MAY 23
CL NORTH SECOND ROUND PLAYOFF
North Catholic 10, Father Judge 9 (8 inn.)
     North overcame deficits three times in the game to advance to the Catholic League semifinals for the first time since 1995. The Falcons actually went on to grab the CL crown that season for their last baseball championship. North needed a run in the home seventh to tie the game and after falling behind again in the top half of the eighth, they needed two more runs in their half of the inning to secure the win. There are plenty of details folks, but I think I’ll begin in the top of the seventh where things got really interesting. Judge came to bat that inning trailing 7-4 and really had done very little since the second inning. North sr. RHP Adam Miller had settled down considerably after a shaky start and from the second inning allowed just two hits. He entered the inning with just 65 pitches thrown, so there seemed to be plenty of gas left. However, sr. SS Keith Chichearo reached on an error to start things. This was followed with a walk to jr. LF Andrew McHale and a seeing-eye single by slugging sr. 1B/RHP Ryan Kreider to load the bases. The four-hitter was sr. CF Dan Luberski, who had replaced the original clean-up hitter, sr. DH Joe Ashdale, in the second inning after a double-switch involving pitchers. At the time I thought the move was strange. Granted, I’m not all that familiar with the Crusaders, but removing your clean-up hitter so early was peculiar to me. Anyhow, Ashdale was re-inserted at this point and if Manager Tim Ginter planned it this way, then that’s why he’s down there and I’m up in the skybox with Tom “Pucklehead” McKenna. Ashdale delivered in GRAND fashion as he jolted a ball from Miller over the Blue Monster in deep left-center. The blast gave the Crusaders an 8-7 lead and spelled the end for Miller. Jr. RHP Kegan Smith entered and avoided further damage. In North’s half, sr. 1B Derrek Etsell had a single sandwiched around a couple of ground outs to the mound. The second one allowed him to get to second though. Then, frosh. LF Ryan Etsell, Derrek’s younger brother, stepped to the plate and wasted little time in bringing big bro home when he laced a double to deep left on the first pitch by Kreider, who took the rock to start the frame. Later in the inning North had runners on second and third when sr. C Ed Hepworth chopped a ball in the hole where Chichearo surrounded, but threw low, only to see the just-inserted jr. 1B Bob Zanneo make a tremendous scoop. In the eighth Zanneo continued his role as hero when he singled in the hole between first and second to bring home sr. C Joe Thompson for a 9-8 Crusader lead. Ok, do we have time for some more heroics? I think we do! With Kreider still on the mound, Miller re-entered for Smith as a pinch-hitter and walked. Sr. CF Ryan Nally also followed with a walk. After taking a strike, soph. 2B Bob Hopkins laid down a nice sacrifice bunt along the first base line. Thompson raced out and after handling the ball had plenty of time, but threw well over the head of Zanneo. This caused all kinds of trouble as Miller scored to tie it and when the dust did settle the Falcons had runners on second and third and nobody out. Jr. RF Chris James came to the plate sporting a 0-for-4 outing, but on the second pitch he saw he laced a clean single in the hole between third and short to bring in Nally and end the festivities. Falcon glee ensued! Earlier in the game the Falcons watched the Crusaders jump out to a 4-0 lead. They scored three in the first on a RBI double by Kreider and a pair of ground outs by Ashdale and jr. 2B Tom Carey. They added a run in the second on run-scoring single by jr. CF/LHP Steve Stout. Judge’s starter today was sr. RHP Brian Nolan. He had a strong 1-2-3 inning in the first, but wildness posed all kinds of problems for him in the second. He walked three of the first four batters of the inning and they all came around to score. All total, the Falcons plated five in the inning. Jr. 3B Chris Morrin brought home a run on a walk. Miller scored one on an infield hit and then two more came across when Chichearo threw wildly at the end of the play. The fifth run was scored on hit by Hopkins. In the third, Morrin brought home the sixth run with a clutch to two-out hit to make it 6-4. Things stayed quiet until the bottom of the sixth when Nally laced a triple to deep center and then scored on a wild pitch for the seventh Falcon run. Eight Falcon players had at least one hit. D. Etsell was 2-for-3 (2B, W) with 3 runs scored. R. Etsell also had two hits. Defensively, sr. SS Chris Bonecorse was flawless in handling eight plays (5 assists) and displayed a strong and accurate arm. His best play came when he fielded a ball deep in the hole that caromed off of Morrin at third. After gathering himself he had plenty on the throw to gun down the runner. Miller wasn’t over-powering, but did a nice job of mixing things up for the most part. All total, he went 6+ innings, allowing 8 hits, 8 runs (5 earned), and two each of walks and K’s. Smith picked up the win in two innings of relief. He allowed a run on a hit and three walks. He also fanned a trio. The only Crusader with more than one hit was Kreider, the Co-MVP of the Northern Division. Chichearo and McHale each scored a pair of runs. Defensively, McHale made a nice diving catch in left, while Carey made a sprawling play to his right at second base. Stout did a pretty god job in relief going 4 1/3 innings. He allowed four hits and two earned runs, but didn’t walk a batter and struck out two. Today’s game was played at Widener and as it was last year the field was looking sharp. Like Ted mentioned in his report yesterday Widener Head Coach Steve Carcarey and his staff do a top-notch job throughout the game. I sat on the roof with Puck and another reporter. At one point someone from the staff brought us complimentary pizza. It was the thick square kind that was topped with plenty of sauce. I had just eaten lunch before the game and didn’t want to waste it, so I asked Puck if he wanted it. Of course he said yes, and not only did he eat his slice and my slice, but he ate the other guy’s slice too. What a debacle! Sauce got everywhere – The floor of the roof, the fence, the speaker cables, and of course both of Puck’s shirts. No doubt there will need to be a hosing-off before Saturday’s semis. Gotta love that guy though . . .

MAY 22
CL SOUTH FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF
Carroll 6, Bonner 4
     One week ago today Carroll dropped their second game in as many days to Bonner and with this their playoff hopes appeared to be fading. With things looking gloomy, no one would have blamed Head Coach Fran Murphy if he had begun clearing space in the equipment shed. For Carroll to even get a sniff at the playoffs, they needed to win on the last day of the regular season and hope for a Roman loss in their game versus Kennedy-Kenrick. Then, if that happened, they would be faced with having to sweep a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon in two play-in games just to make it to today’s first round contest. No sweat, right? Hardly, but guess what? They won their last game (Bonner), Roman lost, and then the Pats did indeed sweep (Roman, then K-K) on Saturday in convincing fashion nonetheless. Sometimes winning can get contagious and for now the Pats seem to be feeling feverish in this area. Today, the magical run continued and now the Pats can say they have accomplished the first four of seven win-or-go-home tilts. No small feat by any stretch! But hey, no matter what happens from this point, let’s give this group some props. Ok, for dramatic purposes we’ll head to the visiting seventh with the game deadlocked at four and Carroll at-bat. In a feisty nature, sr. C Matt Cantafio drew a leadoff walk. Then, soph. CF Nick Szalejko chopped a ball towards second that was fielded by soph. 2B Dan Williams. On the play a twin-killing was possible, but at least one out should have been had. Instead, Williams hurriedly shuffled wide of second and it was safe all-around. In hindsight, the youngster probably should have caught and gone towards the runner for a tag and throw. This sequence spelled the end for Bonner ace jr. LHP Conor Kerins (109 pitches), as jr. RHP John Condo trotted in from the bullpen. Next, sr. RF Pete Coppa put down an excellent bunt for a sacrifice. Sr. 3B Chris Dengler followed with an intentional walk and this brought slugging sr. DH Chris Lisowski to the plate. Condo jumped ahead of the sweet-swinging lefty and eventually got him to pop up in foul territory near third for the second out. Condo quickly jumped ahead of sr. LF John Thomas, but on a 1-2 pitch Thomas waited back just enough, reached out, and lined a ball to the right-side of centerfield. Bonner jr. CF Matt McGillian charged hard and gave a valiant effort, but the ball fell in front of him and skidded away. Two runs scored on the double and the Pats claimed their second two-run advantage of the game. In Bonner’s half of the seventh they placed a runner on first with a two-out walk, but sr. RHP Jesse Rosemann retired sr. RF Matt DeVito on a lazy fly to center to end it. Rosemann was the third Patriot hurler of the contest and actually picked up the win after recording the last out of the sixth inning. And boy, was it a loud one! Roseman relieved jr. LHP Andrew Candelore, who did a yeoman’s job in relief himself (More on him to come). After Candelore plunked jr. SS Rob Benedict to put runners on first and second with two outs, Roseman entered. He walked jr. LF Bob Callan and then faced sr. C Tim Dougherty, who put an absolute charge in a ball. However, he hit it to the furthest part of the field (421 feet in straightaway center) and Szalejko scurried back to haul it in with relative ease. I would venture to say that the ball traveled at least 390. Carroll jumped to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first off Kerins, as Lisowski slashed a two-run