Thanks to inclement weather, the quarterfinal game of the Independent Schools Tournament that started Thursday afternoon didn’t end until Friday.  But when it did, Chestnut Hill had eliminated Perkiomen by a score of 8-2.

                For Perkiomen it was only their fourth loss of the season. Chestnut Hill proved to be the one hurdle the Indians couldn’t get past this year as it was the third time they had fallen to the Blue Devils.

                The Blue Devils had swept a double header earlier in the year, defeating Perkiomen by a single run in both those games. Their only other loss was to Germantown Academy.

                “I don’t know why but for some reason we just couldn’t beat these guys this year," said Perkiomen Head Coach Ken Baker.

                Despite the loss, the Indians had a season they can be proud of as the 24 wins they collected along the way is a single season record for the club.

                Senior second baseman Julian Gentile, who will be heading to Moravian this fall, said, “It’s the best year. We won more games than any other [Perkiomen] team and we had a lot of fun doing it. It was great. I’m leaving here a better player and a better person. I have Coach Baker to thank for that.”

                In the game, Chestnut Hill wasted no time getting the upper hand as they posted three first-inning runs off Perkiomen starter Jose Colon. The big blow was a homerun off the bat of the Blue Devils cleanup hitter Matt Primavera.

                Colon settled down, striking out five of the next nine batters he faced.

                Perkiomen had their best chance to get to opposing pitcher Dan Rosenbaum in their half of the first inning. Gentile, who was perfect out of the leadoff spot (2-2, 2BB), opened the inning with a walk. With one out, Ian Vazquez and Rich Mejia singled to load the bases. Rosenbaum, though, got a pair of infield pop ups to get out of the jam.

                Colon also settled down and when the fourth inning ended, the score was still 3-0.

                In the top of the fifth, though, Perkiomen dug themselves a hole that would prove too big to recover from. A pair of errors and a walk set the stage for Erik Hubbard who tripled and the Indians trailed 6-0.

                Perkiomen scored single runs in both the fifth and seventh innings.

                Juan Sierra, who had doubled, was brought home on a sacrifice fly by Sawyer Hetrick in the fifth. In the seventh, Hetrick collected his second RBI of the game when a ground ball plated Jeff Harder.

                Mejia and Gentile were the only two Indians with multiple hits on the day.

                Perkiomen will say goodbye to seniors Jeff Harder, Sawyer Hetrick, Rich Mejia and the double-play combination of shortstop Ian Vazquez and Julian Gentile.

                "It will be tough to see these guys go," said Coach Baker of his seniors. "They won a lot of games together. They made a commitment and stuck to it. They’re a great bunch of young men. They will be missed."

                Perkiomen finished the season with a record of 24-4, claimed the Keystone Cup and repeated as Tri-County League champions.