Suburban One American/Continental tops Philadelphia Catholic, 3-2, in Carpenter Cup championship game

The best players from the best high school baseball leagues around Philadelphia faced off Friday morning at Citizens Bank Park for the Carpenter Cup Classic championship game.

The Philadelphia Catholic League was pitted against the Suburban One League American/Continental in the final, with both teams having taken tough routes to the title game.

The Catholic League beat defending champion Suburban One National/Bicentennial in the semifinal, while SOL American/Continental had to overcome a six-run deficit in just three innings in the first game of the tournament.

On Friday, the SOL American/Continental ended up as champion with a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Catholic League.

Andrew Mayhew was the winning pitcher, and Aidan Welch was the loser.

Christian Lutz had two hits for the Catholic League, and Cam Komonchak and Eric Gross had two hits each for SOL American/Continental.

A pitching battle was the last thing Philadelphia Catholic likely wanted considering its two star pitchers missed Friday's game to go on vacation to the Bahamas.

Still, the defensive contest put the pressure on the bullpens, making even one mistake decisive.

The SOL American/Continental team took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first innning.

Philadelphia Catholic tied the score and then went ahead, 2-1, in the fourth inning.

But in the bottom of the fifth inning, a hit batter, wild pitch, and two hits provided two more runs for the SOL American/Continental.

Defense prevailed in the final innings, and SOL American/Continental closer Dan Klepchick finished the game in the top of the ninth with consecutive strikeouts.

"This is my first year doing this," said Klepchick, who got the save. "I actually didn't expect to get in here because of all the great pitchers we have. But I'm glad we pitched well."

Cath. League 000 200 000 - 2 7 0

Sub. One Am/Con. 100 020 00x - 3 9 0

WP: Mayhew. LP: Welch.