single in the hole between first and second. Bonner came right back in their half by throwing a crooked number of their own on the board. The Friars first five batters (4 walks, single by Dougherty) reached base against Carroll jr. RHP Phil Dougherty, allowing two runs to score. This would spell the end for Dougherty and Candelore entered. He allowed the third run of the inning, but did so with a timely 6-3 double-play. The third out came off the bat of DeVito on a nice running catch by Szalejko in deep right-center. This sequence was HUGE! Bonner appeared primed to put five or six on the board and to for Carroll to leave the inning down only one went a long way to them winning this game. By the way, I just love the way Szalejko goes after a ball in the outfield. Talk about getting a jump and having natural instincts! Bonner scored an unearned run in the second off Candelore to make it 4-2, but from that point the lefty was in charge. Before being lifted in the sixth he threw 5 2/3 innings of one-hit ball (2nd inning 2B by jr. DH Pat Warrington) and allowed just the one unearned run. In the end, he didn’t notch the victory, but was right at the top of the hero list for the Pats. Great job, kid! Not a hard thrower, he changed speeds effectively and had the Friars out of whack throughout. Kerins settled in as well and Bonner took the 4-2 lead into the fifth. This is where Carroll knotted things up. The inning started with an infield hit by sr. 1B Kyle Baker. Cantafio followed with a beauty of bunt that Bonner failed to field cleanly. I scored it a hit because of where it was located and the way Cantafio runs. Szalejko followed with a clean hit to load them up. Their third run came across on a fielder’s choice groundout by Coppa and then they tied the game on a successful suicide squeeze by Dengler. Who says your three-hitter can’t lay one down?  Szalejko reached base all four times (two hits, walk, safe on error) and in his plate appearances saw a total of 24 pitches, including at least three balls during all four times to the box. This kid must be way up there on the annoying meter for opposing teams, but I’m sure his teammates/coaches appreciate him endlessly. Defensively, jr. SS Tim Weglicki made a fabulous play on a ball scorched by Bonner’s jr. 3B Matt Gallagher. On the play, Weglicki fielded the one-hopper to his right and with the backhand that saw him spin and come to one knee slightly. Very Impressive! The Friars only managed two hits, but had plenty of chances thanks to the TEN walks and one hit batter that Carroll pitching allowed. Despite all the walks I thought Bonner made far too many outs early in the count. In fact, ten outs came with no more than two pitches being thrown. Check this sequence out! In a nine-batter stretch spanning from one out in the third to one out in the fifth, the Friars walked thrice, but made six outs on just nine other pitches. Strange! Two of these outs came on back-to-back first-pitch sacrifice bunts. The second one was an obvious missed sign. Kerins went six-plus innings, allowing seven hits, two walks, and six runs (4 earned). He did strike out five. In all honesty, he probably deserved a better fate. Even though the two runs in the first were earned, he probably should have gotten out of it with no more than one, maybe none, if the Friars could have converted a DP opportunity and nailed a runner at second after being picked-off by Kerins. Speaking of the first inning, this frame moved at a snail’s pace and took 34 minutes to complete. This was the third straight game that Carroll pitchers allowed a mere two hits to their opponents. This will do wonders for the opponent’s batting average against stat column. The Patriots will head back to Philadelphia University tomorrow to tangle with Cardinal O’Hara for a right to get to Saturday’s semifinals. Archbishop Ryan awaits the winner.

MAY 15
CL SOUTH
Bonner 6, Carroll 4
     To say this game was huge would be a gross understatement on my part, but I’ll do it anyway – This was a biggie! Entering the day, the Friars were feeling a little more comfortable about their post-season chances than the Pats, and after today’s scrappy win, they now find themselves locked into a spot and controlling their own destiny for second place in the Southern Division. Meanwhile, Carroll now needs to beat Bonner Thursday afternoon and hope that Kennedy-Kenrick knocks off Roman for the third time this week. If this were to happen, then K-K, Roman, and Carroll would all finish (12-9) and have to settle the fourth playoff spot between each other in two pre-playoff games. A Roman win on Thursday would ensure them of the fourth and final spot regardless of what else happens around the league. Today, the Pats had their chances and even took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth. Carroll grabbed a quick two-zip advantage in the top of the first. Soph. CF Nick Szalejko and sr. RF Pete Coppa started the game with back-to-back singles. Then, Szalejko came across on a sac fly by sr. DH Chris Lisowski, while Coppa scampered home on a two-out double by sr. 1B Chris Dengler down the right field line. Starting on the mound for Carroll was sr. RHP Tim Collins who had manager Fran Murphy getting the bullpen up after a mere -- Three pitches! Carroll assistant coach Father Ed Casey exclaimed, “This very well could be a record for fastest call to the pen.” I concur! Two of the first three pitches went to the backstop, and Collins eventually walked two and gave up an infield hit to load the bases. However, he was able to pull a little Houdini act when he got Bonner’s sr. RHP Matt McGillian to ground into a 6-3 twin-killing to squelch the threat. From this point on he settled in and allowed just one hit over the next three innings. However, in the fifth trouble arose and the Friars would break through with a four-spot to grab a two-run lead, as they sent ten men to the plate in the inning. Carroll and Collins did have a chance to get out of it with just one run, but let a critical opportunity slip by the waist side. Jr. 3B Matt Gallagher (Back this week from ankle woes) lofted a sac fly that scored jr. SS Rob Benedict (Leadoff single) to make the score 2-1 with two outs in the inning. Next, McGillian’s singled sharply to right sending soph. CR Dave Smith to third. After this, Collins tried one of those fake to third, look back at first moves and it worked, as frosh. CR Sam Christie was running on the play and then was trapped between first and second. Collins did a good job in freezing Christie and then Smith broke for home. Collins wheeled and had Smith dead-to-right at home with a good throw, but threw a sinker wide left that avoided sr. C Matt Cantafio for a throwing error. Smith scored easily to tie the game and Christie hustled to third. Not only did this allow Bonner to knot things up, but it also kept the inning alive. The next batter, jr. 1B Lou Tomasetti scalded a double to deep left-center to plate Christie. Then, sr. RF Matt DeVito was intentionally walked and this was followed with a double down the third base line by jr. CF Pat Warrington, which scored soph. PR Ryan Haley for the fourth run of the inning. Showing some life Carroll would even the score in the sixth on a two-out, 2-run error off a batted ball to second by Lisowski. The Friars avoided further trouble in the inning when Benedict made a sensational diving stop up-the-middle on a hard hit ball. After gathering himself he easily shuffled to second for the force. Gigantic play!  Despite losing the lead, the Friars would come right back in their half of the sixth. With one out, sr. C Tim Dougherty (3-for-4, 2 runs) collected his third hit of the game on a bad-hop single to short. Smith was summoned to run once again and stole second. This was followed by an intentional walk to Gallagher. The decisive run was scored when McGillian cleanly singled up the middle to score Smith. Two batters later DeVito singled home McGillian for a little insurance. The Pats would be retired in order in the seventh by jr. RHP John Condo who recorded the save in his only inning of work. He preserved the win for McGillian who went six solid innings. He really seemed to settle in after the first inning. During his time on the mound he allowed four runs (2 earned), nine hits (four infield hits), 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts in a 97-pitch outing (60 strikes). His most impressive moment came in the fourth when he faced second and third with just one out. With his team still trailing 2-0, he dug in, and got the one and two hitters in Carroll’s line-up to whiff. Clutch! Offensively, the Friars aren’t exactly a team that will pound the ball all over the field, but they do make contact for the most part and do some little things to kick up fusses. Today, they notched all six of their runs and eight of their ten hits in the fifth and sixth innings. McGillian ended 2-for-4 at the plate, with two runs. Smith ran three times for Dougherty and pilfered three bags, while scoring twice. DeVito reached base thrice on a HBP, walk, and single. Gallagher drew two walks to go with his sac fly, while soph. 2B Dan Williams walked twice. For Carroll, both Szalejko and Coppa managed two hits apiece. Collins didn’t get a decision and went 4 2/3 innings. Only one of the four runs he allowed was earned. He surrendered seven hits and six walks, while fanning three. Bonner skipper John Fleming dresses many players and isn’t afraid to use them. In a two inning span late in the game he used five different players in six separate moves within the sixth spot in the line-up. Somebody give me a little more space, smile! Today’s game, as well as yesterday’s, and Thursday’s are being played at Neumann College in Aston. Bonner has used this field a few times this season as their home-away-from-home, but two of the three games in this series are Carroll’s home games. All of the games have been slated for reporter-friendly 4 o’clock start times.

