Mercury Roundup (March 28): OJR outlasts Boyertown in 11-inning PAC Liberty baseball marathon

Baseball

Owen J. Roberts 3, Boyertown 2 (11 innings)

OJR outlasted Boyertown in a marathon PAC Liberty showdown on Friday, with Evan Sabatino’s RBI single plating Sam Taylor in the top of the 11th for the winning run. Sabatino also hit a solo home run in the second, and Tyler Nau stole three bases in the win. Max Santise drew the start on the hill for the Wildcats (2-3, 1-1 Liberty) and allowed just two hits and an unearned run through the first five innings, striking out four. After Terner Whitten allowed a run in his inning of work, Adam Stahl pitched the final five frames for OJR, allowing only two walks while striking out six to pick up the win in relief.

Gavin Trainer went 2-for-5 with an RBI and run scored for Boyertown (1-3, 1-1). Christian Tonini, Luka Hagan, Connor Houck and Cole Neiswender combined to allow three runs on eight hits over 11 innings, striking out nine.

Spring-Ford 3, Methacton 2

Spring-Ford scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning on Friday to stun Methacton, with Aidan Dunleavy’s two-run go-ahead triple being the decisive blow. Luca Cavaliere got the rally started for the Rams (1-2, 1-1 Liberty) with an RBI double. Spring-Ford got two excellent pitching performances, first from starter Ethan Freed, who struck out 10 and allowed two unearned runs across five innings. Dom Ruggiero relieved Freed and fired two scoreless frames to pick up the win.

Colin Carr was the hard-luck loser on the hill for the Warriors (3-1, 1-1), with all three of his runs allowed being unearned thanks to a costly error in the field. Carr struck out seven and walked one.

Upper Merion 5, Norristown 4 (8 innings)

Hal Eaton’s RBI double in the top of the eighth inning propelled Upper Merion to an extra-inning PAC Frontier win on Friday. Eaton finished 3-for-5 on the day with two RBI. John Tomsho was 2-for-4 with an RBI and three steals for the Vikings (2-2, 1-1 Frontier). The pitching trio of Nathan Gordon, Henry Destefano and Cole Wellington allowed just two earned runs in eight innings with seven strikeouts.

Norristown (1-3, 0-2) had tied the game in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI double by John Angelo Salamone (2-for-4, 2B, SB), though left fielder Wellington threw out the potential game-winning run at the plate in the form of Andrew Mocarsky to force extra innings.

Pottsgrove 6, Upper Perkiomen 2

Brandon McGinley hit a go-ahead home run in the fourth inning while also pitching 6.1 strong innings on the mound to lead Pottsgrove to a PAC Frontier win on Friday. McGinley allowed three hits, two unearned runs and struck out four. Luke Tyson added a bases-clearing double in the bottom of the fifth to give the Falcons (2-2, 2-0 Frontier) a 5-1 lead.

Upper Perk (4-2, 1-1) managed only four singles in the contest, with Jordin Dice stealing a base and scoring a run and Zane Saeger going 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Perkiomen School 9, Devon Prep 1

Justin Fryer struck out 13 in a dominant six-inning effort on the mound to help Perkiomen win its first game of the season on Friday. Avery Smith went 3-for-4 with a home run, stolen base and three RBI, while Zach Mayza and Ryan Sink also plated three runs for the Panthers (1-2). Angelo Reyes (3-for-4, two runs) and Ian Perez (2-for-4, two runs) also had strong days at the plate.

Softball

Boyertown 12, Upper Perkiomen 5

Boyertown stayed unbeaten on Friday and scored double-digit runs for the fifth time in as many games to start off the 2025 season. Kyra Neiswender homered and knocked in three runs at the plate while also pitching five innings in the circle to pick up the victory. She yielded two earned runs and four hits while striking out five. Hailey Schildt went 3-for-5 with two RBI, Rielynn Carey was 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBI and Hayden Reifsnyder struck a two-run double for the victorious Bears (5-0, 1-0 Liberty).

Jocelyn Sledgen knocked in two runs at the plate for Upper Perk (3-2, 0-1) while also pitching all seven innings.

Methacton 8, Owen J. Roberts 0

Sadie Fitch pitched a complete game two-hit shutout in the circle on Friday, striking out eight and walking one in a dominant effort over previously unbeaten OJR. Fitch also tripled and had an RBI single in three at-bats. Jenna Kaufman plated two with a double and Soleil Bond-Johnson doubled, scored two runs and stole a base for the Warriors (3-1, 1-0 PAC Liberty).

