Gang Green
Baseball 2010

   Brian Nestel, who plans to pursue journalism in college, was the senior goalie for Monsignor Bonner's soccer team and a big fan of all things Friar sports. He started off with football, eased into basketball and is now here for baseball, too! Niiiiiiice . . . Thanks for joining the nuttiness, Brian.
   Brian may be reached at nestle812@aim.com.
JUNE 7
CLASS AAAA FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF
Great Valley 4, Bonner 1
  It seemed like nothing could stop the Bonner baseball team. The Friars were coming off an incredible Catholic League playoff run, defeating Judge and the highly regarded Neumann-Goretti Saints in exciting fashion, and then massacring Archbishop Ryan to win the Catholic League title. They then disposed of the Public League champion Central High School 11-4 on Thursday. All the momentum was with Bonner. That momentum would be erased quickly on Monday, as Bonner’s unbelievable run to the state playoffs came to an abrupt halt. District 1’s Great Valley shut down the Friars 4-1 as they move on to the quarterfinals of the state AAAA playoffs.
In the top of the first inning, Great Valley threatened to put the Friars down in an early hole, again. Bonner was down in their last two games by a 3-0 score. GV put runners on first and third on back to back singles, but a pick off at third base by catcher Paul Shepherd helped put a stop to the threat. The second inning produced Bonner’s only run of the game. Steve Markus reached on a walk, and Josh VanHorn singled to left. Matt Ruggieri then hit a bloop single to center field, allowing Markus to score. VanHorn was thrown out at third after making too wide of a turn, but nonetheless, the Friars had the lead. Bonner pitcher Ant DiGalbo cruised through the first three innings, getting out of a couple of tough jams. His luck ran out however in the fourth inning. Two singles in the inning led to a 2 run double by GV’s Jordan Valininno, giving them a 2-1 lead. They put another two across the plate in the fifth inning, when Jack Meeker hit an RBI double on a 3-2 count with 2 outs to right field. He moved up to second on Matt Mullen’s throw home. Kevin Falcone followed suit, hitting a single to left scoring Meeker. Falcone also moved up to second on the throw, this time by Sam Christie. That was all Great Valley’s starting pitcher Chris Duclos would need. He threw a complete game, allowing three hits, fanning eight Friars, and walking only one. He completely shut down the Bonner offense, which coming into the game had averaged 10 runs a game in their last four. On the Bonner side, DiGalbo pitched well, but ran into some trouble in the fourth. Matt Dolan came in to stop the bleeding in the fifth, and kept the score at a reasonable deficit in the sixth and seventh. But it was just not Bonner’s day. Bonner’s season ends shorter than planned, while Great Valley moves on to the quarterfinals.
  Although the season ends, The Friars have no reason to hang their heads in shame. In March, they defeated top teams from around the country while in Disney World, beating teams from New York and Washington D.C. The team defeated Haverford School, the Inter-Ac champions, and one of the top ranked teams in the state. Bonner swept their two chief rivals, St. Joe’s Prep and Cardinal O’Hara, which is always a great accomplishment. They clinched the PCL Red Division for the first time since they clinched the old Southern Division in 1998. They won their first Catholic League championship in 21 years. The team won their first District XII title, and earned Bonner’s first ever state playoff berth in not just baseball, but in any sport. They were ranked as high as third in the Inquirer. And although they finished with a loss, the squad won 17 of their final 20 games, finishing at 20-5 overall. These are certainly things to be really proud of.
This team will go down in the Friar history books. This group of guys, mostly seniors, have played together since little league. Although Joe DeBarberie’s squad will be losing 14 seniors, they’ll be senior heavy once again next year. They’ll return juniors Jim Bonner, Paul Shepherd, and Matt Dolan among others, and many of the JV players will move up to the varsity team next year, and will battle to recapture the Catholic League and District XII titles. But for now, we celebrate a special moment in Bonner history. This team had no superstar. They didn’t have the flashy squad who won by talent alone. This team was built with the fundamentals. The “little things” made this team what it was, something you don’t see too much in today’s game. However they did win, and that’s what counts in the end.
