There was a moment on Thursday evening — top of the third, to be exact — when it looked like Rake was ready to control the script.
Pat Kilgus had just laced a single down the left-field line, pushing Rake to a 3-1 lead over Bucks County Ghost at Council Rock North high school. The momentum was building. Then it vanished.
Bucks County flipped the game on its head in the bottom half, sending 10 batters to the plate, pounding out seven hits, and scoring six times to take a 7-3 lead they wouldn’t relinquish in an 8-6 win.
The biggest blow? A two-run single off the bat of Jake Ruple that capped the rally and put the Ghosts in control.
Rake had its moments — Anthony Jakeman tied the game early with an RBI single in the second, and Ryan Madden added an RBI groundout in the third — but they never recovered from the avalanche in the bottom of the third.
Kilgus started on the mound for Rake, tossing one inning and giving up a run on one hit while striking out one. Will Seiler got the ball for Bucks County and gave the Ghosts 3.2 innings of work, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits with three strikeouts.
Trevor Harris and Kevin Cronin each collected two hits for Rake. Harris also swiped a pair of base.
Bucks County racked up nine hits, including a perfect 3-for-3 day from Ryan Brown. He and Jalen Soberal each drove in two, and Ruple finished with a pair of RBIs of his own. The Ghosts also put their wheels to work, swiping six bags — with Connor Dunn and Billy Smith each stealing two
Sometimes, baseball just doesn’t make sense — and Thursday night in Ambler was one of those nights.
Philly Fightin Quakers outhit Philly Mummers 8-5, but it was the Mummers who walked away with a 6-2 win at Gwynedd Mercy thanks to timely hits, patience at the plate, and a defense that didn’t blink.
The Quakers jumped out early. Frank Provenzano ripped a first-inning RBI single to give his club a 1-0 lead, and starter Nolan Walker was cruising — five strikeouts across four strong innings, just one hit allowed.
But in the fifth, the Mummers stirred.
Singles from Braedyn Clinton and Evan Hawkes pushed Philly Mummers into a 3-1 lead, and they never looked back. They padded the lead with three more in the later innings, turning five hits and seven walks into six runs — a masterclass in situational baseball.
On the hill, Logan Hinds navigated 2.2 innings for the Mummers, allowing four hits and one unearned run without a walk.
Zentmayer led the offense with two hits, while Clinton, Hawkes, Owen Pinkerton, and Nick Merunka each drove in a run. Pinkerton also drew three walks, part of a seven-walk showing for the Mummers, and Clinton added two stolen bases for good measure.
For the Quakers, Provenzano and Anthony Trommer each had two hits, and Nick Moyer joined Provenzano in driving in a run. But they stranded too many and couldn’t crack the Mummers’ bullpen late.