MAY 10
CL SOUTH
Roman 3, Carroll 2
     In two games between these teams this week there had been forty runs scored thus far and oodles of base runners. So, with this critical game three (Series entered 1-1) on tap today at Carroll’s hitter-friendly field you just knew that additional offensive fireworks were sure to happen again. Umm, not exactly! Today, all in attendance were treated to an old fashion pitcher’s duel and quite frankly, it was refreshing to witness. It’s rare these days where you get such a well-pitched game by BOTH combatants residing on the hill. Not the case today! In fact, one could have described this match-up as the present versus the future in terms of Southern Division aces. The present is Carroll sr. RHP Chris Dengler, while the future is Roman freshman LHP Mark Donato. And in the end it was the wet-behind-the-ear newcomer out-pitching the veteran in a game both teams desperately wanted and needed. For dramatic purposes we’ll head right to the home seventh with Carroll trailing 3-1. Donato started the inning by fanning sr. DH Jesse Rosemann for the first out. Next, sr. RF Pete Coppa (2-for-3) flared a single into short right. He moved to second on a wild pitch. This was followed by a walk (Donato’s first and only of the game) to jr. PH Jared Tuwalski. Coppa and Tuwalski would advance to second and the third on yet another wild pitch. Hmm, could the pressure be getting to the youngster? If it was, then it was far from evident. He retired lead-off hitter soph. CF Nick Szalejko on shallow pop-up to centerfielder sr. Dom Joseph for the second out. The next hitter was jr. SS Tim Weglicki who hit a slow roller toward second. It wasn’t the swinging bunt type, but more of slap in that direction. I initially thought this was the ballgame, but Roman jr. 2B Tom McGee, who was deep to begin with, hesitated slightly. By the time he reached the ball Weglicki had beaten the play without a throw. This made the score 3-2 with the tying run on third and the winning tally at first. Stepping to the plate was Dengler, who accounted for the Pats first run with a solo home run in the fourth. With his pitch count mounting, the gritty and tough-beyond-his-years Donato dug in. With the count 2-2, he was able to retire Dengler swinging for a strikeout. The Cahillites and their fans erupted in elation with their tremendous win. I think it’s safe to say that this punch-out was the biggest of Donato’s early career. Something tells me they’ll be many more to come. His 117-pitch (27 tosses in last inning; 73 total strikes) outing looked like this: Complete game, nine hits surrendered (Five infield hits), 2 earned runs, 1 walk (Huge!), and four strikeouts. As mentioned two of these whiffs came in the last inning. For the game, Donato ONLY ran four three-ball counts. Pretty good for a freshman in an ultra-important contest! As advertised throwing strikes allowed him to be effective today, but keeping the ball down (12 outs via the ground-out) also played a significant part. Who said you can’t play small-ball at Carroll’s comfortable and cozy confines? For two of their tallies that is exactly what the Cahillites did. First, sr. RF Dave Deodato lead-off the game with a screaming double off the base of the fence down the leftfield line. He was advanced to third on a nice sacrifice bunt by sr. 3B Sean Quigley. After Dengler got McGee to fan for the second out, Donato aided his cause when he slapped a ball to deep short and then beat the throw for an infield single, allowing Deodato to score for the game’s first run. Roman would make it 2-0 in the third when McGee blasted a deep drive well over the fence in left-center for a solo home run. After Dengler’s blast made it 2-1, the Cahillites came right back to scratch out a run that only the purist of baseball people could appreciate. Deodato again started things with a clean single to right. He stole second and then was successfully bunted to third again by Quigley (Great job!). Have you had enough of small-ball? Not-so-fast, as McGee laid down a lovely suicide squeeze that allowed Deodato to score easily. Perfect execution by the Cahillites in this inning and ultimately it helped them seize back the momentum. Can’t say enough about what Deodato means to this club. Today, he finished 2-for-3 (2B, IBB) with two runs scored. It’s very apparent that this kid leads by example. I have seen enough of him now to think that he has to get at least some consideration for MVP honors, especially if the Cahillites finish strong. I just love his approach! Defensively, soph. SS Tim LeCompte again impressed. He did make an error on a hard hit ball that seem to shoot-up late, but other than this was flawless in handling three chances and turning a twin-killing with McGee. He also got to three other balls that went for hits, but just getting to them was impressive. Sr. C Adam George gunned down a base stealer in the fourth after Dengler’s HR that stalled a threat. McGee successfully handled five chances at second base. For Carroll, Dengler was good on the mound, but just not good enough today. He scattered seven hits, walked two (one intentional), and struck out four over seven innings. The lanky senior is consistently around the plate, exhibited today in his 95-pitch outing where only 24 pitches were called balls. At the plate (2-for-4) he was one of two Pats to garner more than one hit. Ok, there is one week left in CL play and where do we stand in the Southern Division? The Prep holds a two-game lead and only a miracle of major proportions will prevent them from not finishing first. The Hawks end with a series against winless West Catholic. Tied for second place at (12-6) are Bonner and Roman. Bonner holds the tiebreaker with a (2-to-1) series win. Tied for fourth are Carroll and O’Hara at (11-7). In case of a fourth place tie, a play-in game would settle things. O’Hara would seem to have an advantage here with a three-game set with Neumann-Goretti on the horizon. Still hanging around, but needing serious help is Kennedy-Kenrick at (9-9). K-K pretty much would need to sweep Roman next week, and then pray for some of the unlikeliest things to take place. The biggest series of the week appears to be Carroll versus Bonner. Interestingly, all three games will be played at Neumann College.

MAY 8
CL SOUTH
Roman 9, Carroll 8
     Yesterday, the Cahillites led early against the Patriots in game one of this critical Southern Division series, but fell when the Pats rallied late for a 12-11 win. Today, it was Roman’s turn to supply some late-inning dramatics that allowed them to leave with a victory and even the series at one apiece. Carroll took an 8-7 lead in the top of the seventh when gritty soph. Nick Szalejko lofted a sac fly to right that scored jr. SS Tim Weglicki, who started the inning with his third hit of the game. Now, the Cahillites were looking down the barrel of consecutive losses to a team that they are fighting for a playoff spot. This was definitely something they wanted to avoid, especially with Carroll hosting game three and Pats’ ace sr. RHP Chris Dengler scheduled to start. Leading off the inning was sr. C Adam George in a pinch-hitting role. After falling behind in the count 1-2, he worked a walk. Sr. courtesy runner Bobby Sinclair was summoned to run, and was moved to second on a perfect sacrifice bunt by soph. SS Tim LeCompte. Then, emerging, if not already team leader sr. RF Dave Deodato laced a triple that carried over sr. RF Pete Coppa’s head. It appeared that Coppa may have hesitated ever-so-briefly, but it probably didn’t matter much because this ball was stung. The hit went for an easy triple and scored Sinclair to knot things up. The next batter was sr. 3B Sean Quigley and Carroll manager Fran Murphy pulled both his infield and outfield in tight with just one out in the inning. Quigley ended things in walk-off fashion when he lofted a single to straightaway center that short-hopped the fence well over the head of Szalejko. Huge hit! Huge rally! Huge win for the Cahillites! Quigley supplied another big crank in the fourth when he broke a 3-3 tie with a missile of a home run to left-center. This ball was scorched and took few prisoners when it met head on with a tree beyond the fence. Earlier in the game sr. CF Dom Joseph lined a solo HR to center to tie the score at 1-1. In the third inning freshman 1B Mark Donato laced a triple down the right field line to score jr. 2B Tom McGee who had walked. Donato came across on a sac fly to left by sr. Will O’Mara. This made the score 3-1. Carroll would tie it up in their next at-bat on a 2-run single by Coppa. After Roman went up 6-3 the Pats wasted little time re-claiming the lead. They did so with a pair of two-run homers by sr. DH Chris Lisowski and Weglicki. Lisowski’s was a towering drive to deep right that landed in a tree. The ball actually bounced back in the field of play and a little confusion ensued. However, after Lisowski landed at third standing-up, the base umpire gave the twirl of the hand to signify that yard work was indeed accomplished. Weglicki’s four-bagger gave the Pats a 7-6 lead and landed in a tree in straightaway center. Roman would tie the game at seven in the home fifth and again Sinclair was involved as a courtesy runner. After jr. C Matt Hodges drew a walk Sinclair took over. First, he stole second and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. After this, Deodato scored him with a sac fly to right. The Cahillites managed ten hits, but six of them went for extra bases. They also worked seven walks. Deodato has plenty of gamer in him and went 2-for-3 (SF, BB, 2 rbi’s, & 2 runs). O’Mara picked up the win in relief and was mostly effective in doing so. He pitched the final 2 2/3 innings, giving up 1 run on 5 singles. Five of his eight outs came via the K. Going the first 4 1/3 innings was jr. RHP Joe Plover. He kept the Pats off balance early and wiggled out of a couple of jams, but ran into trouble when his pitches began to elevate in the fourth. He surrendered seven runs on ten hits. Defensively, LeCompte handled four chances at shortstop. Joseph displayed a strong and accurate arm when he gunned down a Carroll runner at third base on a force play from centerfield. The Pats cranked out fifteen hits today and seemed to be on the attack all game long. Weglicki was very productive going 3-for-4, with three runs scored, 2 rbi’s, and a stolen base. Also, Szalejko (Two 2B’s), Dengler, Lisowski, and Coppa all managed a pair of hits. Sr. C John Thomas scored two runs and stole a base. Sr. RHP Tim Collins absorbed the loss, but I liked how he competed when he was out there. He entered the game with runners with first and third and no outs in the fourth. That situation became second and third after a stolen base. However, Collins dug in and retired the next three batters harmlessly to prevent further damage. In 3 1/3 innings he whiffed five. Jr. LHP Andrew Candelore made the start and lasted 3+ innings, allowing six earned runs on 8 hits. Dengler made a nice heads-up play to start Roman’s half of the first when he let a ball cued by Deodato up the first base line spin back into fair territory and then quickly beat Deodato to the bag for the out. Quick thinking, kid! So, after two games the teams have each scored twenty runs and combined for forty-seven hits. With this in mind I’m predicting a low-scoring game in game three at Carroll’s bandbox of a field come Thursday afternoon. NOT!!!! Today’s game started at 3:24, but I was there, so need to complain, smile! Good news passed along by Roman Head Coach Joe Tremoglie on the condition of injured sr. Sean Monaghan. He expressed that positive news seems to come about with each passing day and that Sean would be heading home very soon. Later on, I heard that he did in fact come home this afternoon. Either way the news is definitely looking up for Sean. We continue to wish him nothing but the best!!

