Wissahickon Baseball Looking for Season Repeat With Talented Roster

BASEBALL
Though they posted an 11-10 overall record, the Trojans took the Suburban One League American title with a 10-4 league record. They lost to Owen J. Roberts in the District 1 AAA quarterfinals, then fell to Avon Grove to miss out on fifth place and a state tournament appearance.

Under fifth-year coach Shannon Gunby, Wissahickon is poised to repeat with a talented and deep roster, starting with All-Conference first team 1B J.T. Crits, and senior catcher Alec Lineberger. Also back are senior pitchers Greg Neducsin and Luke Mullock, senior outfielders Brian Kaissi and Chase Merrill, and senior second baseman Mike Kropnick.

Those players will go a long way toward offsetting the graduation losses of Brian O’Donnell, Chris Beal, Rob McKenna, Ryan McDonough and Nate Guaglianone.

"We hope our experience will put us in contention to repeat as American Conference champions and play deeper into the District One playoffs," Gunby told Montgomery News.

A new wrinkle exists this season with how games are scheduled. Springfield has left the conference, leaving the seven remaining teams to play each other three times each, one more time than last season. 

That means an 18-game league schedule will determine a champion, four more than in 2010. The SOL American Conference includes Plymouth Whitemarsh, Norristown, Upper Dublin, Cheltenham, Wissahickon, Upper Merion and Upper Moreland.

After their opener was rained out last week, the Trojans held on to beat rival Upper Dublin 6-4 last Monday. Neducsin started and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second. The Trojans scored twice in the bottom of the frame, when Brian Kaissi hit a RBI sacrifice fly and Matt Schulman later drew a bases-loaded walk to put the Trojans up.

Wissahickon plated four more runs during the next two innings, then survived an Upper Dublin late rally on a cold and windy afternoon.

Neducsin surrendered two runs in the fifth, his final inning, and ended up giving up six hits in five innings, on six hits.

"It's always important to get the first win," Gunby said. "I didn't harp on it, but I think we've had three or four straight losses to these guys, so it was important to get off that hump and get a good qualities win in conference."

The Trojans weren't as fortunate last Wednesday afternoon, losing 13-9 to Plymouth Whitemarsh. The Colonials struck quickly with four first-inning runs off McFarland.

After PW scored four runs in the sixth to go up 13-2, Wissahickon was forced to score at least two runs to avoid the mercy rule. Instead, they scored seven, though it wasn't enough.

Wissahickon has four games scheduled this week, beginning with games against Norristown, Cheltenham, Upper Merion and finishing on April 8 at Central Bucks South.

BOYS LACROSSE
The boys team was included earlier this month in ESPN Rise's 2011 Pennsylvania high school boys lacrosse season preview, largely due to the five returning starters, including defender Beau Gomez, who was also listed as one of the "starting 10" on the site.

Though the core offensive players have returned from the co-champion of the Suburban One League American Conference last season, the Trojans dropped their first two games by a combined score of 20-3, to Downingtown West and Council Rock North. They'll try and rebound with a week that features contests against Plymouth Whitemarsh, Norristown and Upper Moreland.

GIRLS LACROSSE
The Lady Trojans, led by Laura Frankenfeld and Zoey Gomez, began the season 1-1 with a 14-6 loss to Central Bucks South and a 12-1 win over Plymouth Whitemarsh. They'll deal with Norristown, Pennridge, Upper Moreland and Upper Merion in the coming week.

TENNIS
There's royalty at the top in Andres and Ricardo Prince, and the brothers will be a big reason why the Trojans stay atop the Suburban One League American division.

The siblings lead a group of 10 returning varsity players from a squad that went 14-1 (7-0 in SOL American), finished fourth in District 1 and qualified for the PIAA state tournament. Individually, Ricardo reached the district singles quarterfinals, while Andres made it to the second round.

The brothers also paired as a doubles team, grabbed fourth in District One and advanced to the state quarterfinals.

As a team, the Trojans were bounced in the first round of states by Manheim Township.

Junior Ricardo will play No. 1 singles, while older brother Andres, a senior, will hold down the No. 2 spot.

In his 29th season as coach, Mark Daniels will also turn to sophomore Bee Callahan to hold down third singles, while seniors Matt Soffer and John Hsieh form No. 1 doubles. The team also boasts seniors Gabe Cohen, David Jee, Paul DeVassal and Ryan Flamberg, plus juniors Evan Horn, Andy Lee and sophomore newcomer Pranov Kanapuli.

So far, the tennis team hasn't dropped a match, blanking CB South, Methacton and Cheltenham by 7-0 scores. They have five matches scheduled in the next week: Norristown, Hatboro-Horsham, Council Rock North, Council Rock South and Upper Moreland.