H-T rallies to edge South Parkland

Weiss come up clutch in 7th inning as Titans take region opener

LAURELDALE » Robbie Weiss may hit ninth for Hatfield-Towamencin, but it’s no knock on how much he can impact a game.

The Titans second baseman made a mark, with his bat and his glove, as Post 933 rallied to top South Parkland 3-2 in the first round of the Region 2 Legion baseball tournament Friday afternoon at Muhlenberg’s Gochnauer Field. Weiss had the game-tying hit, scored the winning run on Jake Drelick’s squeeze bunt and handled the ground ball that led to a game-ending double play.

So, while he may hit last in the order, Weiss is a guy H-T wants to see in a big spot.

“That’s what he does, he’s the quiet man at nine, but he hit ,383 in the league, was a first-team all-league second baseman and just gets it done,” Hatfield-Towamencin manager Joe Drelick said. “You can count on him, that’s for sure. You hear it all the time about a No. 9 guy, but is 100 percent a second leadoff man for us.”

The Titans did not get off to a great start on Friday, going down 2-0 to South Parkland in the bottom of the second inning and not giving starting pitcher Zach Moretski much help in the field. Hatfield-Towamencin, playing in the regional tournament for the third straight season, had two errors in the first four innings, but also a couple of other plays that should have been made that weren’t.

On the offensive side, South Parkland started AJ Palumbo was dialed in early, facing the minimum nine batters the first time through the order. Palumbo limited H-T to just one hit through four innings until the Titans changed their fortunes in the fifth.

Right fielder Joe Picozzi led off with a thundering triple to deep center field and just like that, the Hatfield-Towamencin dugout

GENE WALSH — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Hatfield-Towamencin’s Billy Collins goes in to score as South Parkland catcher Ethan Russell fields the throw during their Region 2 Tournament game on Friday.