TOWAMENCIN – With their back against the wall, the North Penn Knights claimed their third win of the season in dramatic fashion. The Pioneers took an early lead and seemed like they would cruise to victory, but the Knights bats came to life at the perfect time.
The North Penn Knights (3-1, 0-0) hosted the Conestoga Pioneers (2-3, 2-2) in a 12pm matchup on North Penn’s campus. Senior Jake Nunn got the start for North Penn and Nolan Campbell was on the bump for Conestoga.
After two quick first inning strikeouts for Nunn, senior Chase Cherny lined a single to right field. Junior Landon Jones followed by turning on a fastball and sneaking it over the left field wall to account for the first runs of the game. Nunn popped up the next batter to the infield.
The Knights first inning at the plate didn’t go as planned. Two first inning strikeouts and a popout was a sign of what was to come for Campbell on the mound as he was able to retire the side comfortably.
Nunn went back out for the 2nd inning and got straight to work. A first pitch groundout against Junior Shawn Soura helped set the tone for the inning. Nunn followed by striking out Nieberle with a curveball and retiring Wisler with a grounder to first base.
Following a Grayson Fontaine strikeout, the Knights offense showed some promise in the bottom half of the 2nd inning. Juniors Bud Murphy and Will Rittenhouse both answered with line drive singles to represent the Knights first hits of the day. Chase Paskewich was walked on a full count in the next at-bat loading the bases. However, the Knights failed to take advantage; Matthew Pownall struck out swinging and Mason Franek grounded to second base.
Although Nunn struck out the first batter, the 3rd inning was where he got into some trouble with baserunners. Back to back walks and a double steal put two runners in scoring position for pioneers. An error on an infield hit to SS Paskewich allowed Kurt Tharnish to score at home making it 3-0. The Knights followed this by intentionally walking Jones and loading the bases hoping for a double play. They got exactly what they wished for, however it wasn’t your traditional double play. Paskewich leaped into the air to snag a liner and doubled off the runner who was late to get back to 2nd.
The Knights were back to the top of their lineup however they were still lacking offensive success. Campbell was able to retire the side 1-2-3 thanks to his sweeping curveball.
North Penn made a pitching change with sophomore Isaac Whaley coming in for Nunn.
“We needed somebody to come in, shut them down and give us a chance to win late. [Whaley] did that. He was able to throw multiple pitches for strikes. He did a good job of keeping guys off balance on the bases. And he went after hitters, and that’s what we need for good pitching in the SOL,” North Penn head coach Kevin Manero explained.
Whaley struck out the first batter he faced, but walked junior Finn Nieberle in his 2nd at-bat. Owen Wisler strikes out swinging in the next plate appearance. Once again, the Pioneers responded, this time with a bloop single from Colin White out to LF. The Knights caught Nieberle trying to steal 3rd and the half-inning ended with an out on the base paths.
Nolan Campbell finished where he left off with two quick outs to Fontaine and Murphy. However, Rittenhouse slowed his roll with a hard hit single up the middle in the first pitch of the at-bat. However, Campbell was able to get out of the inning forcing Paskewich to roll over back to the mound for out number 3.
The southpaw Isaac Whaley trotted for his 2nd inning where he retired the first two batters with 5 pitches, utilizing his fastball, slider and curve. He walked Cherny who had reached base in all 3 of his plate appearances at this point. Landon Jones hit a fastball high to LF where senior Mason Franek tracked it down for the 3rd out.
The Pioneers made a pitching change in the 5th bringing Finn Nieberle to deal from the mound. He began his pitching performance with 2 strikeouts against the bottom of the Knights lineup. Senior Kyle Bonner wasted no time in his 3rd at-bat reaching base on a first-pitch line drive single to center. Bonner found his way to 3rd base with a balk and a passed ball setting up the Knights in prime position to score their first run. Nieberle was able to stay poised and roll Logan Waynick into a groundout.
The first pitch of the 6th inning was a line drive single to LF from Conestoga’s Josh Lee. Whaley didn’t bat an eye, immediately responding by forcing a flyout then a 6-4-3 double play
Grayson Fontaine represented North Penn’s first run of the game, sending a 1-out home run to deep center field. It looked like the Knights may rally after that spark with a Rittenhouse walk then a single from pinch hitting sophomore Danny Cho. Senior Patrick Walker also came in to pinch hit where he grounded out to 2nd base. Only one run in the promising inning for North Penn.
Whaley continued his efficient day on the mound in the game’s final inning, recording two putouts against the first two batters of the inning. The Pioneers were still hunting insurance runs with a 2-out single from Kurt Tharnish. Instead, a sky-high popout to Fontaine took us to the bottom of the 7th.
Two outs to open the inning had the Knights on their very last leg hoping to squeeze out one last rally. Junior Logan Waynick responded with a single to LF. Senior Christian Barnes ripped a fastball down the 3B line and it became clear the Knights were not going out without a fight. The Pioneers intentionally walked Grayson Fontaine, who homered in the 6th, and loaded up the bases for Bud Murphy.
Murphy was set up perfectly for a big moment and he was confident.
“The pitcher seemed pretty tired, so I just worked him down, saw the fastball and hit it pretty well… [walking to the plate] the mindset was just ‘get the job done,’” Murphy said.
Murphy definitely did his job with a hard hit single up the middle to tie the game 3-3. The Knights were not done there. Will Rittenhouse hit a hard ground ball to LF where Brayden Underwood beat the throw home to represent the game-winning run.
“I can’t take away how impressive it is to be down to our last out, then put three runs up on the board to win the game. But our approach has to be like that earlier in the game. We can’t fool ourselves into thinking that we can come back like that every game,” Manero said.
Murphy and Rittenhouse had standout days with 5 combined hits and a walk from Rittenhouse on the afternoon.
“We have some firepower in the middle of the lineup. We know we have some speed, but we’ve got to hit one through nine. It’s important that we’re getting contributions from everybody,” Manero shared.
In a game that looked all but over, the Knights flipped the script in their final at-bats, proving their resilience and fight. Now, the challenge is turning that late-game magic into a full seven innings of consistent baseball.
North Penn begins their SOL play with a series starting on the road against Central Bucks East on Tuesday, April 7th at 3:45 PM