  It’s hard to believe this year is actually over. Personally, I never would have known my four years of Bonner would come to an end so quickly. It seems not too long ago I emailed Ted Silary asking if I could start doing write ups for the football team and their surprising turnaround year finishing at .500 after a couple of seasons of turmoil. It then continued to the hardwood, following the basketball team sweep O’Hara, and sneak into the playoffs. Finally, it culminated with the aforementioned baseball squad. Unfortunately, this is my last write up of the year. I’d like to thank Ted for letting me contribute to his very popular website. Writing has always been a passion of mine, and to be able to write about my school’s athletics, as well as to write for a site as highly regarded as Ted’s, has really helped me for the future. It’s been fun, and who knows, maybe you’ll see me doing this stuff next year (only with no bias!), or for the Phillies or Flyers in the future (smile). I’d also like to thank you, the readers. Whether you’ve read this for the first time, or have read these since the fall, you are the ones who make this really worthwhile. I’ve received many emails from people commenting on the articles, and I really appreciate it. It’s definitely a confidence booster. Thanks again to all. One final time. . . Go Bonner!
Brian Nestel
Class of 2010

JUNE 1
CATHOLIC LEAGUE FINAL
Bonner 13, Ryan 3 (5 innings)
  Josh VanHorn called it “the best senior year ever.” Steve Markus exclaimed “it’s the best feeling in the world.” Ask any Bonner baseball player, and they’ll tell you about how amazing June 1 has been. That date will forever go into the Bonner history books, as on Tuesday, the Friars erased a 21-year title drought and earned their first Catholic League championship since 1989 by defeating Archbishop Ryan, 13-3, in five innings. This is also the school’s first major athletic triumph (by major I mean football, basketball, and baseball) since the football team won in 1994. Before the game took place, the baseball game was the talk of the school. Students were asking others if they were going to the game. The players looked anxious to leave school and make the trip to Widener University. Rain threatened this, but luckily it held off, and the game was able to be played under a mixture of sunny and cloudy skies. Senior pitcher Ant DiGalbo took the mound for Bonner, squaring off against Ryan’s lefthander Steve “Ryan Sheckler” Markle. Merkle tossed a one-hitter in the Raiders' win over Bonner early in the season. The Friars wanted to jump out in front early like they did in playoff victories over Father Judge and Neumann-Goretti, but it was the Raiders who struck first. Ryan’s Mark Golic led off with a dribbler down the third baseline that appeared to be going foul, but slowed up and hit third base, earning him an infield single. Sean Kovacs followed with a walk. Kevin Mack singled to score Golic, giving Ryan a 1-0 lead. The next batter Eric Frain sent a ground ball up the middle to shortstop Josh VanHorn, who missed the ball by inches, allowing Kovacs to score. John Rizzo sent a single to rightfield, and Markle also singled to right two batters later to put Ryan up, 3-0. It seemed liked a rough day for DiGalbo, but he was able to get out of a bases loaded jam to keep the damage to a minimum. Bonner’s offense got going in the bottom of the second. First team All-Catholic Alex Liberatore doubled to left center. Steve Markus was then hit by a pitch. VanHorn made amends for his blunder, sending a two run double to deep right center. A couple batters later, Mike Haley sent a blooper down the right field line that fell in to score VanHorn. Leadoff man Rick Reigner doubled, scoring Haley from first, and Bonner took the lead 4-3 into the third. That was all the support DiGalbo would need as he allowed no runs and 6 hits total in a tremendous outing. However, the Friars didn’t want to just give him four runs to work with. They put up a 9-spot in the fourth. It seemed like the green and white guys wanted to prove to all in attendance that they were the dominant team in not only the Red Division, but all the Catholic League and beyond, and finally earn some respect. Anyway, Matt Mullen led off the inning with a single up the middle. During Lib’s (Liberatore’s) at bat, a passed ball allowed Mullen to move up to second. But catcher Colin Budny could not locate the ball, so Mullen advanced to third on a heads up play. “The Liberator” would walk in his at bat. Markus then sent a dribbler back to the mound, where Markle fielded the ball, turned to second, but threw it past the shortstop