MARCH 31
CATHOLIC RED
Ryan 4, SJ Prep 3
  Often times finding lefthanded pitching is like playing needle in a haystack, but for Ryan (so it appears) that haystack is quite thin and full of needles.  Today's pitching was entirely handled by Ryan's three-headed, lefthanded monster (Soph. Kevin Mack, Jr. Steve "Rusty" Markle, and Sr. Tom Neely.)  Markle was handed the ball in a surprise start against Prep ace RHP Kyle Mullen.  The risky move by Coach Ron Gerhart paid off big time as Markle managed to keep The Prep off balance for the better part of the game, especially in the early going.  The first inning had "Pitcher's Duel" written all over it: Markle had thrown just 8 pitches none of which threatened to leave the infield, and Mullen had struck out the side in dominating fashion.  The first hit of the game came in the 2nd inning from Sr. C Jerry "J Smooth" Smith, who was quickly replaced by Jr. Speedster Pat "Quickowski" Kwiatkowski (as designated runner for catcher.)  After swiping second base Kwiatkowski was chased home on a base hit from Jr. 2B Sean "Clutch" Kovacs (more on that later.)  Ryan also tacked on a run in 3rd giving them a 2-0 advantage entering the 4th. In the top of the 4th was when Markle entered his first real trouble when The Prep managed to get a few men on base.  Sr. 3B Ryan Eden drove home the first run with an RBI single bringing the Prep closer at 2-1 going to the 5th.  The 5th is where it looked as if the Prep was going to take over.  After tying the game on a Giovanni Morales single, he was chased home on a Jeff Lynch Sac Fly to give the Prep a 3-2 lead, and with the way Mullen had been keeping the bats silent it appeared that was the way the game would stay.  In the top of the 6th Markle's day came to an end (5 IP, 6 hits, 3 runs, 2 BB, 1 K), he was replaced by Soph. LHP Kevin Mack ( 1 IP, 0 hits, 1 BB).  Then came the bottom of the 6th inning.  After retiring the first man in the inning Mullen ran into some trouble as Ryan received a base hit from  Jerry "J Smooth" Smith and an unprecedented infield single by Jr. DH "The Blazing Cattle" Colin Budny, giving Ryan some life.  Both "J Smooth" Smith and "The Blazing Cattle" Budny were replaced by runners, Kwiatkowski for Smith (Designated Runner) and Sr. Bob Steffney for Budny.  It was good to see Bob be involved in this game, Bob has been experiencing some arm trouble recently and for any Sr. it can be tough to miss time during your last season; wish you the best Bob and a speedy recovery.  With 2 on and 1 out it was time for Sean "Clutch" Kovacs to earn his nickname.  After getting ahead in the count 2-1 Kovacs found the pitch he was looking for and RAKED it down the leftfield line for a bases-clearing triple, and more importantly a 4-3 Ryan lead.  In the top half of the 7th Kevin Mack was replaced by Sr. LHP Tom Neely, who was called upon to try and save this game for Mack, and after surrendering a leadoff single Neely did just that.  Archbishop Ryan had upset the Prep, after notable recent struggles against them. 
Notes:
  Sr. Phil Consalvo read the prayer for a second consecutive game.  After a suggestion from Ted, I decided to try and give him a grade.  Phil earned himself a B- today.  Phil may also not want to hear  that he has been surpassed as the season's best dressed (self-proclaimed) as Prep 3B Ryan Eden has taken the lead.
Key Stats:
  Last week I noted that Ryan needed to cut back on walks if they wanted to compete with the league's elite, today just 3 walks between Markle, Mack, and Neely.
Player of the Game:
  None other than Jr. Sean "Clutch" Kovacs 2 for 2 with a walk and 3 RBI.  I've known Sean for the better part of my baseball-life and he's mostly known for his outstanding work with the glove, but it was good to see him come up Clutch with the bat.  Good work, Sean, keep it up.

