MAY 22
CL QUARTERFINAL
Bonner 8, Kennedy-Kenrick 1
  Two days and three fields later the Friars and Wolverines finally got their chance to lace up the cleats and take care of business between the lines. This game was originally scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at Bonner, but was washed out by good ‘ol Mother Nature. On Wednesday, and with Bonner’s field still unplayable due to poor drainage, Widener was selected as the field of choice. However, that too yielded to turf miseries. La Salle H.S. was also reported to be an option, but I don’t think the folks at Bonner took too kind to that idea. Can’t say I blame them, especially with the travel involved. OK, we’ll play it Thursday; again the place will be Widener. Wait, not so fast. Catholic League honchos feel that would give the winner of the game an advantage in their semifinal contest, also scheduled for Widener. Ugh!!! So, the game was moved to Neumann College, located in Aston. Was it a big deal? Not really if you were someone like me who was given that information early enough to change gears some. But what about the people that didn’t know the game was changed and traveled to Widener only to find a desolate diamond? Or the people at Widener, who spent all morning working on the field to get it ready? Personally, I don’t see the “advantage” angle as clearly as some. Last time I checked, the bases were still 90-feet apart and the pitcher’s mound was still 60’6” from home plate. The umpires still wore blue and each team still got three outs per inning. Plus, now the winner of the Bonner-Ryan semifinal, to be played at, um, WIDENER Friday afternoon will have an advantage over St. Joseph's Prep, which did NOT play its semi at Widener, in Tuesday's final. OK, I’ll lighten up some; I think I made my point, so onto the proceedings at-hand. Bonner had a major bullet in their chamber in the form of CL Red MVP sr. LHP Conor Kerins, who had a terrific league season going (7-0) with one win versus every team in that league. Using a live fastball early and solid change-up later on, he controlled the Wolverine bats to the tone of two hits over six innings of work. Seven of the first nine outs recorded came via the whiff, and he finished with ten all total. Many of the Wolverines were overmatched at times and the run they did score was unearned and came without a hit being involved. As for the offense it was the middle innings where the Friars did their damage. The recipe for success was a little help from the opponent in the form of free passes and three costly errors, while mixing in a handful of timely hits. Bonner would take the lead for good in the home third when sr. 1B Bill Hollingsworth smashed a double over sr. LF Brandon Evangelist’s head to score sr. SS Rob Benedict (2-for-3, BB). A short time later sr. DH Lou Tomasetti (RBI hit in 1st, 2-for-3, BB) raced home on a wild pitch to make it 3-1 Bonner. There would be no looking back from this point as the Friars would tack on two more in the fourth and come across thrice in the fifth. Interestingly, all five runs turned out to be unearned. Sr. LF Bob Callan (2 runs, SB, Sac) came across for the fourth Bonner run on a RBI-hit by Benedict. Next, jr. Dan Williams (BB) scored on Tomasetti’s second run-scoring hit of the day to make it 5-1. In the fifth, RBI’s were provided by Williams on a sac fly and sr. CF Pat Warrington (Run, SB) on a double inside the third base bag. Sr. 3B/RF Matt McGillian (Run, SB) reached base on a trio of walks. This Bonner team is not made to mash the ball all over the field, but what they can do is pitch, play defense, run the bases, and play a little small ball when needed. Today, they swiped four bases and laid down three sacrifice bunts. Sr. OF Matt DeBarberie (Run, SB) was responsible for two of the sacs. Basically, if you field the ball and throw strikes, then there is a reasonable chance that this Bonner team won’t run away from you. Today, seven of the eight players that scored reached base either from a walk or error. That just won’t get it done, especially with a pitcher like Kerins on the hill. Kerins left after six and 104 pitches. Sr. RHP John Condo worked the seventh in easy-as-pie fashion; fanning two in a 1-2-3 stint. Not too many highlights for the Wolverines at the plate. Star jr. 3B Christian Walker, already a South Carolina recruit, got K-K’s first hit when he laced a double to right-center in the fourth inning. Sr. C Nick Ciccone blooped a single to center in the sixth for their only other hit. Jr. Steve Hopwood (2 BB’s) scored the only run for the Wolverines when he came around on an errant throw during a rundown sequence in the top of the second. Taking the rock for K-K was sr. RHP Sal Spera, who more than likely deserved a little better fate (Only 3 of his 8 runs allowed earned), but complicated matters with five free passes. He ended up going 4+ innings and fanned seven overall. I thought he possessed a sneaky fastball that seemed to explode late. Jr. RHP Ed Skilton and jr. SS/RHP Steve Mahoney each pitched an inning of scoreless ball. When I found out the game was at Neumann I was a little concerned about making it there on time. Then, I get the call from Tom "Puck" McKenna, telling me that he’ll be there and that he’ll cover it until I show up. No problem Tom! Fortunately, I got out of school a little early and made it there in plenty of time to get line-ups, umpire information, and chat with friendly faces. During this time Puck is inconspicuously absent. Where is the Puckster? Why hasn’t the unending blabbing commenced? Just a couple of thoughts that passed through my mind as the innings faded away? Through two, three, and then four frames of action, still no Puck. Yes, I know, deep down this is a good thing, many are rejoicing, but I’m starting to worry because if anything, the Puckster is usually reliable. Ah, the phone jingles, it’s him --- “Yo, where you at?” Um, at the game. “Yo man, they move it again?” No Puck, I’m at Neumann College. “Neumann? Ah, man, I went to Havferd! Neumann? Ted know I can’t get to Neumann. Why he send me to Neumann? No buses go to Neumann. That why I go Havferd! Yo, why they playin' at Neumann?”…..Will someone please stop this madman!!! It’s OK, we got it covered…….

