UPPER GWYNEDD- There was nothing North Penn wanted more than to bring home a victory against rival Souderton, on CommunityKnight, under the lights in front a packed crowd at Hostelley Field. Unfortunately it just was not their night.
The Knights (8-2, 4-2 conference) suffered just their second loss of the season at the hands of the Indians Friday night as they lost by a score of 6-5.
Senior Reed Shuttle got the start and dominated most of the game. He allowed only four hits and did not allow a single run until the 5th inning. Shuttle, who was drilled by a line drive in the 3rd, seemed to get better as the game went on and had his best inning in the 6th when he struck out the side.
“Reed looked very strong,” said head coach Kevin Manero. “If he could have kept his pitch count down a little bit we could have kept him out there but he is a high school pitcher and he was at the end of the ropes. But he looked very strong. He dug deep. He had that ball that got hit right back at him and it did not faze him. His last inning was one of his strongest innings.”
“I think I did well,” said Shuttle following the game. “I threw strikes, got my pitches where I wanted them to be and I hit my spots.”
Shuttle exited the game with a 5-1 lead heading into the 7th. Senior Bobby Reddick came into close when Souderton’s bats got hot. The Indians scored first on an error , and they then followed up with several base hits that scored four more runs.
The Knight’s showed some life in their half of the inning when they had runners on first and second with only one out. Unfortunately Souderton pitcher Dan O’Hara, who had what would be the game winning RBI, settled in and struck out the next two batters to finish the Knights off.
While the pitching struggled late in the game, Manero knows there were other key factors that went into the loss.
“The key is that when we have opportunities we have to cash in. I thought we looked a little tired late in the game and did not take advantage of the opportunities. But at the same time we did have that four run lead we have to make sure we prevent ourselves from giving guys free 90 feet and get back in the game.”
The Knights left nine runners on the base paths throughout the game. Had they scored just one of those nine runners the game may have had a whole different outcome.
But with a new week of league games coming up against Hatboro Horsham on Tuesday and Central Bucks East on Thursday, Manero and the Knights know there is no time to dwell on this loss.
“We will re-group and next week is another week. There is no time to sulk in this league because you have another game coming right up,” said Manero.
The night was not all bad for the Knights, as they were host to a community night in which little leaguers from around the area came to support the team. The kids may have been a little disappointed by the outcome of the game, but were still very excited to be on the same field with the players many of them look up to.
“Community night was a great night,” said Manero. “It was an awesome opportunity for a lot of the community to come out. It was great to see so many young players come out here before the game and stick around during the game. We hope all the young kids in the community out here tonight saw the atmosphere and said ‘I can’t wait to put that North Penn uniform on some day.It was a great spring night, a warm Friday night. Its great we have an opportunity to bring the community together. It was a great atmosphere and it was good for the guys to get the chance to play in front of this many people. It was great night for both the people inside and outside the fences.”