MAY 7
CL SOUTH
Neumann-Goretti 14, West Catholic 4
     Something had to give! Both these squads entered the day with identical (0-15) league records. Likewise, in the Northern Division, Cardinal Dougherty and Bishop McDevitt were beginning a series between two other winless teams through fifteen games. Teddy S. was covering that one, while I headed over to West Catholic’s miniature field at 46th & Fairmount for my assignment. The Saints broke open a tight game (3-1 lead) in the fourth when they plated four. They went on to add two, three, and two more runs respectively over the final three frames to win going away. All total, the Saints pounded out 16 hits and also worked eight walks (also HBP) to construct their damage. The hitting stars were plentiful for the Saints today. Jr. CF and lead-off batter Danny Behlau finished 3-for-4 (BB, Sac, SB, 2B) with two runs and three batted in. Meanwhile, impressive soph. C Joey Armata also went 3-for-4 (2B, BB, Rbi, 3 runs). Well, he didn’t actually score the runs, even though he got credited for them. Soph. courtesy runner John Masciotro was quite active on the base paths for Armata today and did much of the leg work. He scored three times while running for Armata and later added a run of his own in the seventh. He also swiped three bases. He definitely got his money’s worth today! Also starring at the plate for the Saints were; sr. DH Andrew March (2-for-3, 3 Rbi’s), winning RHP sr. George Hatton (2-for-2, HBP, BB, SB, 3 runs), sr. RF Mike Townsend (Walk) and frosh. 3B Al Baur each collected two hits and a run batted in each. Sr. 2B Christian Varalli knocked two runs in on a single and sac fly. Frosh. 1B Michael Riverso reached base three times on a pair of walks and a double. On the mound Hatton didn’t have great stuff, but was good enough to get through five innings (108 pitches). He allowed three earned runs on eight hits and five walks. He did fan eight, including the side in the first and fifth innings. Soph. RHP Blaze Cedrone worked the final two innings. He allowed a pair of hits and a run, but did fan three. Defensively, Cedrone bare-handed a tricky grounder to his right and then watched as Riverso bailed him out with a timely scoop. Armata erased a pair of base runners. One came on a conventional steal attempt, while the other came off of a wild pitch. Actually, it wasn’t a wild pitch because Armata calmly gathered the ball at the back of the cage and effortlessly flicked it down to second for the out. Nice! The Burrs were competitive for stretches, but just couldn’t muster that key hit or make that clutch pitch when they needed too. They scored a first inning run when frosh. C Jake Zuzek boomed a shot off the top of the net in left-center. They scored two more when sr. SS/RHP John Whalen ripped a double off the net in left-center. Their fourth run came across in the seventh when Armata errantly threw low in trying pick-off a runner at second. The Burrs left eleven on base, including the bases loaded twice. Frosh. RHP/2B Anthony DiGalbo looked strong at the plate with three hits (Two – 2B’s, SB) and scored a run. He started on the mound for the Burrs and looked decent into the fourth. However, he was relying mostly on a straight fastball and by this point the Saints were getting their third look at him. He suffered the loss in 3 1/3 innings of work, allowing nine hits and seven runs (6 earned). He did fan five in the first three innings. The youngster has a strong arm, so with some work he could be a nice option down the line. Whalen finished 2-for-3 with a walk and sr. CF Derek Rouse (SB, run) reached base three times with a pair of walks and a single. The Burrs are currently being managed by football coach and AD Brian Fluck. Previous Head Coach Fran Kehoe and his staff were let go early last week. These are dangerous times for the Burr baseball program, as things are as close to rock bottom as they could be. Fluck will only serve as the interim coach for the last couple weeks and the job should be posted very soon. Today marked the 50th consecutive league game the Burrs have lost. Also, since the last three games of the 2000 season West is just 4-112 within the league. Ouch!! For this game, the Burrs did have eighteen players in uniform. Only two of these kids were seniors and fourteen are either freshmen (ten) or sophomores. This youth does allow for some hope, but major work still needs to be done to get this thing headed in the right direction. Finally, my thoughts and prayers are with Fluck and his family, as his mother is very ill these days. May God watch over her and your family!

MAY 4
CL SOUTH
Roman 12, O’Hara 11
     On Thursday night I stayed up and caught every pitch of the Phillies’ game against the San Francisco Giants. Being on the west coast the game didn’t start until 10:15, and when the final out was recorded it was nearly 2 AM. Yes, the Phils and the Giants went at it for nearly four hours. Today, this weary-eyed TS.com reporter decided to catch a pivotal contest between the Cahillites and Lions, in a game that was rescheduled from the day before because of bus miseries that the Lions had encountered. Though the game didn’t reach the limits of the four-hour marathon of the Phils and Giants, it came damn close for a seven inning affair. Today’s back-and-forth battle lasted 3 hours and 7 minutes and featured 289 pitches from a combined eight hurlers. The teams combined for 33 hits (12 extra base hits) and a whopping 42 base runners when you throw in 8 walks and a HBP. Holy working from the stretch!! In the end, it was the Cahillites being the last men standing, which enabled them to take two of three from the Lions, despite dropping the first game on Monday. What makes today’s win and overall series triumph even more special is in how the Cahillites had to overcome an extremely emotional and sad week because of the unfortunate car crash involving one of their teammates. Sr. 1B/RHP Sean Monaghan was the driver in a post-prom accident that saw a Little Flower senior Lacey Gallagher lose her life and severely injure five other passengers, including himself. Roman Head Coach Joe Tremoglie asked me to pass along that all of the thoughts and prayers of his team are with the families of all those involved. Earlier in the week the team decided to continue on with their league schedule in honor of Sean. On Wednesday, assorted members of Roman’s team presented Sean with the game ball from Tuesday’s come-from-behind win over the Lions. Both Tremoglie and Roman AD Dave Falcione expressed that Sean has a long recovery ahead of him, but in time there is promising hope for a complete recovery. For now, he is taking things day-by-day and just trying to get better. Personally, I would like to extend the thoughts and prayers of the entire TS.com staff to the families of Lacey, Sean, and all the others that were injured. We are extremely saddened by your loss and suffering……….As for the game, it was good one and the Cahillites had to bounce back from an early 6-3 deficit. Their biggest onslaught came in the home fourth where they sent ten men to the plate and scored six runs to take a 10-6 lead. Big deliveries in the frame came from sr. LF/RHP Will O’Mara (RBI single), sr. LHP Greg Reed (RBI single), and a two-run knock by sr. CF Dom Joseph. Roman’s final two runs of the inning came off the bat of soph. SS Tim LeCompte, who flared a ball towards short that went off the glove of jr. SS Zach Tansey for an error. What made the play so interesting is that LeCompte’s bat actually snapped in half. Weird and very strange! The Lions would draw closer (10-9) with a three-run fifth, as impressive sr. 2B Pat Young supplied an RBI-hit and sr. LF Matt Izzi followed with a two-run single. The Lions eventually tie the game in the sixth as sr. CF Greg D’Alonzo (2-for-2, 2 runs, 2B) singled with two outs. After a balk moved him to second, Young was intentionally walked. Again, Izzi came up huge with a single to right field scoring D’Alonzo. Roman’s deciding runs came in the sixth. Sr. LF Frank Kennedy led-off with a hit and later stole second. Then, after consecutive outs, LeCompte lined a hit up-the-middle for the go-ahead run. Next, sr. RF/RHP Dave Deodato stung a ball into right-center for a double that scored LeCompte for a two-run cushion. As it turns out, the Cahillites would need both tallies, as Lion sr. C Joe Colleluori boomed a home run to straightaway center to begin the seventh and make it a one-run game. Not wasting any time, Tremoglie summoned Deodato from right field and brought him to the mound to try to close out the game. Deodato responded! It was not a good day for pitching, but Deodato, relying mostly on a solid heater, harmlessly retired the Lions next three batters. The last two came on whiffs and the outing consisted all of nine pitches (eight strikes). Impressive! Maybe his injured friend played a part in the performance in terms of motivation/dedication. The kid looked