MAY 21
CL QUARTERFINALS
Neumann-Goretti 1, La Salle 0
     The Saints, nee Pirates, didn’t participate in a Catholic League playoff game in a decade, and hadn’t tasted victory in eleven seasons. Well, no need to dwell on those times, for the young Saints came out on top this afternoon in a game that defined the phrase - Pitchers’ duel. They accomplished this feat at their home field at 25th & Moore, where the former St. John Neumann once stood. And though school may have not returned, the energy and character that once filled those outfield foul lines did. Yes, a strong and interested crowd was on hand for what had to be one of the best combined pitching efforts of this high school season to date. And with it being playoff time, that just added to the drama that unfolded as the game wore on. N-G’s soph. LHP Mark Donato, the Blue MVP, and possibly the first sophomore MVP in CL history, went pitch-for-pitch, with La Salle jr. LHP Shawn O’Neill, who earned 1st-Team All-Catholic honors in the Red Division. The southpaws weren’t whiffing opposing batters in record fashion, but solidly batted balls were definitely at a premium throughout. There were a mere six hits combined in the game, and just three of them left the infield. Off the top of my head, I think I remember only one hard out, a line drive to right by La Salle’s sr. DH Jeff Murtha in the fourth. Ok, so when did the only run occur? Not until the home sixth and even then the Saints needed some help to have one of their players circle the bases. With one out, sr. SS Aggie Osano reached on a bad-hop infield single to short. Osano was pinch-run for by manager Lou Spadaccini, as jr. Anthony Pfettcher was summoned. Donato followed with a semi line drive out to second. Looking to stir the pot some, Spadaccini gave Pfettcher the steal sign. The throw was a little to the right of second, but in PLENTY of time to nail Pfettcher. However, the ball was mishandled and the Saints were granted new life. Clean-up hitter jr. C Joey Armata was issued a free pass and this brought soph. 1B Mike Riverso to the batter’s box. I don’t know how many big hits this youngster has had in his brief Saints’ career, but I doubt very much that there are any as big as the one he supplied in this plate appearance. Riverso, a left swinger, laced a 1-0 pitch just to the left of straight away center field that saw Pfettcher score after an Explorer double-relay flew wildly past sr. C Jason Raschiatore. From my angle the play had a chance to be bang-bang, but I do think Pfettcher had the throw beat. LaSalle’s last chance went meagerly, as Donato coaxed consecutive weak groundballs to himself, Osano, and soph. 3B Al Baur to end it. I liked how the Saints celebrated afterwards. They didn’t go overboard, appearing to show that they aren’t satisfied just yet, but they were happy and why shouldn’t they be? It has been a long time since the program experienced this type of success. Furthermore, they just beat a team from the bigger school league that went (10-4) in league play. Also, while the N-G/Neumann program was on the sidelines watching in the middle of May over the past ten seasons, the Explorers participated in playoff games in every year and twenty of the last twenty-one campaigns. Interestingly, Spadaccini playfully ragged on Donato leading up to the game that he hadn’t thrown a shutout all year. Well, he’ll now have to dig a little deeper into his bag of tricks to motivate his star player. Feel free to cross-off goose egg on the to-do list! Donato wasn’t overpowering, just three whiffs, but he was more than effective. He induced thirteen ground ball outs, ranging from comfortable-to-soft-to-weak, over his complete game stint. He gave up just three hits (2 infield), a walk, and plunked two. No Explorer reached third base! Meanwhile, O’Neill was equally as effective and also yielded just three hits. N-G’s first five innings produced just one (Single by Donato in 1st) knock. Until the Saints scored, only one of their base runners reached as far as third. A lonely day for both Spadaccini and La Salle skipper Joe Parisi in that third base coaches’ box. In O’Neill’s six innings of work he walked three and fanned seven. He also induced his share of weakly struck ground balls. I thoroughly enjoyed both of these kids and it’s great to know that each will be back for another season, or two in Donato’s case. Defensively, Armata made a couple of significant plays for the Saints. First, he quickly pounced on a bunt out in front of the plate to eliminate a runner on a force play at third. Then, he squelched an Explorer threat when he cut down a runner attempting to steal in the sixth inning. And it was done with relative ease! Osano successfully handled all four of his chances from shortstop. LaSalle’s sr. 2B Frank Pierson made a nice charging play to nip sr. CF Dan Behlau’s bid at an infield hit.  With the victory, the Saints have now secured a semifinal date with defending champion St. Joe’s Prep. The Hawks used three pitchers to no-hit Archbishop Wood in their playoff triumph. These teams actually met in a non-league tussle earlier in the year, a 3-1 Hawk win.