MARCH 25
CATHOLIC RED
Ryan 9, Roman 3
  After stumbling out of the gates in the PCL opener the Raiders came back in a strong showing against Roman Catholic in a 9-3 victory.  In the first inning however; things weren't looking too promising for Ryan.  Sr. P Drew Stevens seemed to struggle to find the strike zone.  After walking lead-off man Anthony Ortiz, Stevens was able to bounce back and get the speedster off the bases with a nice pickoff move.  Unfortunately Stevens then walked the next batter, and later had a man reach on a rare error from Ryan 2B Sean Kovacs.  Roman 3B John Hildebrand then laced a single to get the scoring started, 1-0 Roman.   Ryan wasted no time in responding.  After a Mark Golic single and a Kevin Mack walk, it was time for Sr. OF Jon Schmidt to lace a 2-RBI double down the leftfield line to give Ryan a 2-1 lead after the first.  After laboring through 2.1 innings Drew Stevens' long day was over (3 hits, 5 walks, 0 k's), and it was time for lefty Steve Markle.  Coming in to a tight situation Markle was able to do some damage control and get Ryan through the 3rd inning with the game knotted up at 2.  Roman broke the tie in the 4th inning on a rare, but well, executed suicide squeeze play; however that was the last lead Roman saw.  Bottom line, the bottom of the 4th was a nightmarish inning for Roman.  Ryan was able to load the bases with nobody out (Kovacs walk, Bob Steffney and Ryan Rubeo singles).  A bases loaded walk to Sr. Dan Petitt, and that signaled the end for Roman SP John Dugan (3+innings, 2 walks, 2 K's).  Much to Dugan's credit, he kept the Raiders off balance for the most part by using a good breaking ball and good location, he may not throw the hardest but he uses what he has (i.e Jamie Moyer).  Things didn't get much better with the pitching change as Golic immediately greeted him with a 2-RBI single.  2 more walks (Mack and Schmidt's for an RBI) reloaded the bases for Ryan clean-up hitter Sr. C Jerry "J-Smooth" Smith, who laced a base-hit just over the shortstop's head for 2 more runs.  That put the score at 8-3 in favor of Ryan, and just to keep Roman as distant as possible Jr. DH "The Blazing Cattle" Colin Budny lined a single to right to drive home the final Raider run.  From here on it was the Kevin Mack show as he took the hill for the 5th inning.  Mack worked at the quickest pace of all pitchers, and also was the most effective (3 innings, 3 K's, 1 hit).  Above all else, just as the temperature began to dip even closer to freezing, Mack worked a 6-pitch 7th inning to close out the game.  This was a big win for the Raiders to get to 1-1 before taking on 2-Time Defending PCL Champion St. Joe Prep next week.  If Ryan wants to be able to play with the Prep they are going to have to cut back on their walks (6 in this game).  If they can manage to do that I think hey will be able to compete with the best in the league.
Keys to Win:
Top of the Order
Jr. Mark Golic and Soph. Kevin Mack combined 3 for 6.  Golic 2 hits 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Mack 1 hit 2 walks 2 runs scored.
Middle of the Order
Srs. Jon Schmidt and Jerry Smith combined 3 for 7 with 5 RBI (Schmidt 3, Smith 2)
Notes:
Props to fellow TedSilary.com writer Sr. Phil Consalvo on a well read prayer.

MARCH 18
RYAN SEASON PREVIEW
  The other day I got the opportunity to catch my first glimpse of the 2009 Archbishop Ryan Baseball team as they played an exhibition game vs. Council Rock South.  The day was beautiful leading up to game time, but conveniently the wind kicked up just in time (smile).  Though I only caught a few innings I was quite impressed with Ryan SP Tom Neely (SP?).  He appeared to have solid command (for early in the spring some struggles are expected) with both his fastball and offspeed pitches.  Neely found himself in some early trouble, but was able to work his way out of a tough jam in the first (always a good sign to see a pitcher be able to keep his cool early on).  Neely then cruised through his second inning of work, in which he flashed a nice pickoff move to get the second out, followed by a strikeout to end the inning.  This year Ryan will look for Sr. leadership from returning starters C Jerry Smith and All-Catholic Jon Schmidt.  These two will be looked upon for big-time offense out of the 3-4 spots.  Also playing key roles for the Raiders will be Jr. middle infielders Sean Kovacs (second base), Mark Golic (shortstop), and Jr. C/DH "The Blazing Cattle" Colin Budny.  The Raiders also have an interesting Soph. prospect in OF Kevin Mack.  For only a Soph. Mack showed great patience at the plate drawing two walks in 2 plate appearances while I was there.  Mack also adds an element of speed to the game as he swiped second base in the first inning.  He's a guy on this team that could be an X-factor.  There are also some questions about this team, as there are with any, one of which being who will step up in the rotation? Who's going to be that 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th guy? If Ryan can have some guys step up and answer the call then I think they have a chance to have a very successful season.  I'll be covering mostly Ryan home games, with a few exceptions to the close road games, because some of these road games in the Red Division can become all-day trips. Well that's all for now, best of luck to all PCL teams, and watch out for those Raiders as they'll be looking to make yet another deep playoff run (2007 PCL Finalists, 2008 PCL Semi-Finalist).