focused and determined! In fact, it appears that he was focused and determined all week, as he went 8-for-12 in the three-game series, with 3 2B’s, 3B, HR, 5 RBI’s, and the aforementioned save. Today, he went 3-for-4, with a pair of doubles from the lead-off position. His save provided O’Mara with the win. Promising freshman Mark Donato got the rock to start, but lasted just an inning and a third. He just didn’t have the command, but better days will come on the hill. However, he was effective at the plate, going 2-for-3 (walk, 2 runs) with three RBI’s. In the first inning he laced a two-run triple down the right field line. Joseph ended 2-for-3 (2B) with a walk and two runs batted in. Tremoglie received good production from the sixth hole where a trio of players; sr. 1B Rich Yoka, Reed, and Kennedy supplied three hits in four at bats. Jr. 2B Tom McGee scored two runs (1B, BB). Sr’s 3B Sean Quigley and C Adam George each belted doubles. Defensively, I left impressed with LeCompte at short. He handled a couple of routine grounders, but also made a lovely play deep in the hole to get a force out at second. Later, he secured a wicked liner off the bat of O’Hara sr. 1B Steve Juliano with runners on first and second, preventing further damage. For O’Hara, Young was ultra-impressive at the plate. He led-off the game in Jimmy Rollins-like fashion with a home run to center. He then collected hits in his next three plate appearances, to finish the day 4-for-4 (also 2B, SB) with a walk. He scored three runs and knocked in as many. This kid has gamer written all over him! Izzi was 3-for-5 (all singles), with four batted in. A couple of these were of the clutch variety. Juliano supplied an early three-run blast that gave the Lions a 6-3 lead. Colleluori collected two other hits to go along with his home run. Sr. RHP/3B Marco Menna reached base three times (2 1B’s, BB). He also made a couple of nice plays from the hot corner. One came on a diving stop to his left and the other on a charging slow roller. The Lions played without sr. RHP/SS Kevin Culbert, who was suspended a game because of a bat-throwing incident on Tuesday. Culbert is the Lions usual Thursday starter on the mound. He is also a steady shortstop and bats in the middle of their line-up. May this be a lesson learned for the youngster. Your team could have used you today and not having you in there to aid the cause was a letdown, and ultimately your actions were not fair to your teammates or coaches. You’re a very good player and are much better served being between the white lines, not on the other side. As predicted earlier this year by yours truly (Smile!) there is quite the log jam at top of the Southern Division. Both the Cahillites and Lions sit at (10-5) tied with Carroll for third place. All three are just one game behind Bonner (11-4) and two back of SJ Prep (12-3), the current frontrunner. Two weeks and six games remain for all participants. I see an exciting conclusion on the horizons. Next week’s important clashes feature Roman vs. Carroll, SJ Prep vs. Bonner, and a still dangerous Kennedy-Kenrick squad vs. O’Hara. Buckle up, a topsy-turvy ride awaits!

APR. 24
CL SOUTH
Carroll 12, Neumann-Goretti 2
     Sometimes traveling to South Philly to play a game against the Saints can get dicey for clubs who beforehand probably feel that they should win in comfort. It’s not the easiest place to play and N-G does have a tendency to be scrappy and put up a fight. Even getting there can become adventurous for opposing clubs. The Pats experienced one of these dilemmas, but it wasn’t the one that led us to a competitive game. Due to traffic on the expressway Carroll’s bus didn’t arrive until 3:25 for the 3:30 start. So, by the time the game started the clock approached 3:50. The Pats would break the game open in the second, but needed a little help in doing so. With two outs and the game scoreless a throwing error by the Saints opened the flood gates to a six-run inning. An error might have started things, but the Pats did provide some solid shots afterwards to capitalize. Soph. CF Nick Szalejko, sr. CF Pete Coppa, jr. 2B Ryan Murtagh (2-run), sr. SS Chris Dengler, sr. 1B Chris Lisowski all provided run-scoring hits in consecutive fashion following the miscue.  Carroll sent ten batters to the plate in the inning. The Pats increased their lead with two runs in the third, three in the fifth, and a single tally in the sixth. The final run gave them ten-run cushion. Then, after the Saints were retired in order in the home sixth the mercy rule kicked in and the game ended an inning premature. I guess there is no need to get there on time when you plan on ending it early anyway, smile! For the game, the Pats banged out eighteen hits. Amazingly, all of them were singles. Leading the charge was Coppa from the leadoff spot. He finished 4-for-4, with three batted in, and a stolen base. Szalejko went 3-for-4 and scored three runs. Sr. DH John Thomas collected three hits in three plate appearances. He also scored twice and swiped as many bases. Later in game he had a chance to do a little more damaged, but when it was his turn to hit he was nowhere to be found. Due up eighth in the order he had gone way down the right field line to warm-up a pitcher. He was finally summoned back towards the field and came charging in with full catcher’s garb in tact. As he drew closer soph. INF Neil Gilman was asked to grab a bat. Head Coach Fran Murphy caught the charging Thomas out of the corner of his eye and did what all good skippers do in this situation by exclaiming – First one to get a helmet on bats! Gilman easily won this battle and Thomas was left merely sucking wind. Great hustle though! For the record, Gilman grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the inning. Other Pats to contribute at the plate were Murtagh and Lisowski (2 RBI’s) with two hits apiece. Sr. C Matt Cantafio scored three runs. Jr. OF Jared Tuwalski and jr. SS Tim Weglicki each supplied pinch-hit RBI-singles in the fifth. Weglicki made a nice sprawling catch on sinking humpback liner to short. Early in the game, Murtagh made a fantastic play on a slow roller up the middle. After fielding the ball his momentum took him towards shortstop side of second base. He supplied plenty of juice on the throw after leaping to get something on the toss. Very fine play! I like how Szalejko goes after the ball in center. He made nice running catch to deep left-center in the fourth and then ended the game with a catch in right-center that nearly saw him and Coppa collide. Picking up the win for the Pats was jr. LHP John Candelore. This kid doesn’t possess overpowering stuff, but he’s crafty enough and around the plate to be effective. Today, he went the first five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on just one hit. He walked and struck out two. Sr. RHP Jesse Rosemann had a 1-2-3 mop-up inning to close things out. The Saints are struggling to date and still in search of that first league win. It appears that first-year manager Lou Spadaccini is making a concerted effort to give young players some experience. Today, the line-up featured three freshman, four sophomores, and two juniors among the thirteen players who saw action. There only hit came courtesy of frosh. 3B Al Baur and the hit brought home jr. LF T.J. Kinsey for the Saints’ first run. Baur is the son of the former Southern star Al Baur Sr. Senior was a 1st Team All-City selection for the Rams as a hard-throwing pitcher in ’86 (and later pitched in the Phillies' farm system). He was also a starting member of Public League basketball champion Rams that same year, a team that featured Lionel Simmons, the former La Salle University great. If my memory serves me correct Al sr. went about 6’6”. The younger is probably around 6’0”, so we’ll see if he sprouts up over the next few seasons. The Saints' other run was scored by sr. DH Andrew March on a groundout by frosh. RF Michael Riverso. Sr. RHP Christian Varalli took the loss, pitching 2+ innings. But only one of the seven runs he surrendered was earned. He did allow eight hits. Working the final four innings for the Saints was soph. RHP Nick Piscitelli. The youngster yielded ten hits and five runs (4 earned), but showed a little bit of moxie on the mound. He struck out four, including the side on the fourth inning. Defensively, soph. 2B Bill Fulginiti and sr. SS George Hatton turned a nice double-play. Frosh C John Maratea was able to gun down one would-be base-stealer. I was reminded throughout the game that I was at N-G’s field at 25th & Moore. How do you mean? Well, in the middle of the game and all within a ten-minute span we had the freight train go by on the overpass behind N-G’s bench, followed by the pair of four-wheelers that zoomed down 25th St., an ambulance with the sirens blaring was next, and for good measure the five-minute car alarm that continued to go off up the block. Gotta love city baseball!!

