PA High School Baseball: Neshaminy takes lead on Plebani single
Neshaminy senior catcher Jake Plebani singles up the middle to break a 1-1 tie in the top of the seventh inning in the PIAA state quarterfinals
Seven Bucks County area teams qualified for the PIAA state baseball playoffs and four advanced to the quarterfinals.
District One champion North Penn and fourth-place finisher Neshaminy in Class 6A, 5A third-place finisher Hatboro-Horsham, plus district champion Faith Christian (2A) are trying to make the semifinals on Thursday, June 5.
Here is the start of the quarterfinal results and recaps involving Bucks County area schools, plus the first-round scores and roundups, as well as the semifinal matchups:
PIAA State Playoffs
(all games at 4 p.m. unless noted otherwise)
Class 6A
Quarterfinals Thursday, June 5
(1-1) North Penn vs. (2-1) Hazleton at DeSales University, 5 p.m.: The Knights (20-5) secured their first district championship since 2008, though they won three state titles (2009, ’13, ’15) in the interim. North Penn was second in the district in 2015 and ’17. Hazleton (18-5) defeated District Three third-placer Hempfield 4-1 on Bryant Diaz’s walk-off three-run homer.
(1-4) Neshaminy 3, (1-3) Coatesville 1: Neshaminy saved the best for last Thursday at Villanova Ballpark, scoring all three of its run in the top of the seventh inning to outlast Coatesville 3-1. Senior catcher Jake Plebani’s two-run single up the middle with the bases loaded was the difference after junior No. 9 hitter Nick Sassano (2 for 2) had tied it up with a single. “I was due,” said Plebani, referring to an earlier hard-hit ball to left field and a fifth-inning laser that shortstop Shane Monaghan leapt to catch with runners on second and third. “I was sitting on a fastball there and I just wanted to rip it — hit it as hard as I can. It was perfect.”
Junior left-hander Matt Gryn went the distance for Neshaminy (17-8), retiring the final batter with a flyout to deep center and two runners on with his 104th pitch. He allowed seven hits, walked two and struck out seven. “He’s been doing that all year long for us,” said Neshaminy head coach Dan Toner.
Juniors Brandon Lall, Noah Wallace, sophomore Dan Marable and seniors Anthony Kurley and Danny Nocito also had hits for Neshaminy, which had five of its eight hits in the seventh inning. Bonner’s team will play in Monday’s semifinals against the North Penn-Hazleton winner. “This can hopefully spark us to get hot for the next two games,” Plebani said. Coatesville (19-7) had rallied in the bottom of the seventh to edge Neshaminy 4-3 in the District One third-place game.
Semifinals Monday, June 9
(1-1) North Penn/(2-1) Hazleton winner vs. (1-4) Neshaminy: Neshaminy (17-8) won a game at states a year ago after finishing fifth at districts.
First round June 2
(1-1) North Penn 8, (3-4) Ephrata 2: The Knights scored four runs on six hits in the bottom of the first inning after Ephrata had two runs in the top of the frame in the victory. Junior Christian Barnes had a double, triple and three RBIs, while senior Chase Jones contributed two hits and two RBIs and seniors Luke Chartrand and Ben Grattan added two hits and an RBI. Senior Trevor Lugara tossed a five-hit complete game for the Knights (20-5), who hosted their first state tournament game. He had no walks and struck out eight. Ephrata ended up 16-9.
(1-4) Neshaminy 3, (11-1) Parkland 1: Neshaminy scored three times in the top of the third on three walks, a wild pitch and a single on the way to the victory. Junior Brandon Lall and sophomore Dan Marable had RBIs, with senior Danny Nocito and junior Nick Sassano contributing hits for the visitors. Junior Chase Bonner was stellar on the mound for visiting Neshaminy (16-8), going 6-plus innings and allowing five hits, two walks and striking out five. Junior Matt Gryn recorded the final three outs, ending the game with a strikeout. Parkland finished 21-6.
