatfield-Towamencin’s bid to reach a fourthstraight Region 2 tournament came up just short Monday night.
Down two runs to secondseeded Quakertown in the top of the seventh inning, the No. 3 Titans loaded the bases with one out but could only cut a run off the margin as the Blue Jays held on for a 4-3 victory in a Bux-Mont American Legion tournament elimination game at Memorial Stadium.
“We threw everything but the kitchen sink at them,” Hatfield-Towamencin coach Joe Drelick said. “I mean, we were bunting, hitting and running, we were doing it all. And it’s funny how it ended — we’re trying to be aggressive, we bunt and it ends on that. But I was telling the guys, you live by the sword, you die by the sword. And I wouldn’t of rather went down any other way to a good team over there than that play right there.”
Jason Krause’s sacrifice fly to deep left center scored pinch runner Chris Killion to pull the Titans within 4-3 and put runners on the corners with two outs. But with the tying run at third, Colin Hoy’s bunt popped up high in the infield with both pitcher Griffin Kelley and third baseman Brandon Pierce going for the catch — Kelley ultimately coming down with it, sending Quakertown to Tuesday’s final round against Souderton.
“Especially when you’re that close it hurts,” H-T center fielder Atlee Hasson said. “But we have a young team and just to pull through and get this far is just awesome. I couldn’t ask for more in my last year.”
Quakertown dropped its tournament opener to Lansdale but won three straight
elimination games to earn its first Region 2 berth since 2016 when it hosted and won the regional. The Blue Jays face No. 1 Souderton 5 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. A win by the Blue Jays forces a winner-takeall final for the Bux-Mont playoff crown shortly afterwards.
“It’s huge because we always felt we were the underdogs and everyone was against us and wanted to come out a show everyone we can come out and compete,” Quakertown’s Adam Ritter said. “To lose the first game, I went home and I really felt it. I was like this is my last year, I wanted to go out on top. And lose the first game to one of the lower seeds — they’re a really good team, don’t get me wrong — we were expected to win. And big upset and it was really heart-wrenching and then we came out and just competed.
Souderton clinched its spot in Region 2 — which begins Friday at Boyertown’s Bear Stadium — by winning the league’s regular season title.
Ritter was 2-for-2 Monday with a walk and scored twice while Sean Brennan went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored for Quakertown.
Krause finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs for the Titans with Alex Kee going 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and run scored.
Hatfield-Towamencin — which earlier Monday stayed alive with a 9-2 win over No. 8 Doylestown — stranded a dozen base runners against Quakertown, including leaving the bases loaded in both the third and fourth innings with the game tied 2-2.
“It was something that got us all year, it was men left on base,” Drelick said. “If you look at every one of the games where we barely won or lost, it was because of the men left on base and that’s what got us tonight. I mean, look, we could of had seven, eight runs and it’s a different ballgame. You have to get those two-out hits. We stress two-out hits, you have to get them and when they don’t happen you end up losing 4-3.”
Quakertown starting pitcher Cody Barberio claimed the win, giving up two runs — both earned — on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked five, hit one batter and struck out six. Kelley picked up the save, allowing one earned run on one hit, walked two and struck out one in 1 2/3 innings.
“It was a long journey through that losers’ bracket but we knew we could do it the whole way,” Kelley said.
Paul Moretski took the loss, the H-T starter giving up four runs — one earned — on five hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out four.
The Titans took a 2-0 lead over Quakertown in the top of the second on an Kee RBI double to left center and Krause’s RBI single up the middle. The Blue Jays, however knotted things in the bottom of the inning — Ritter scoring on Nathaniel Barnes single and error with a Brad Bryan RBI sac fly on the next at-bat making it 2-2.
Quakertown took advantage of H-T errors to take a 4-2 lead in the fourth. After Ritter’s one-out walk, Brennan doubled to left, putting runners on second and third. Ritter did not break for home on a Barnes grounder to the shortstop and with Brennan advancing towards third, the Titans tried for an out at the base. But the throw was off-target, giving Ritter an opening to score, sliding in safely on a close play at the plate for a 3-2 Blue Jays edge.
On the next at-bat, Bryan’s pop up in first-base foul territory was caught but Brennan scored as the throw home had no one there to receive it.
In Monday’s opening game, Hatfield-Towamencin scored four runs in the top of the first, Doylestown pulled within 4-2 in the third but the Titans plated at least one run in each of the final four frames to pull away.
The loss was the final game as Doylestown head coach for Steve Ruane, who is stepping down from the position after 11 seasons, a run that including the Tigers winning the Region 2 and state titles in 2012.
“Last season, these guys really took me on a nice run,” Ruane said. “They pushed my retirement back a week and I missed some fishing time but it’s been a great run.
Hasson was 2-for-4 with a double and scored twice in the win over Doylestown. Gavin Moretski went 2-for-4 and scored twice while Billy Collins collected two RBIs.
H-T starting pitcher Charlie Marger got the win, allowing two runs — both earned — on six hits. He walked three and struck out six. Erik Hiller took the loss for Doylestown, the Tigers starter giving up five runs — four earned — on four hits in 2 ½ innings. He walked three, hit one batter and struck out one.