APR. 23
CL SOUTH
O’Hara 4, Bonner 1
     Finally! Warm and pleasant springtime weather is upon us. Doesn’t it feel great? Especially if you’re a baseball enthusiast like me and much prefer the rays than the brisk and chilly winds that early spring often provide. No complaints about the weather today, though, as it was simply a pristine day for some diamond action. Today’s contest pitted a couple of Delaware County rivals that sat one-two in the league standings entering the day. In the end, it was the Lions leaving with a hard-fought victory and a share of the top spot in the Southern Division. Providing much of the juice for manger Frank Allison’s club was sr. LHP Jon Yuravage, who starred both at the plate and on the mound. First, let’s take a look at his lumber. In the home fourth he broke a 1-1 tie on a fielder’s choice. On the play, he scorched a ball that Bonner jr. 1B Conor Kerins did a good job in just knocking down. The ball was hit on a line and with the dugout yelling home, Kerins threw wildly in that direction. The errant throw allowed sr. DH Joe Colleluori to come across. Yuravage was erased trying to get to second base on a good hustle play by sr. C Tim Dougherty. With the Lions still holding the slim 2-1 lead in the sixth, Yuravage took matters into his own hands and provided a little insurance in a big way. With one out, sr. 3B Marco Menna drew a walk. Yuravage then stepped-up and launched a shot into the trees in right-center for a home run. This gave the Lions a much more comfortable 4-1 advantage. Yuravage started the seventh, but after a walk and a hit he was taken out in favor of jr. RHP/2B Zach Tansey. With runners on first and second Tansey got jr. LF Bob Callan on a lazy fly out to center and slugging jr. DH Matt Gallagher on a cue-shot to first to convert the save. Yuravage’s time on the mound was very good and effective. He lasted 6 ½ innings and scattered seven hits on 109 pitches. He fanned six and walked three in that time too. Overall, I like the way he competed and how he was able to get the key out when his team really needed it. An example of this came in the sixth. With the game still a one-run margin, Dougherty started the inning with a walk. Next, sr. RF Matt DeVito belted a booming double to deep left that hit off the base of the fence With the Friars primed to tie the game and maybe even grab a lead Yuravage dug-in. He retired Kerins with a strikeout, then ended the inning with an unconventional twin-killing. Bonner’s manager John Fleming called a squeeze play with soph. 2B Dan Williams at bat. With the count 1-1, Williams bunted the ball hard and on a line towards sr. 1B Steve Juliano, who easily made the catch and threw back to Menna for the final out. The Lions managed a hit in every inning. Juliano and Colleluori (2B, 2 runs) each had a pair. Menna added a two-base knock. The Lions scored their first run on a sac fly by jr. RF Joe Sessa. Interestingly, this play was somewhat strange. Catcher’s interference was called after Sessa swung. Because of this, Allison was faced with a decision to either keep the play and the run, or bring Colleluori back to third and have the bases loaded with one out. He chose to keep the run and give up the out. The next batter flew out deep enough to left that it would have more than likely been another sac fly. Another interesting tidbit involving the Lions line-up was this. In the first, third, and fifth innings the one thru four batters in the line-up batted. And in the second, fourth, and sixth innings the five thru nine hitters took a turn. Even in baseball I can find interesting, but meaningless stuff within the stat-keeping.  How else would I keep myself entertained? Sr. SS Kevin Culbert displayed a strong arm on three successful chances for the Lions. The Friars lone run came in the third and came courtesy of a RBI-single by Dougherty. The Friars should have probably scored another run on the play, but Callan ran into Fleming as he rounded third. I couldn’t tell if it was the turn or the coach’s placement that led to this, but I could tell who was the angriest after it happened. Smile! Dougherty finished the game with two singles and a walk in three plate appearance. Jr. SS Rob Benedict singled twice and scored a run. Taking the loss for the Friars was jr. RHP John Condo, who went the first 3 1/3 innings. He allowed two earned runs on five hits. Jr. RHP’s Matt McGillian (1 2/3 scoreless innings) and frosh. Josh Van Horn finished on the hill for Bonner. Defensively, Kerins made a nice over-the-shoulder catch in shallow right and Benedict looked solid at short. It appears that not just Bonner players are held to high standards by their coach. Scorekeeper Bryan “Dusty” Kerns was apparently relieved of his duties prior to the game. Dusty has missed a few games over the past few weeks and evidently has drawn the ire of the skipper. Stay tuned! Rumor has it that there was a barbeque pit going behind the Bonner dugout, but with the hill looking as intimidating as ever I didn’t venture upwards to sneak a peak. The teams will go at it again Wednesday afternoon in game two of the series. This game will be played at Haverford College.

APRIL 19
CL SOUTH
O’Hara 4, Carroll 0
     After getting shut down by Carroll’s ace sr. RHP/SS Chris Dengler (3-1 Pats win) yesterday, the Lions were looking to return the favor with their ace jr. LHP Joe Sessa on the mound today. The crafty lefty did not disappoint, as he was in charge nearly the whole way. Carroll’s biggest fuss occurred in the top of the first. Sr. RF Pete Coppa (2-for-3) led off with an infield hit, but was erased by soph. C Bill Pace on a steal attempt. Unfortunate for the Pats, as their next two batters reached base on a single and a walk. However, Sessa would wiggle out of the jam with a strikeout and groundout to third. He worked hard in this inning and threw 27 pitches, with 12 of them out of the strike zone. Then, over the final six frames he tossed another 66 pitches, and only 16 of them were balls. A manager has got to love it when his pitcher averages a measly 2.7 pitches out of the strike zone during the final six innings. Somewhere, guys like Greg Maddox are smiling. Only one Pats player would reach second base after the first inning. Sessa’s final line read like this: 7 IP, 6 hits (3 infield), 1 walk, and 7 K’s. Today, he possessed tremendous command of all hit pitches and changed speeds routinely. Not a hard thrower by any stretch, he merely spotted his fastball, but kept the Carroll batters off balance with a steady diet of change-ups and curves. This kid really had an effective approach going today. The Lions’ offense would get all they would need in their half of the first when sr. 2B Pat Young started the inning with a walk and a stolen base. After a strikeout, sr. 1B Steve Juliano ripped a double to right to score Young. O’Hara plated another run in the third; when sr. SS Kevin Culbert lofted a two-out triple high off the right field fence that scored Juliano, who earlier singled. Juliano was right in the mix again in the fifth when he smashed a solo home run to right for the third O’Hara run of the day. The Lions fourth and final run came courtesy of another two-out run-scoring triple. Doing the honors this time was Young who slashed the ball of the fence in right-center between Coppa and soph. CF Nick Szalejko, who both gave great efforts in the chase. Scoring the run was soph. PR Nate Higgins, who ran for sr. DH Joe Colleluori (3-for-3), who singled to start the inning. Colleluori and Juliano combined for six of the Lions’ nine hits. Juliano carries a mean stick and I’m sure he finds the short porch in right extremely appetizing with each plate appearance. The kid is strong and always appears to be hitter-ish. Carroll tried to stir the pot some in the sixth when Coppa began the inning with a hit. However, jr. 2B Ryan Murtagh hit a sharp one-hopper directly at Culbert, who flipped to Young who easily turned the twin-killing. Dengler followed with a hit, but the inning ended with a groundout by clean-up hitter sr. 1B Chris Lisowski. Sr. DH John Thomas collected a pair of infield singles for the Pats. Szalejko covered some serious ground in tracking down a deep drive by Pace in the early going. Dengler successfully handled four chances at shortstop. Carroll received solid outings from the duo of jr. LHP Andrew Candelore (3.2 innings) and RHP Jesse Rosemann (2.1 innings). Neither was overpowering, but they mostly kept the ball down and were around the plate throughout (just one walk). The Lions and Patriots will play the rubber game tomorrow afternoon (1:30) at Carroll. Take notice of the early start: Carroll’s junior prom is tomorrow night. As always it was good to converse with Carroll assistant Father Ed Casey. Father Casey and I go back to our Southwest Philly days. He was my coach on the Southwest Blazers, a team of 18-19 year olds. I’ll never forget the time he let me go ten innings in a game under the lights in North Hampton. I think I threw a still-standing SW Philly record -- 176 pitches! My arm still hasn’t recovered, smile! Father Casey was and still is a great guy to talk baseball with. Today, he hit me with a good line when I brought up Sessa’s effectiveness. He responded with, “Oh, yes and he’s even getting some (Tom) Glavine-like treatment on the corners.” Oh, before I go, but I did see the sun peak out once or twice today, but I’m still waiting for it to stay a little while longer.

