BASEBALL NOTEBOOK: North Penn vs. Coatesville

The North Penn Knights baseball team celebrates after its victory over Coatesville in their PIAA District Class AAAA State quarterfinal contest at Spring-Ford High School on Thursday. (Mark C Psoras/The Reporter)

By MIKE CABREY
mcabrey@thereporteronline.com

Here are a couple thoughts from North Penn’s 11-1 six-inning victory over Coatesville in the PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinals Thursday afternoon.

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Ten batters. Three walks. Two sacrifice flies. One hit by pitch. One fielder's choice. One error. One fly out. One single. Five runs.

That's the basic rundown of North Penn's bottom of the third inning, when the Knights seemed to find any way they could to reach base and score runs, turning on its head a game that was scoreless for the opening 2 1/2 innings.

"We like to play a lot of small ball," sophomore first baseman Jared Melone said. "And then we put the ball in play when we had to."

Coatesville, the District One champ, had no response for NP's five-run outburst. The Knights, meanwhile, tacked on another four in the fourth - collecting five hits while almost batting around again.

Bobby Scott finally put the game away as his two-RBI double in the sixth enacted the 10-run mercy rule.

The win sets up a semifinal with SOL Continental rival Pennridge 3:30 p.m. Monday at Spring-Ford. It will be the fourth meeting between the teams this season, with Pennridge winning the previous three.

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It's been four years since North Penn has been this far in states, with the 2009 side beating North Allegheny in the semis before besting Parkland for the program's first PIAA title.

"Four years seems like a long time ago, cause a lot's happened since then," North Penn coach Kevin Manero said. "But you always have to be very thankful and really appreciate how hard it is to get here, because it's tough to get this far. In single-elimination postseason baseball, a lot of things have to go right.

"So we are fortunate to have an opportunity to keep playing. And hopeful we take advantage of that opportunity."

Manero was an assistant on Bob McCreary for those '09 Knights, giving this run a completely new feel.

"It's totally different. When you're an assistant coach, I can say 'Oh, he's got it, he's got it,' he said.  "As a head coach, yeah, there's a lot more pressure, there's a lot more going on. But coaching under Bob McCreary for nine years, that really made me a baseball person.

"If you have to coach with somebody for a long time, he's the guy you want to coach with, because you learn a lot about the game."

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Dylan Borawski continued to solid work by the North Penn pitching staff in the postseason.

Borawski gave up just one unearned run in the fifth against the Red Raiders, and allowed only three singles while striking out one and walking one in six innings of work.

Through seven playoff games (five District One and two PIAA), NP pitchers have given up 15 runs, an average or 2.1 per game. No opponent has put up more than four runs in a game, with Brian Maher tossing a pair of complete-game shutouts - first against Strath Haven in the district quarters, then in the state first round against Parkland.

"Our pitching staff is phenomenal right now," Scott said. "We're just going after hitters one after each other."

VIDEO: Pennridge's Tori Gerlach, Marissa Sheva on PIAA Track and Field

Senior Tori Gerlach defending her Class AAA 3,200 meter title Saturday at the PIAA Championships, completing the eight laps in a time of 10:38.40. Her first-place finished helped the Pennridge girls to the area's best team finish, as the Rams tied Central Dauphin East for second in 3A.

Gerlach earned a second medal in the 1,600 meters, taking sixth in 4:57.33.

Pennridge had another top finish in the 1,600, as freshman Marissa Sheva used a burst of speed on the final lap to take second place in a time of 4:51.29.

Wissahickon's Max Hairston, CB West's Lizanne Furst on PIAA Track and Field

Wissahickon senior Max Hairston took second place in the Class AAA 110 hurdles Saturday at the PIAA Track and Field Championships, finishing in 14.15. He was also on the Trojans' 4x400 relay to claimed eighth place in 3:22.54.

Junior Lizanne Furst was a member of the Central Bucks West 4x400 relay that also included Courtney Taylor, Kelsey Horst and Jamila Branch that won the Class AAA state title with a time of 3:49.80.