covering, and even eluded the center fielder. This scored Mullen and Liberatore, and Markus reached first safely. Catcher Paul Shepherd sent a double to center field. Senior Matt Ruggieri then singled to center, scoring Markus, but a nice throw by Ryan’s center fielder gunned down courtesy runner Mike Moran. At this point, it was 7-3 Bonner, and Ryan’s coach Ron Gerhart had seen enough. He called for reliever Eric Ruud. It wouldn’t help. Haley sent a single to left past the diving shortstop. Reigner hit a bloop single to right scoring pinch runner Jamie Juisti. It seemed like this inning would never end. Sam Christie put down a bunt attempting to move Reigner over, but on an errant throw to second by Budny on the play, Haley scored. Mullen returned to the dish to send a ground ball to third. The throw eluded first baseman Rizzo, and Reigner crossed the plate. Lib came up again and singled to right, scoring Christie. Another new pitcher took the mound for the Ragdolls, I mean Raiders. This lucky guy was Sean Kovacs. But even he couldn’t help stop the bleeding, as Markus hit a 2-run single to right field. The inning finally ended when VanHorn grounded to third base. But the damage was done, and in a big way. Bonner scored 9 runs on 7 hits, and Ryan committed 5 errors in the inning. DiGalbo shut the Raiders down in the 4th. Bonner was looking for more in their half, but was mowed down by new pitcher Kevin Mack. While Reigner batted in this inning, the Bonner students chanted “MVP!” to the laughter of a couple of North Catholic players in attendance. Student Pat Flynn went on to say, “Now you can’t strike out! You will make us look really, really dumb.” Well, unfortunately Reigner did just that (smile). With Bonner up 10 runs, the mercy rule came into effect. If Ryan did not score in their half, the game was over. Well, Mack led off the inning with a bunt, but Shepherd came from behind home plate and threw him out at first. Frain popped out in foul territory to Lib for the second out. Then the loud Bonner crowd came alive one more time for the final batter. The ball was hit back to DiGalbo, who picked it up, tossed it to Lib, and bedlam erupted on the field, as well in the stands. The players, reminiscent to the Phillies World Series celebration, ran in and dog-piled on each other (some say it was a planned celebration. Who knows?). They shook hands, and after some delay, the students poured out onto the field and joined in the celebration. “Let’s Go Bonner” chants erupted, and the fight song was sang….poorly. But it didn’t matter. The Friars celebrated on the field, and off later in to the night. This group of Friars knows that even though they accomplished an incredible task, there is still work to be done. The District XII championship is at stake on Thursday. They’ll take on Central High School, Public League champions, for that honor at La Salle College High School on Thursday at 2:30. Bonner wrote their names into the history books Tuesday. They look to continue their run and do something no Bonner team has ever done: bring home a District XII and state title.

MAY 25
CATHOLIC LEAGUE QUARTERFINAL
Bonner 9, Judge 8
  Hot dogs and burgers were being grilled out in center field. Those crazy enough took a ride on the slip-N-slide on the hill. This meant one thing: playoff baseball. After clinching the Red Division for the first time since 1998, Bonner was set to host Father Judge in the quarterfinals. Judge earned the right to play Bonner after defeating St. Joe's Prep, 5-4, in 11 innings Monday. Early on, it looked like Bonner was going to run away with this one....literally. Lead-off man and first team All-Catholic Rick Reigner hit a screaming line drive to deep right field. He used his speed to round all the bases, and score on an inside the park home run. After Sam Christie singled, Matt Mullen hit a routine ground ball to shortstop, which was bobbled, allowing both Mullen and Christie to move safely. Alex Liberatore followed with a sac fly to center, allowing Christie to move to third. Steve Markus hit a grounder to second, scoring Christie from third, putting the Friars up 2-0 after one inning. After a scoreless top half of the second, Bonner continued its offensive onslaught. Paul Shepherd beat out a ball hit to the shortstop. Pinch runner Mike Moran stole second, and Matt Ruggieri followed with a single to right field. Two batters later, Reigner struck again, this time with a single to right, scoring 2 runs and increasing the lead to 4-0. A scoreless 3rd inning for Father Judge enabled the Bonner bats to keep swinging in the bottom half. Libretore singled up