Parkland High School Baseball

Facing the defending state champion North Penn Knights, Parkland would need another day of clean defense and timely hitting. In a 5 – 2, loss, the Trojans provided neither of the two. A J Palumbo ( 4 IP, 1 ER) took the mound in the non-conference game, scattering eight hits over four inning that saw North Penn post 5 runs, with only 1 of them earned. North Penn opened the scoring in the top of the first after an error in the field with two out. The Trojans responded with 1 run in the bottom of the 2nd after Kyle Friebolin (0-1, 1 R) was hit by a pitch, Matt Mellinger (2-3, 1 RBI) hit a single, and Nate Markowicz (1-3, 1 RBI) knocked in Friebolin with a fielder’s choice.

North Penn recaptured the lead for good with one run in the top of the 3rd inning, and three more in the top of the 4th to post a 5 – 1 lead. Parkland responded again with one run of their own in the bottom of the 6th after Austin Mueller (1-4, 1 R) hit a one-out double to right center field, pinch-hitter Ethan Imler (1-1) singled to right center and advanced the runner to third, and Mellinger notched the RBI with a fielder’s choice.

Adam Smith ( 3 IP, 0 R) came on in relief and held North Penn scoreless over the last three innings. With the score 5 – 2, Parkland tried mounting a comeback with a leadoff singles by Markowicz and EJ Brandt (2-3), and a walk to Kyle Novobilski ( 0-0, 1 BB) to load the bases. However, the Knights got the final three outs with no damage, and ending the game with a final score of 5 – 2.