The Bux-Mont baseball team – comprised of SOL players - notched a win over Tri-Cape in Tuesday’s opening round of the Phillies Carpenter Cup Classic presented by Nike.
BUX-MONT 10, TRI-CAPE 6
What a difference a year makes.
Emile Chanoine – a rising senior at Cheltenham – got his first taste of Phillies Carpenter Cup competition last season. The experience consisted of making the trip to Philadelphia’s FDR Park only to be sent home because the game was rained out. The team returned the following day but was without a number of key players due to scheduling conflicts, and it was one-and-done for the Bux-Mont.
It would have been hard to blame Chanoine if he had opted to not try out this year, but that was not a consideration.
“It’s always just nice to play with some of the best kids in the area,” he said. “I played against a good amount of the kids on the team (in school ball), and so to come together on one team and compete together against another really good team is fun. It’s always fun to do that.
“Last year was a little rough. We were one-and-done. We didn’t really hit well last year, but this year we came back and we competed and we put a lot of balls in play and hit them hard. We scored 10 runs, and it was a lot better than last year.”
Chanoine certainly did his part and was effective out the leadoff spot, getting on base on both trips to the plate – once on a base hit and another on an error. He scored twice – both times on RBI triples by Upper Moreland senior Jackson Townsend.
“As a leadoff, I’m just always trying to put the ball in play hard and put pressure on the defense,” Chanoine said. “Thankfully, the kid hitting after me – Jackson Townsend – followed it up with two triples that I could score from first, so that was a lot of fun.”
Although Chanoine is facing tough competition playing summer baseball for the Boilermakers, he places a high value on the Carpenter Cup experience.
“It’s a very competitive setting with a lot of good players, so it’s always nice to get extra reps against really good competition,” Chanoine said. “We faced some really good arms today that were throwing hard – they were good pitchers, so it’s always just good practice to play against good pitchers and good teams.”
The Bux-Mont took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the third when Tri-Cape rallied to even the score 4-4. A four-run fifth proved to be the difference in the game, and the Bux-Mont went on to win.
“The last couple of years we definitely haven’t gotten past the first round,” said PW coach Chris Manero, who along with Upper Dublin Ed Wall coached the team. “Our franchise last won the whole thing in 2016.
“It’s always a good experience for the guys, even if we only play one, but it becomes a better and better experience the deeper you get.”
The PW coach liked a lot of things he saw in Tuesday’s win.
“We got some good pitching,” Manero said. “Max Eagland, our Plymouth Whitemarsh guy, started and threw two really strong innings. Connor Murray from Pennridge was basically lights out for his two innings. Stephen Verdoloni from Central Bucks West closed the door the last two innings.
“It’s always good when you see some of these guys that you know are pitching big games and winning a lot of high school games – to see them all get to pitch in the game. It’s really exciting to see that.”
Putting 10 runs on the board also was a key to the game.
“Offensively, we walked eight times, and that’s always going to help,” Manero said. “We got base runners in a lot of different ways, but Jackson Townsend was by far the star offensively.”
The Upper Moreland senior led the Bux-Mont with a perfect 2-for-2 effort at the plate that included a pair of triples and two RBIs.
“He’s kind of an interesting story because this is his third Carpenter Cup,” Manero said of Townsend. “He’s played the last three years, and I didn’t realize till today – he said he hasn’t gotten any hits yet in the Carpenter Cup, so we kind of said, ‘Let’s change that today,’ and he had an RBI triple in the first inning – knocked in Emile Chanoine. Then he came up his second at-bat and did the same thing, and he knocked in a guy again with a triple.
“That was kind of cool to see a guy who really likes playing in this and has done it for three years to come up to bat and get two triples in two at-bats. That was nice to see.”
By the numbers: Bux-Mont: Jackson Townsend (2-for-2-2-, 2 3B, 2RBIs), Emile Chanoine (1-for-2, 2R), Charlie Ajemian (1-for-2, 3B, 1RBI, 2R).