the middle. Steve Markus doubled to left, and Liberatore moved to third on the play. Josh VanHorn hit a sac fly to deep center field, scoring Liberatore, and moving Markus to third. Shepherd hit a ground ball to short which scored Markus. After a nice running grab by the Judge right fielder Anthony D'Ambrosio ended the frame. When Bonner took a 6-0 lead in the third inning, many fans were thinking this game was over. Bonner was moving on to the next round, and might even ten-run the Crusaders. But Judge didn't quit. In what seemed like a three hour long inning, Judge scored 7 runs to take a 7-6 lead. After cruising the first three innings, Bonner pitcher Ant DiGalbo ran into trouble. Judge led off the inning with a man on because of an errant throw to first. A walk and a single loaded the bases. A wild pitch allowed Judge to score their first run. After a nice play by Alex Liberatore at first base for the first out, Judge singled to center, scoring two. A nother walk, and a single inched the score to 6-4. With the bases loaded again, a three run triple that just beat the diving Matt Mullen in right field put the Crusaders up 7-6. Bonner fought back in their half however. Reigner was hit by a pitch, and stole second. Christie reached on a walk, and Mullen put down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners to second and third. Liberatore hit another sac fly to center, allowing Reigner to tag up and score. Christie moved up on a wild pitch. In a shocking play a pitch later, Christie stole home with a lefty at the plate. He scored, and Bonner took an 8-7 lead. This was the turning point of the game. Bonner would tack on another run in the fifth to go up 9-7 heading into the seventh. Junior Jim Bonner, who came in relief of DiGalbo, went out to try and nail the win down for the Friars. Judge was able to score a run in the top half, and threatened to tie the game with a man on second. However a little ground ball back to the mound allowed for an easy play for Bonner, and the Friars earned a hard earned victory. With the win, Bonner moves on to the semifinals, where they'll take on the defending league champion Neumann-Goretti. The Saints defeated Carroll today, 10-4, to earn the right to move on. The semifinals will be held at Widener on Friday, May 28th, at 3:30. Bonner looks to dethrone the Saints and get back to the PCL Final for the second time in three years, while N-G tries to continue its road to defend the title. The winner will move on to the finals, also at Widener, where they'll take on the winner of the Wood-Ryan semifinal at LaSalle. This should be a very entertaining game, and one you won't want to miss.
  Note: Hopefully Judge's Mike McLaughlin isn't too hurt emotionally (smile). The center fielder was the unfortunate one to take a lot of abuse from the Bonner faithful. Poor kid.

APRIL 8
CATHOLIC RED
Bonner 2, Ryan 1 (9 inn.)
  In what turned out to be another pitcher's duel, Bonner was able to come back from a 1-0 deficit and defeat Archbishop Ryan, 2-1, in nine innings in the second game of the series. They did so in the most exciting way to end the game: a walk-off walk. Okay, not exactly that exciting a way to finish a game, but a win is a win, and Bonner certainly needed it. In the bottom of the 9th inning, Bonner led off with a single. The runner stole second on a failed pick off attempt to first base. The ball went over the first baseman. That continued the inning. Bonner loaded the bases, and was able to force a walk, forcing in the winning run. Jimmy Bonner, coming in relief for Joe Nestor, earned the win. Nestor allowed the one run in the first inning. He walked the lead off man, and the next batter singled, putting runners on first and second. A double to left center scored Ryan's only run of the game. Nestor ended the threat by getting a pop out and a strikeout. From there on out, he was sharp. He finished with 5 K's over 6 innings of work. Lead-off man Rick Reigner and Matt Mullen had a good game at the plate, with both going 2-4. Mullen also singled in the tying run in the bottom of the 7th to force the two extra innings. Bonner's defense played extremely well on the day. Josh Van Horn snagged a line drive at shortstop, and then tagged second to force an inning ending double play in the fifth. First baseman Alex Liberatore made two unbelievable plays at first, keeping Ryan off base. With the win, Bonner improves to 3-1 (1-1 PCL). They'll play again on Monday, April 12th, when they open up a two game series versus La Salle at La Salle. The Explorers are 3-0, and are coming off a sweep of Roman. First pitch is set for 3:45 on Monday.