Upper Dublin pitcher Aidan McCarthy (11) throws a pitch against Plymouth Whitemarsh on Monday, May 15, 2023. (Mike Cabrey/MediaNews Group)
BASEBALL
Upper Dublin 5, West Chester East 0: Upper Dublin scored four runs in the bottom of the inning and that was more than enough for Aidan McCarthy, who pitched a two-hit shutout Wednesday afternoon as the top-seeded Cardinals advanced to the District 1-5A semifinals.
Upper Dublin hosts No. 12 Oxford – which upset No. 4 Marple Newtown 16-8 – 4 p.m. Friday. Winner clinches a PIAA berth and faces either No. 3 Strath Haven or No. 10 West Chester Rustin in the district final Tuesday.
McCarthy walked two and struck out three while Jared Levis was 2-for-3 for the Cardinals (15-5). Levis led off the bottom of the first with a double then scored a wild pitch. An error, McCarthy’s RBI fielder’s choice and another error brought in three more runs in the inning for UD.
The Cardinals made it 5-0 in the fourth as Brendan O’Brien came home as Eric Berman reached on an error.
Dante Wright was 2-for-3 with a double for No. 8 West Chester East.
La Salle 6, Neumann-Goretti 2: Tahir Parker was 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored as La Salle grabbed an early 2-0 lead then pulled away in the bottom of the sixth with three runs to reach the Philadelphia Catholic League championship game.
Kevin Schmidt went 2-for-2 with a double while Matt Gannon was 2-for-3 with an RBI for the Explorers, who face Father Judge in the final 11 a.m. Saturday at Neumann University. La Salle last won the PCL in 2021.
Tristan Helmick earned the win pitching 4 1/3 innings. He gave up two runs – earned – on two hits, walked four, hit two batters and struck out three. Cole Kochanowicz picked up the save throwing 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits, walking two and striking out two.
After a Gannon RBI single in the first, Casey Nealon made it 2-0 in the second with his RBI single. An Evan McCoach RBI single in the top of third had Neumann-Goretti down 2-1 but a Parker RBI base hit in the fourth put La Salle back up two.
The Saints made it a one-run game again in the fifth on an RBI fielder’s choice by Yariel Rodriguez. The Explorers, however, got some cushion scoring three times in the sixth on a Nathan Kress RBI single, Colin Dunlap’s RBI sacrifice fly and Kress coming home on a wild pitch.
Central Bucks West 10, Methacton 0: Central Bucks West scored its first five runs in the top of the second, Alex Valdes led off the sixth with a home run and the 14th-seeded Bucks rolled past No. 3 Methacton in the District 1-6A second round.
Valdes finished 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored while Max McGlone went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs as West (16-6) advances to visit No. 6 Coatesville in the quarters 6:45 p.m. Friday.
Sam Greer was 2-for-5 with an RBI and earned the win on the mound, allowing just two hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out four. Jacob Greer collected a strikeout as he sealed the shutout with a 1-2-3 seventh.
Quinn Illig went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored for the Bucks, who racked up 13 hits. Julio Ermigiotti was 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored twice.
SOFTBALL
Hatboro-Horsham 16, Gwynedd Mercy 5 (6): Hatboro-Horsham collected 17 hits – including a three-run inside-the-park home run by Amya Lundy in the top of the sixth as the No. 7 Hatters knocked off No. 2 Gwynedd Mercy in the District 1-5A quarterfinals.
Tess Kearney was 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored while Lundy also doubled in finishing 2-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs scored for Hatboro-Horsham (14-8), who visits No. 3 Oxford 1 p.m. Friday in the semifinals with the winner clinching a PIAA berth.
The Hatters jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first. The Monarchs scored two in the bottom of the inning but HH answered with two in the second for a 7-2 lead. GMA plated a pair in the third then pulled to within 7-5 on Kiersten Dunlap’s solo home run in the fourth but Hatboro-Horsham pulled away with six-run sixth before tacking on three more in the sixth.
Alyssa Tooley was 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and four runs scored while Isabella Karpovich went 3-for-3 with two RBIs for Hatters. Abby Waeltz was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored with Adriana DeLeon and Madison Karpovich both collecting two RBIs.
Alexa Weiss had two RBIs for Gwynedd Mercy. Kalie Mogg and Jenna Morrison both scored two runs.
Upper Dublin 2, Unionville 1: Kaelin Penna broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring after her single as top-seeded Upper Dublin rallied past No. 9 Unionville to reach the District 1-5A semifinals.
Kaitlyn Small went 3-for-3 with a run scored for the Cardinals (16-5), who host No. 5 West Chester Rustin 3:30 p.m. Friday for a spot in the district final. Kyla Garrison earned the complete-game win, giving up an earned run on five hits. She walked two, hit one batter and struck out six.
Unionville pitcher Madison Parisi allowed two runs – none earned – in a complete-game effort. She walked one and struck out four. Parisi also was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
The Longhorns took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third on a two-out RBI single by Parisi. Upper Dublin pulled level in the fourth as Kaitlyn Small scored on a bases-loaded fielder’s choice by Maddie Small.
Penna started the bottom of the fifth with a single, a misplaying allowing it to go the fence with Penna eventually scoring on the play after an overthrow went out of play.
Central Bucks South 6, Quakertown 3: Bendzlowicz erased Central Bucks South’s 3-0 deficit with a three-run triple in the top of the third, the No. 18 seed Titans taking the lead with two in the fourth then added one in the fifth as they rallied to knock off undefeated No. 2 Quakertown in the District 1-6A second round.
Hannah Tracy and Riley Theis both finished 2-for-4 with a run scored for CB South (13-9) which visits No. 10 Haverford in the district quarterfinals 4 p.m. Friday.
Maddy Borowski struck out 12 in a complete-game win, allowing three runs – two earned – on eight hits, walking one and hitting one batter.
Ava Beal went 3-for-4 for Quakertown (20-1), which scored all three of its runs in the second.
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