Wissahickon jumps on Plymouth Whitemarsh

Last season, with three senior mainstays, Wissahickon advanced to within a win of the PIAA Class AAAA state baseball tournament.

The Trojans returned six regulars from that squad, but the loss of ace pitcher Rob McKenna, outfielder Ryan McDonough, and shortstop Brian O'Donnell left a bigger void than originally expected.

"Those guys gave us a lot, especially when it came to leadership," senior second baseman Mike Kropnick said. "We got off to a 5-2 start this year, but then hit a rough patch. We haven't been consistent enough on offense."

Offense wasn't an issue for Wissahickon in Tuesday's Suburban One League American Conference matchup with Plymouth Whitemarsh.

Kropnick, going 4 for 4 and scoring two runs from the No. 2 spot in the order, fueled a 14-hit attack as the visiting Trojans jumped on the Colonials early and romped, 9-2, in Plymouth Meeting.

Keeping alive its bid for a berth in the coming District 1 tournament, Wissahickon, last year's American Conference champion, improved to 7-9 in the conference. It has two league games remaining.

"I hope we're still able to make the playoffs," Kropnick said. "If we can hit like we did in this game and at the beginning of the season, we have a shot at doing that. We need to be more consistent."

The 5-foot-6, 140-pound Kropnick delivered two of the team's six doubles. In the sixth inning, his two-run single to left field gave the Trojans an 8-2 advantage. He came in hitting .419.

In a four-run first, cleanup man J.T. Crits, a junior first baseman, drove in leadoff man Greg McDonough (single) and Kropnick (double) with a double to left. Nick Sunderland and Brian Kaissi followed with RBI singles.

"It was nice to see that kind of effort," said fifth-year Wissahickon coach Shannon Gunby, whose team rebounded from a 7-5 conference loss to Cheltenham. "We've struggled a lot doing the little things on offense and capitalizing on scoring opportunities."

Senior righthander Greg Neduscin (rhymes with medicine) went the distance, allowing eight hits, two earned runs, and one walk. The 6-2, 185-pounder mixed a fastball, curveball, splitter, and change-up.

"The splitter was working pretty well for me," said the 18-year-old from Blue Bell. "It's usually my 'out' pitch."

Sunderland went 2 for 4 with two runs; Kaissi was 2 for 3; and No. 8 man Alec Linebarger was 2 for 4 with an RBI single in the seventh.

Second-place PW, which slipped to 9-6 in the conference, scored both of its runs in the fourth. Jason Cho dropped an RBI double inside the left-field line, and Mitch Weikert knocked in a run with a fielder's-choice groundout to second.

"[Neduscin] was effective," Colonials coach Bob Slagle said. "We hit the ball at times, no doubt, but we didn't string enough hits together."

Wissahickon   4011021 - 9141

Plymouth Whitemarsh   0002000 - 283

WP: Greg Neduscin. LP: Justin Staudenmayer. 2B: W-Mike Kropnick 2, J.T. Crits, Nick Sunderland, Brian Kaissi, Alec Linebarger; PW-Jason Cho.