PA High School Baseball: Hatboro-Horsham’s Mills records strikeout
Junior pitcher Shane Mills of Hatboro-Horsham escapes a bases-loaded situation in the third inning with a strikeout during win over Wissahickon
Hatboro-Horsham needed a pair of wins to end the SOL regular season just to qualify for the District One 5A baseball playoffs.By winning six of their last seven, the surging Hatters are three victories from a PIAA state title.
HORSHAM — Dom Rapino didn’t expect to be three games from winning a state baseball championship.
“I’m definitely surprised,” said Rapino, a Hatboro-Horsham senior second baseman. “But I’m very happy with being surprised.”
Had they not won the last two of their Suburban One League Liberty Division three-game series against Abington, the Hatters might not have qualified for the PIAA District One playoffs.
“I was like, ‘Guys, we’re at the end of our rope and we’ve got to tie a knot and hang on for dear life,’” said Hatters second-year head coach Bill DeBoer.
The Hatters entered the Class 5A district playoffs as the 11th seed in a 12-team tournament based on their 6-9 record against SOL Liberty competition (7-12 overall).
A little over two weeks later, Hatboro-Horsham is headed to the state quarterfinals against Upper Dublin on Thursday at Villanova Ballpark (4 p.m.). The Hatters finished third at districts and UD (15-5) was second.
They got here with a gritty 4-3 victory over District 11 champion Bangor in 10 innings during Monday night’s state tournament opener at DeSales University. They essentially had to win the game twice.
H-H overcame a two-out, two-run Dylan Keith double in the bottom of the seventh that tied the score at 3. Rapino’s RBI single on a first-pitch fastball in the top of the 10th scored senior Jamie O’Neill, who had reached second on an error. Rapino went 4 for 4, marking his first varsity four-hit game.
“We figured out a way to get it done,” DeBoer said.
The Ursinus-bound O’Neill pitched the first six innings, giving up four hits, two walks and striking out nine. He’s 4-3 on the season with a 1.24 ERA and 0.984 WHIP, plus 76 strikeouts and 44 hits allowed in 62 innings.
Junior Conner Cataldi, the team’s top reliever, recorded two outs in the seventh and junior Shane Mills earned the pitching victory via 3⅓ shutout innings with no walks, one hit and six strikeouts. Mills is 6-2 with a 1.63 ERA, 40 hits allowed and 54 strikeouts in 47⅓ innings.
“Our pitching’s definitely our strong suit,” O’Neill said. “It carried us throughout the season.”
At districts, the Hatters defeated No. 6 West Chester East 6-2, rival/No. 3 Upper Moreland 6-1 and No. 1 Chichester 4-0 for third place following a 4-3 loss to No. 2 Radnor in a nine-inning semifinal after leading 3-0.
PA High School Baseball: Hatboro-Horsham players on turnaround
After barely making the District One Class 5A baseball playoffs, Hatboro-Horsham has advanced to the PIAA state tournament quarterfinals
Rapino will play college baseball at Division III DeSales, which made Monday’s performance in Center Valley even more special.
“It was awesome,” said Rapino, like O’Neill an 18-year-old Horsham resident.
The Hatters attribute their surge primarily to an improved approach at the plate and increased confidence. They’ve taken to DeBoer stressing the importance of putting the ball in play, especially with two strikes, rather than swinging for the fences. Against Bangor, they had five walks and three strikeouts. Bangor struck out 17 times.
Junior shortstop Cole Incudine leads the Hatters with a .342 batting average, as well as 26 hits and six doubles. Junior center fielder Chase Canney and O’Neill share the top spot in RBIs with 10.
The 2-1 and 5-2 late-season wins over Abington gave H-H a boost, as well as a coveted playoff spot, on the way to winning six of their last seven after a 5-12 start.
“Our mindset changed knowing if we lost we’d be done and wouldn’t be able to play with each other anymore,” O’Neill said, “We’ve been having fun all season.”
As for Thursday’s matchup, Upper Dublin swept the three-game SOL Liberty series against H-H 21-0, with only O’Neill pitching in the opener being close (2-0).
The Hatters believe they’re much better than they were in that late April/early May series.
“Upper Dublin’s been rolling, too,” Rapino said. “Honestly, I think we can get ’em. Our pitching’s there — we just got to hit.”
PA High School Baseball: Hatboro-Horsham’s Lutz hits single
Hatboro-Horsham junior Kenny Lutz singles to load the bases in the fifth inning of baseball win over Wissahickon
“I think we have a really good shot,” O’Neill said.
Rapino, O’Neill, DeBoer and company are looking forward to the UD challenge.
“They’re totally into it, mentally,” DeBoer said. “It’s something we were lacking earlier in the season. We’re playing well now. The guys are having a really good time, and they don’t want it to end.”
Tom Moore: tmoore@couriertimes.com; @TomMoorePhilly is a sports columnist for PhillyBurbs.com. Support our journalism with a subscription.