(3-2) Cedar Cliff 1, (1-5) Pennsbury 0: Junior ace Keller Bradley, a Vanderbilt commit, gave up just three hits, one walk and struck out seven for the visiting Falcons (16-7-1). Cedar Cliff scored the game’s lone run in the bottom of the fourth. Pennsbury loaded the bases in the top of the sixth inning. Senior Evan Hawkes had a triple while senior Ryan Webber and junior Carlton Crane hit doubles for the Falcons, who captured the SOL Patriot Division for the third time in four years (also 2022-23). Cedar Cliff improved to 18-6.
(1-3) Coatesville 8, (12-1) Bonner-Prendergast 7
Class 5A
Quarterfinals Thursday, June 5
(1-3) Hatboro-Horsham vs. (1-2) Upper Dublin at Villanova Ballpark: The Hatters (11-13) were swept by the Cardinals (15-5) during their three-game SOL Liberty Division regular-season series. UD toppled District 12 top seed Franklin Towne Charter 11-2 in the first round.
First round June 2
(1-3) Hatboro-Horsham 4, (11-1) Bangor 3 (10 innings): Senior Dom Rapino’s fourth hit was an RBI single in the 10th inning to give the Hatters a dramatic victory at DeSales University. Rapino finished 4 for 4 with a double and run scored. Junior Shane Mills closed it out in the bottom of the 10th, earning the pitching win with 3â…“ innings of scoreless relief. while giving up one hit, no walks and striking out six. Senior starter Jamie O’Neill excelled on the mound for H-H, allowing four hits, two walks and striking out nine in six innings.
Bangor rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the bottom of the seventh to tie the score on Dylan Keith’s two-run, two-out double. Junior Conner Cataldi (two strikeouts) began the seventh and Mills finished the inning with a strikeout. Seniors Ryan Thomas and Cole Reinheimer also had RBIs for the Hatters (11-13), who won three games at districts, topping No. 1 Chichester (4-0) and rival/No. 3 Upper Moreland (6-1), as the 11th seed in a 12-team tournament.
Class 4A
First round June 2
(3-1) East Pennsboro, 3, (12-2) Archbishop Wood 2: The Vikings scored twice in the top of the fifth inning, with junior Chase Cavallaro providing an RBI single and senior Braedan Dunne contributing two hits. Seniors Zach Neeld and Sebastian McNab also had hits. Senior Richie Bayachek pitched all six innings for Wood, giving up five hits, two earned runs, walking three and striking out nine. The Vikings (14-7) returned to states after missing out a year ago following a pair of seasons (2022-23) reaching the semifinals. Host East Pennsboro moved to 23-0.
Class 2A
Quarterfinals Thursday, June 5
(1-1) Faith Christian vs. (4-1) South Williamsport at Central Columbia HS, Bloomsburg, 2 p.m.: The Lions (19-2) are the Class A defending state champions. South Williamsport (13-10) downed District 4 top seed Camp Hill 7-2.
Semifinals Monday, June 9
(1-1) Faith Christian/(4-1) South Williamsport winner vs. (11-1) Tri-Valley/(x-1) Mount Union winner
First round June 2
(1-1) Faith Christian 16, (12-1) Masterman 1 (4 innings): The Class A defending state champions Lions (19-2) dominated in their PIAA opener. Senior Chase Gieser allowed three hits and struck out five while also hitting a double with three RBIs. Senior Reid Miller had two hits and three RBIs, with junior Noah Wilson providing two hits, including a home run, and two RBIs. Masterman of the Philadelphia Public League finished 5-8-1.
Class 1A
First round June 2
(11-1) Nativity BVM 7, (1-1) Dock Mennonite 6: Dock led 3-2 after three innings at Boyertown, but Nativity scored five times in the fourth en route to the win. The 13-7 Pioneers, who had 10 hits, closed the gap to one run with three in the fifth inning. Dock sophomore Ethan Kratz had two hits, including a double, and two RBIs. Drew Bradica (three hits), junior Rylan Purnell (two hits), senior James Steinmetz and freshman Luke Burleigh added RBIs. Kratz pitched the first 3â…” innings, allowing two hits and two earned runs with eight walks, before Steinmetz came on to retire all 10 batters he faced, striking out three. Nativity moved to 11-11.