Max Eagland (2.0 IP, 0H, 1R, 0ER, 1BB, 2K), Connor Murray (W) (2.0 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 3K)
Key inning: Top of fifth – The Bux-Mont broke a 4-4 tie with four runs in the top of the fifth. Mason Eagland was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and one out later, he scored when Charlie Ajemian tripled to right field. Peyton Trappler drew a walk, and Ajemian scored on a wild pitch. The Bux-Mont also benefitted from an error, back-to-back walks and a hit batter. A bases-loaded walk to Alex Kriebel pushed the third run of the inning across, and Gavin Litten was hit by a pitch, forcing in another run that gave the Bux-Mont an 8-4 lead.
Bux-Mont coach Chris Manero:
--The experience: “It’s always a great experience to have these guys from different pockets of the Suburban One League come together. We know the Suburban One League is one of the best baseball leagues around, so to get the talent together on the field, you know it’s always fun, and I know the players like it.
“I enjoy coaching, and I know (Upper Dublin coach) Ed Wall enjoys being there with me, so it’s a positive experience. We do have a lot of guys that play multiple years, so I know that they appreciate the opportunity.”
Up next: Bux-Mont will face Philadelphia Catholic League in a second-round game at Rutgers-Camden Thursday (1:30 pm).
“The field is super nice there, so that will be a nice experience as well,” Chanoine said.
The PCL defeated defending Carpenter Cup champion Burlington County 3-1.
Bux-Mont 202 042 0 10-6-1
Tri-Cape 103 001 1 6-5-3
Bux-Mont (10) – Emile Chanoine cf 2-2-1-0; Mason Eagland cf 2-1-0-0; Jackson Townsend rf 2-2-2-2; Brody Stump rf 2-1-1-0; Jacob Greer ss 2-0-0-0; Charlie Ajemian ss 2-2-1-1; Finn Kopp 3b 2-0-0-1; Peyton Trappler 3b 0-0-0-0; Max Eagland p 2-0-0-0; Nick Simons p 0-0-0-0; Connor Murray p 2-1-0-0; Lucas Festa c 2-0-0-0; Bud Murphy c 2-1-0-0; Eddie Stoffel 2b 2-0-2-0; Jack Haugen 2b 0-0-0-0; Anthony Hammill 1-0-0-0; Alex Kriebel lf 1-0-01; TJ McGuigan 1b 2-0-0-0; Gavin Litten 1-0-0-1; TOTALS 29-10-6-6.
3B – Charlie Ajemian, Jackson Townsend 2; SB – Eddie Stoffel; LOB 8
Tri-Cape (6) – Ethan DuBois 3b 3-1-2-0; Dylan Salsbery 3b 1-0-0-0; Sawyer Wood ss 1-2-0-0; Jamari Whitley ss 1-1-1-0; Kameron Street cf 2-0-0-0; Trevor Troiano cf 1-0-0-0; Kyle shields lf 1-0-0-1; Nolan Sholder lf 1-0-0-0; Chase Battersby 1b 2-0-0-0; Ricky Watt c 1-0-0-1; Kam Fiorini c 1-0-0-1; Kevin Fiorini 2-0-1-0; Giovanni Cristinzo rf 2-0-0-0; Jack Murray rf 1-1-1-0; Nick Antonicello 2b 2-0-0-0; Josh Yorgin 1-0-0-1; Garrett Shapiro p 0-1-0-0; Alex Valay p 0-0-0-0; Donald Menzoni p 2-0-0-0; TOTALS 25-6-5-4
3B – Jack Murray; SB – Sawyer Wood 2, Jamari Whitley; LOB 5.
Bux-Mont IP H R ER BB SO
M Eagland 2.0 0 1 0 1 2
N Simons 1.0 1 3 3 4 2
C Murray (2W) 2.0 1 0 0 0 3
S Verdoloni 1.0 1 0 0 0 0
Tri-Cape IP H R ER BB SO
W Hickman 2.0 2 2 0 0 3
G Shapiro 1.0 2 2 2 0 0
A Valay 1.0 0 0 0 1 1
D Menzoni 3.0 2 6 4 7 4
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