It was a tough day on the diamond for the Wildcats (5-1, 0-1), who committed nine errors in the defeat.

Upper Merion 10, Pottsgrove 2

Devon Maiden went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and four RBI as Upper Merion racked up a dozen hits in a PAC Frontier win over Pottsgrove. Brielle Baessler struck out 10 batters in a complete game victory in the circle while also going 2-for-4 with an RBI at the plate. Emily Volpe and Molly Gilliland also had multiple hits for the Vikings (2-2, 1-0 Frontier).

Hayden Pysher was 3-for-3 at the plate for Pottsgrove (3-4, 0-1), which also got solid production from Delaney Rice (2-for-3, 2B, R, RBI) and Mackenzie Gray (2-for-3, 2 2B, RBI).

Souderton 16, Norristown 0

Norristown dropped to 2-2 overall after sustaining a three-inning loss to Souderton in which the Indians smashed 15 hits, four of them for extra bases.

Lansdale Catholic 13, Perkiomen School 0

Perkiomen managed just one hit on Friday against Lansdale Catholic while also committing nine errors in the field to fall to 1-1 on the season. Lauren Leshak struck out 15 batters in six pristine innings for the Crusaders.

Boys Lacrosse

Boyertown 15, Coatesville 9

Boyertown posted nine first-half goals before clamping down on defense in the second half and allowing only two scores after the break as the Bears (3-3) earned a hard-fought win over Coatesville.

Upper Moreland 15, Phoenixville 14 (OT)

Two days after a thrilling overtime victory, Phoenixville was on the other side of the ledger on Friday as Upper Moreland’s Kevin Messina scored a game-high six goals, including the game-winner in OT. Will Linko tallied four goals and three assists for the Phantoms (2-3), while Finn Blanton added three goals and five assists in the high-scoring affair. Brady O’Donnell chipped in three scores, Declan McCoy had two and Emory Fleischman and Jack Nixon each found the back of the net once. Jack Manzon made seven saves in a losing effort.

Holy Ghost Prep 11, Upper Merion 4

Upper Merion dropped to 1-3 on the season following Friday’s non-league road defeat at Holy Ghost Prep.

Boys Volleyball

Spring-Ford 3, Lansdale Catholic 1 (21-25, 25-21, 26-24, 25-16)

The Rams dropped the first set to Lansdale Catholic on Friday before rebounding to capture the next three games, with PJ Szczerba leading the charge with 18 kills, 11 digs, two blocks and two aces. Spring-Ford (2-2) also got strong production from Jake Balke (13 kills, 12 digs), Luc Nguyen (47 assists, 11 digs) and Dawson Beccaria (29 digs).

Boys Tennis

Upper Perkiomen 6, Pennridge 1

Singles: Cody Groff (UP) def. Jordan Ea, 7-5, 6-0; Alex Laubach (UP) def. Drake Warner, 6-1, 6-2; Miles Long (UP) def. Sam Turco, 6-2, 6-2

Doubles: Gavin Crouthamel/Bryce Phillips (UP) def. Conor Burke/Braxton Ray, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3; Aydin Young/Anthony Frydlewicz (UP) def. Bryan Lopez-Monroy/Samuel Underwood, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3; Matt Fisher/Jaylen Barrow (UP) def. Wesley George/Collin Engler, 6-4, 6-4; Gavin Mill/Gavin Stassi (PR) def. Landon Lyter/Nolan Moose, 6-4, 6-4

Daniel Boone 4, Owen J. Roberts 3

Singles: Chase Gerloff (DB) def. Jack Payne, 6-0, 6-0; Lucas Armbruster (DB) def. Abhi Nukala, 7-5, 6-4; John Hartline (DB) def. Vansh Agarwal, 6-2, 6-2

Doubles: Logan Illigouch/Owen Bell (DB) def. Tynan Erickson/Nidhish Davuluri, 6-4, 2-6, 6-0; Samarth Guldas/Ryan Pomager (OJR) def. Jaxon Todd/Miller Kase, 6-1, 6-0; Anders Olsen/Swanith Vuppalapati (OJR) def. Brodi Dusko/Mason Davis, 6-1, 6-0; Ethan Graef/Charan Garimella (OJR) won by forfeit