APRIL 18
CL SOUTH
Bonner 2, Neumann-Goretti 1
     Baseball finally returned to the Catholic League after almost a week’s worth of stormy weather had postponed numerous games around the league. In this tilt the upstart Friars nipped the Saints in an old fashioned pitchers' duel. Jr. LHP Conor Kerins (MB) and sr. RHP George Hatton (N-G) each only allowed three hits and both did an excellent job of being around the plate all afternoon.  The Friars scored first with an unearned run in the home second. In the inning they had just one hit, a single by jr. SS Rob Benedict, which was sandwiched by a pair of Saints’ fielding errors. The Friars would score another run in the fourth on a home run by soph. 2B Dan Williams to straightaway centerfield. It was Williams who scored Bonner’s first run. In the visiting fifth, the Saints would cut the Friar lead in half with a booming home run to deep left by soph. C Joey Armata. In the seventh, the Saints would pick up a one-out hit from sr. DH Andrew March. However, sr. PR Frank Novelli was nailed by sr. C Tim Dougherty on a semi steal attempt. I say semi because he appeared to start, then stop, then start again. In the end, he was pegged by fifteen feet. With order restored Kerins struck out Armata to end it. Kerins was extremely solid and picked up his third complete game win in as many tries in league play. For the game, he fanned eight and walked just one on a 104-pitch outing. His repertoire consists of an above average heater that often tails and a couple of breaking balls of different speeds. He actually faced just one batter over the minimum in the game. Dougherty earlier nabbed a would-be stealer and Kerins did the honors on another with a pick-off of a runner at first. In twenty-one league innings this year he has allowed just two runs on eleven hits, while fanning twenty-six. Impressive! The feisty and competitive Hatton battled throughout and did everything within his power to give his team a chance. In six innings he fanned four and did not walk a batter, though he did plunk three. Though not the biggest of kids, I like his intensity. He did a great job of wiggling out of a few jams caused mostly because of sloppy fielding behind him; the N-G infield made six errors. At the plate he accounted for the Saints' third hit. For Bonner, Benedict (1-for-2, HBP, SB) reached base twice and cleanly handled three chances from shortstop. Bonner Manager John Fleming isn’t a guy you want to miss assignments around. With Bonner looking for some insurance in the sixth he called for a suicide squeeze. However, somewhere along the way signals were crossed and the batter failed to square around. After an adventurous rundown session the Saints finally recorded the out. Fleming wasted little time and made the change for the batter right then and there with the count 1-and-1.  The man means business! The Friars (5-1) now sit alone atop the Southern Division. They’ll have to knock off the Saints twice down in South Philly to remain perched in the loft over the next two days. This isn’t always the easiest of tasks, despite the Saints' shortcomings. Like his predecessors, new skipper Lou Spadaccini has his club playing hard and I wouldn’t be surprised if they trip up some of the upper- echelon clubs along the way this season. Armata possess good receiving tools behind the plate. He gunned one Friar at second on a steal attempt and barely missed another on a quick snap-throw down to first. Despite the recent nasty weather conditions the field at Dermond was in decent shape. However, I’m still waiting for the sun to come out.

APR. 11
CL SOUTH
Bonner 4, Roman 3
     I’m not sure how many of the younger readers of TS.com remember the 1988 World Series, but in game one Kirk Gibson of the Los Angeles Dodgers hit one of the more memorable home runs in WS history. What made it so special was that it was of the walk-off variety and Gibson did it basically on one leg. After hitting it, only his adrenaline allowed him make it around the bases on a gimpy wheel. It was really an amazing occurrence in baseball lore. Today, in an intense CL South affair Bonner’s jr. 3B Matt Gallagher provided his best Gibson impersonation. Let me set the stage: In the home sixth, Gallagher led off with a walk. On a pickoff attempt he significantly turned his ankle and had to leave the game. Later in that inning his replacement, sr. PR Kevin Colgan, scored on a groundout by jr. DH Conor Kerins to draw the Friars to within 3-2. After Roman went harmlessly in their half of the seventh the stage was set. Sr. LF Matt DeVito collected his third hit of the game with a solid rip up the middle to start things. He would advance to second on a wild pitch and then to third on a groundout by leadoff man jr. CF Steve Warrington. The next batter, jr. RF Bob Callan lofted a medium fly to right. Bonner skipper John Fleming, also the third base coach, opted to keep DeVito planted. Good thing he did, because Cahillite sr. RF Dave Deodato unleashed a pea to the plate that reached on the fly. Ok, Gallagher’s turn in the order was up and he was called on thanks to the re-entry rule. Earlier in the inning, I saw him on the bench with cleat and sock off, leg raised, and ice being applied. Facing Roman sr. LHP Greg Reed, who possessed an above average fastball today, he worked the count to 2-2. Then, he nicely went with a tailing fastball and smoked it over the fence in straight-away right field. Ballgame! Gallagher didn’t have the pronounced limp like Gibson, but he did struggle some to circle the bases. Hey, it didn’t end a World Series game, but for a high school kid it was still pretty cool. After Gallagher's heroics the Friars erupted into a roar and the Cahillites stood aimlessly stunned. Gallagher went yard in all three games versus the Cahillites and is rapidly becoming one of the more feared hitters in the Catholic League. He’s not overly tall, but extremely strong and has an attacking nature when at the plate. The home run today was just the fourth hit for the Friars. DeVito (stolen base) provided the other three, with two being doubles. His first two-bagger came with two outs in the third and was scorched over the head of Roman sr. CF Dom Joseph (Virginia football recruit), clanging off the base of the fence. He later scored on an error to give Bonner a brief 1-0 lead. It was brief because in the fourth Roman plated three. After retiring the first nine batters of the game Bonner soph. RHP Ryan Haley issued back-to-back walks to start the inning. Sr. LF Will O’Mara followed with a single to left-center to load the bases. Two batters later, frosh. LHP/1B Mark Donato (More on his pitching performance to come) found a hole between first and second to plate a pair of runs. Sr. 1B/RHP Ryan Monaghan brought home another run on a sac fly to make the score 3-1. Relieving Haley in the inning was jr. RHP John Condo. Condo squelched the threat retiring two batters. Ultimately, Condo went on to pick up the win by hurling a solid 3 2/3 innings of relief. He allowed just two hits and fanned as many. His outing really gave the Friars a nice shot in the arm and allowed them to eventually comeback. Now back to Haley. I like this kid’s potential. He’s probably around 6’3” right now and has plenty of room to add weight and get stronger. His hurdles currently lie in experience and command. Plenty of time to work on these things and eventually I think the Friars will have a solid hurler. I see upside in this kid! Defensively, Gallagher handled three chances early and sr. C Tim Dougherty gunned down a would-be base-stealer. For Roman, starting pitcher Donato really impressed. He ended up working 5+ innings, allowing two runs (1 earned) on just two hits. He walked just one, plunked two, and fanned eight before tiring in the home fifth. He already possesses an above-average heater and a slick, bending curveball. This kid could be really good in a year or two! From what I hear he’s not too bad with the stick either. When not pitching, he plays first base and today batted fifth in the order. Not bad for a freshman! The Cahillites could only manage a total of four hits too. Deodato (walk) and sr. 2B Tom McGee (walk) also had hits. Pesky and vocal sr. C Adam George managed two walks at the plate. Monaghan relieved Donato in the sixth and after issuing a walk to the first batter he faced did a good job in limiting the damage by retiring the next three batters. Things got a bit tense at the conclusion top of the sixth. The Cahillites have a few boisterous players and they were doing their best to make themselves heard throughout. Well, the last out of the sixth was pop-up caught by Gallagher near the third base line. One of the Roman kids yelled, “I got it” from their dugout directly next to the play. This drew the ire of Fleming as he came off the field. One comment led to another and before you knew it an assistant coach from each squad was ejected. Things got a little heated with one coach telling the other, “How about we head to the parking lot?” Not good!! It was very apparent that Bonner’s coaches did not like a certain Roman player and words were directed towards him as the teams came on and off the field. The Roman coaches obviously objected to this and came to his defense. Later, when threats were made at a Roman asst. coach, a Roman player sprinted in from the outfield to his defense. He had to be restrained some by teammates. Order was finally restored and the game ended peacefully and even the handshakes took place afterwards. That was definitely positive! In my opinion, all of this could have been avoided if some of the Bonner coaches would have directed their attention to their team and not towards the Roman players and what they were doing. I thought the Roman kids were more annoying than anything, and it would probably made more sense to just ignore them. Could the Cahillites have shown a little more class in their comments at times? Probably so! However, as coaches you can’t let yourself get in a situation like the one that occurred today. Coaches are the adults and coaches need to be the example-setters! That’s just my opinion…..This was a big win for the Friars, as they took two of three from the Cahillites. With just two mainstays back from last year’s CL semi-finalist club, the Friars were expected to maybe experience a transition year of sorts. However, the junior-laden team is playing well. They have a quality lefty at the top of the rotation in Kerins and big bat in Gallagher. Combine these elements with the fact that their staff will always have them prepared and this team just might make some noise this year. The Cahillites are a more senior-oriented team and potentially can make just as much noise as the season progresses. I really do expect the battle for the four playoff spots in the South to be extremely heated. Now only if the weather would venture in that direction……

APRIL 10
CL SOUTH
O’Hara 11, SJ Prep 10 (9 innings)