VIDEO: GMA's Emma Keenan, North Penn's Meghan McGovern on PIAA Track and Field

Gwynedd Mercy Academy junior Emma Keenan defender her title in the Class AAA 800 meters Saturday at the PIAA Track and Field Championships, winning the half-mile race in a time of 2:07.06.

North Penn's Meghan McGovern earned her third straight medal in the 3A 3,200 meters, as she took second place in 10:39.50. The senior had finished third in both 2010 and 2011.

Take Five: North Penn vs. Central Dauphin PIAA 4A Final

North Penn takes the field for their playoff contest against LaSalle. Photo by Mark C. Psoras

The North Penn football team looks for its second PIAA Class AAAA title in its history when it faces Central Dauphin in the state final 6 p.m. Saturday at Hersheypark Stadium. And if you're looking for a little info on both the Knights and Rams, you're in luck. Here's five facts on each team before their clash for the championship.

North Penn
1) North Penn is 13-2 and has won its last 12 games. The Knights have scored 32.6 points per game and have allowed 14.0 points per game. In its five postseason games, North Penn has scored 30.2 points per game and allowed 11.8 points per game.

2) This is Dick Beck’s 10th season as head coach of North Penn. He is 119-20 overall and 32-8 in the postseason.  The Knights have won six District One 4A titles under Beck – 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2011 – and one PIAA title (2003).

North Penn has reached double-digits in win totals in nine of Beck’s seasons. This is the fourth consecutive year the Knights have won at least 13 games.

3) The Knights are the first District One 4A team to reach the state final since Neshaminy lost to Pittsburgh Central Catholic 49-14 in 2004.

North Penn defeating Central Catholic 37-10 in the ’03 final was the last time a District One 4A school won states. The last time any district team won states was when Lansdale Catholic defeated Grove City 40-17 in the 2004 Class 2A final.

Garnet Valley is the last District One team to reach Hershey, the Jaguars fell to Thomas Jefferson 28-3 in the 2007 3A championship.

4) North Penn senior Ralph Reeves is scoring a touchdown on 37-percent of his runs this postseason, as the senior has found the end zone 10 times on 27 carries in the five playoffs games. The Knights’ defense, meanwhile, has allowed a total of eight touchdowns in the postseason.

5) North Penn is the third 4A team since 2005 to enter the state championship with two losses. In 2005, McKeesport entered the final 13-2 and defeated Bethlehem Liberty 49-10. State College went into the 2009 championship 12-2 and fell to La Salle 24-7.

Central Dauphin
1) Central Dauphin is 14-1 and has won its last 13 games. The Rams have scored 31.3 points per game and have allowed 14.4 points per game. In its five postseason games, Central Dauphin has scored 28.0 points per game and allowed 18.8 points per game.

2) The Rams’ only loss was to Bishop McDevitt of Harrisburg Week Two. McDevitt is playing Archbishop Wood in the state 3A final Friday.

3) This is Glen McNamee’s sixth season as coach of Central Dauphin. He is 57-18 overall and 10-5 in the postseason. The Rams’ District Three title this season was the first under McNamee and the first for the Rams since 2002.

Central Dauphin has improved on its win total in each of the last four seasons. The Rams went 7-4 in 2008, 9-3 in 2009, 10-3 last year and currently sits at 14-1 going into Saturday’s 4A final.

4) The Rams are the first District Three Class 4A team to make the state final since Lower Dauphin lost to Penn Hills 35-14 in 1995. The last 4A team from the district to win a state title was Cumberland Valley, who defeated Upper St. Clair in 28-12 in 1992.

5) Central Dauphin has won three of its past four games by three points. In the District Three quarters, the Rams beat Cedar Cliff 35-32, then topped Wilson-West Lawn in the district final 24-21. CD made it to Hershey by knocking off defending 4A champ North Allegheny 23-20 in the state semifinals.