     The Lions roared to an early 7-1 lead after four innings and seemed to be well on their way to an easy home victory that would even their weekly series with the Hawks at one. The Prep posted a 3-1 victory on their home turf yesterday. However, the resilient Hawks plated two runs in the fifth on a two-run blast by jr. RHP/1B Aaron Haas and then a single run in the sixth to draw within sniffing distance at 7-4. The score remained the same heading into the visiting seventh. The Hawks would come across six times in this frame to claim a somewhat comfortable 10-7 lead. All but one run in the inning was unearned, as the Lions made two critical fielding errors and another mental error on a fielder choice that should have led to an out. Jr. C Dennis Murphy supplied a timely hit in the inning that tied the score at seven. The eighth and ninth runs came across on a throwing error, while Haas slammed a double to right-center to plate the final run of the inning. Ok, the Hawks now have a three-run cushion and coming up with three outs would be simple, right? Not to be! Slugging sr. 1B Steve Juliano led off with a single, soph. DH Bill Pace followed with a hit, and then sr. 3B Marco Menna pelted a double down the right field line to score sr. PR John Fiscaro, who ran from Juliano. Sr. LF Matt Izzi followed with a sac fly to right to score Pace and make the score 10-9. On the play, Menna advanced to third. He was brought home on a solid single up the middle by sr. RF Jon Yuravage. Yuravage stole second, but was stranded at third base after a pair of groundouts. The Prep twice and O’Hara once would be retired in order over the next three half innings. The Lions would finally break through in their half on the ninth. Pace led off and reached on an error. Menna laid down a hard sacrifice bunt right at Prep jr. 3B Trey Sikahema. With the ball bunted so hard I thought a play at second presented itself. Instead, Sikahema threw to first, but air-mailed the ball well over Haas’ head to put runners at second and third. Izzi followed and was intentionally walked to load the bases. On the very next pitch, Yuravage slapped a clean single between third and short to give the Lions the victory. This was a key win for the Lions because they didn’t want to drop the first two games of this series, with the third going to be played at Prep’s home field. As of right now it appears that six squads in the CL South will vie for four playoff spots, so teams are going to try their best to avoid being swept. In the end, I suspect that both the Lions and the Hawks will be major players for at least two of the top three spots. The Lions actually plated five in the home first. The big blow was a towering three-run HR by Juliano to deep right. Interestingly, Juliano didn’t play for the Lions last season after being in the program as a freshman and sophomore. He opted for lacrosse as a junior. I’m fairly confident that Lion skipper Frank Allison is glad to have him back with the club. He also walked and singled. Pace collected two hits and scored thrice. Menna notched a pair of hits and runs. Izzi (2-for-3, walk) collected a total of three RBI’s. Aside from his late-game heroics Yuravage plated an early run on a groundout. He also supplied the web gem of the contest with a leaping snag of a scorching liner in right-center. Sr. SS Kevin Culbert reached base twice (1B, HB) and pilfered two bases. Picking up the win for the Lions was jr. LHP Joe Sessa. Yes, Sessa was on the mound for the Prep six-run ninth, but like I stated he received little help from fielders in that inning. All total he went 3 1/3 innings and allowed just one earned run. The crafty lefty was very impressive in the eighth and ninth innings when he retired six consecutive batters, three via the punch-out. Prior to Sessa, jr. RHP Zach Tansey pitched four innings. He surrendered three runs on seven hits. Sr. LHP Mike Smith made the start but lasted just 1 2/3 innings. He gave up just a single run. For the Prep, soph. SS Steve Bruno went 3-for-5 at the plate. He struggled some on the field with three fielding errors. None of the balls were cupcakes, but I thought he was a little flat-footed and let the ball play him some. He did handle six other chances nicely and showed a strong arm. He was involved in an interesting play when Izzi sharply grounded the ball off the pitcher’s glove. The ball then was knocked down by jr 2B Brett Tiagwad towards Bruno, who scooped and somehow nipped Izzi at first. This went in the books as the ever-common 1-4-6-3 groundout. Murphy went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and RBI’s. Sikahema hit the ball hard all afternoon, going 2-for-5 (2B, 2 RBI’s). Tiagwad added two hits and a run. Haas started on the mound and gave up seven runs (three earned) on five hits in three innings. Soph. RHP/1B Jeff Lynch picked up the loss, but threw well while retiring five straight batters before Pace reached base on the error to start the ninth. Jr. RHP Kevin Gillen worked two scoreless innings of relief for the Hawks. Thirteen Hawks saw playing time in some facet during the game. Twelve of them were underclassmen. Meanwhile, ten of the thirteen players that O’Hara used were seniors. When will the warm weather get here? It was quite brisk out, but far from unbearable. Still, I much prefer a comfortable 70-degree afternoon, as would the players I’d imagine. After four games four teams stand at (3-1) – AC, OH, MB, & RC. Two are (2-2) – K-K & SJ. Way early, but expect things to be fairly competitive all year in the CL South.

MAR. 28
NON-LEAGUE
Bonner 14, Father Judge 9
  Play ball! Yep, it’s springtime, which means goodbye to the gymnasiums around the city of Philadelphia and hello to the grass and dirt of local baseball fields. Today’s journey led me a short distance from work to Dermond Field in Drexel Hill. Usually, this is home to Bonner’s JV squad. However, with construction in-and-around the Bonner-Prendie complex far from finished, it became the varsity’s home for this non-league tussle. The Friars will ultimately play home games across Delaware County this season, as games are also scheduled for Neumann and Haverford Colleges. Like in many instances early in the season this game was far from crisp or cleanly played. All total, the game lasted 2 hours and 47 minutes and featured a whopping 313 pitches. The twenty-three combined runs needed just sixteen hits to be had. Why? You can look no further than the combined 13 walks, 9 hit batters (EIGHT courtesy of the Crusaders), and three errors that found the scorecard. Actually, this contest started out decently, as the Friars held a slim 2-1 lead after four frames. At this point the teams combined for just two hits. The Crusaders plated four in the fifth to snag a 5-2 lead. However, the Friars nearly tripled that output in the home fifth. Yes, ELEVEN Bonner boys came around to score, as seventeen players came to bat in the inning. Interestingly, only eight of the seventeen hitters put the ball in play, and this included the three outs. Bonner did manage five knocks in the inning, but five walks and four plunks by Crusader pitching certainly didn’t hurt the frolicking. Plating runs in the inning were: jr. LHP Vince Ford who knocked home three on a pair of singles, soph. 2B Dan Williams (RBI-single), sr. OF Matt DeVito (2-run double), jr. CF Pat Warrington (2-run double), while jr. 1B Matt McGillian, jr. OF Matt DeBarberie, and sr. C Tim Dougherty all brought home teammates on free passes. The Crusaders would kick-up a little dust in the sixth by scoring thrice, but the Friars added a single tally in the sixth to recapture momentum and won without too much of a sweat. The star at the plate today for Bonner was Warrington in the leadoff spot. He did what all good table-setters do and that was reach base. He ended the day with five successful appearances into the batter’s box; going 3-for-3 (Two- 2B’s) and also reaching twice after being hit-by-a-pitch. He scored three times and knocked in two more, while also pilfering one. Falling victim to Judge’s wildness even more so then Warrington was jr. SS Rob Benedict, who in Criag Biggio-fashion was plunked three times. The first one caught the 115-lb Benedict in the knee area and forced him to leave the game for a short time. He returned and scored twice and knocked in another on a sacrifice fly. Jr. 3B Matt Gallagher (2 runs) also reached base three times with a walk and a pair of HBPs. Devito (2B, walk), who helped break the game open with his two-run double, made the most of his two AB’s and scored twice. McGillian and jr. LHP Conor Kerins added run-scoring ground-outs in the first inning. Kerins started on the mound for the Friars and fared rather well. He ran a handful of deep counts and even walked the first two batters he faced. However, in three innings he yielded zilch in the hit and run columns and that’s what counts the most. In three innings of work he fanned five, including the side in the second. The lefty has a sneaky fastball and seemed to do a good job of tying guys up in-tight. His fastball had decent movement and tailed-away from right-handed hitters. He also exhibited a nice move to first and three times had Judge runners picked-off first. Only once did the Friars execute the out though, as one beat the relay throw to second and the other managed to get back to first after a short run-down.  Ford picked up the win with 1 2/3 innings of relief. Defensively, Williams turned a pair of step-and-throw twin-killings from second base. The latter of the two ended the game. For Judge, their three most impressive performers were a trio of football players; sr. C Joe Thompson, jr. LF Andrew McHale, and sr. 1B Ryan Kreider. Thompson had a solid day at the plate going 2-for-3, with a 2B and a walk. He scored twice and added a RBI. McHale went 2-for-2, with a walk, 2 runs, RBI, and a steal. He appeared to turn an ankle after scoring a run in the fifth and took the rest the day off.  Kreider plated three with a single and a two-run double. He also added a walk. Sr. DH Frank Leaden scorched a two-run single in Judge’s four-run inning. After replacing McHale, sr. OF Dan Luberski scored one on a base-knock. The Crusaders used four hurlers in the game and all had difficulties in varying degrees. The kid who battled the most was probably starter sr. RHP Brian Dolan, who gave up two runs (1 earned) in three innings of work. He only allowed a single hit and didn’t walk anyone, but was responsible for four HBs. He finished with three K’s. Sr. SS Keith Chichearo shook-off an early throwing error and displayed soft hands and a good arm on a few chances. At the plate, he reached base all four times with a pair of walks, HBP, and safe-on-a-error. He scored twice. Both teams will have to work out the kinks soon because league play begins next week. The Catholic League has scrapped their normal fourteen-game league schedule in favor of a 21-game schedule. The main feature of this schedule will be that the same two teams will play each other three times in a week. Holy-call-to-the-bullpen!!! I doubt very much this will be pitcher-friendly. With the CL now a member of the PIAA, this will more than likely only be a one-year experiment. I’m pretty sure the maximum amount of games sanctioned by the PIAA is twenty-two. Stay tuned….