MAY 1
CL RED
North Catholic 3, O’Hara 2
  Not an ideal day for game and the fact that it got progressively worse with dipping temperatures and an annoying drizzle didn’t help matters either. Hey, I could have sworn that my calendar said May when I left school this afternoon. Oh well, I guess in time we’ll have more consistent performances from good ol’ Mother Nature. Thankfully, each team received strong pitching and fielded the ball well, so the proceedings did move along in comfortable fashion. Today’s headliner was Falcon soph. RHP Ryan Etsell, who bats left, but hurls as a righty.  He’s a tall/lanky kid, think of a right-handed Cole Hamels in appearance. Not quite ready to give him King Cole in ability just yet, smile! Still, there is much to like about this youngster. And like Hamels, he delivers the ball in a relaxed and effortless manner.  He has very little extra movement in his delivery and for being so tall and young that is a good sign. Not overly overpowering with his fastball, but sneaky fast. I think in time, with additional growth and strength that he’ll be able to add a few more MPHs to his heater. He also displayed a good curve and change-up at different junctures of the game. All total, he threw 106 pitches in his complete-game effort. He allowed just five hits (No more than one in any inning) and two walks. He finished the game with ten whiffs, including the side in the fourth inning. He also successfully fielded four opportunities from the mound. In the top of the first it was his bat that got the Falcons off to a promising start, as he cranked a double to deep centerfield that brought in sr. 1B Chris James, who started a two-out rally with a single and stolen base. Afterwards, Etsell came across for a 2-0 lead on a single by sr. 3B Chris Morrin to right-center. The scored remained that way until O’Hara’s home fifth. With two outs, Etsell issued a walk to sr. RF Tom Moore. Then, sr. 2B Tom Coyle smacked a triple to right-center scoring Moore. Coyle tied the game when he raced home on a wild pitch. The Falcons wouldn’t dwell on the setback and answered right back in the sixth. Again, it was a two-out walk that started things. After Morrin drew a free pass, he pilfered second. Next, freshman LF Ryan Hires tomahawked a pitch that slammed off the top of the fence in left-field for a double. Clutch! This scored Morrin and gave the Falcons a 3-2 advantage. In O’Hara’s last at-bat they kicked up a minor fuss. Estsell retired the first two batters harmlessly on four pitches, but this was followed by a single by Moore, who eventually moved to second on a wild pitch. The next batter was Coyle and he battled, but eventually ended the game with a groundout to second. The dangerous jr. C Bill Pace (2-for-3, triple), who was 4-for-4 a day earlier with a double and triple lurked on-deck. The Falcons also only managed five hits, with three of them coming in the opening frame. Supplying the other hit was freshman C Mike Zolk, who serves as the Falcon lead-off hitter. He went just 1-for-4 in the game, but made two hard outs on shots to the outfield. There was something I liked about this kid and he appears to be a ballplayer. As for the Lions, I don’t think they like when I come strolling across the lacrosse field towards the diamond. In the last two games I covered at O’Hara, only one Lion has experienced success at the plate. That player would be Pace, who is 6-for-8 in the two games. However, the rest of the Lions are a woeful 4-for-50. Yikes! But hey, they did knock-off defending league champ SJ Prep in an earlier game I attended. So not all has been bad in that area! Today, sr. CF Joe Sessa reached base twice (single, walk) and stole a base. On the mound, sr. RHP Mike Jennings got the start and yielded two runs and struck out three in two innings. Replacing him was jr. RHP Russ Trojan, who coincidentally won yesterday’s game with the Falcons. He absorbed the loss today, but pitched pretty well over the final five innings. He allowed just two hits, but walked three. He did fan six during his stint. This was a damaging loss for the Lions, as they slipped to (3-7) in league play, but the Falcons (5-5) kept their postseason hopes alive with an important road win.  I watched the game with John “Blade/Lefty/J-Mac” McCauley, who was on a rare scouting mission for Bonner. The home plate umpire was Bill “Babs” Haines and he repeatedly let Lefty know he was ink-hogging again. This was in reference to yours truly always mentioning Blade in my reports. J-Mac mentioned that he had seen Haines earlier in the day sporting a different look. Apparently, between run-intos, Haines made a pit stop at a local barber. Nothing like a well-groomed man in blue!

APRIL 24
CL BLUE
Neumann-Goretti 11, West Catholic 0 (5 inn.)
  The Saints weren’t exactly running on all cylinders in the early going and manager Lou Spadaccini let his team know about it. Twice, he lashed out at his squad and implored them to wake-up. After the second lashing, his team came together for a half-hearted “1-2-3 hit!!” cheer. This prompted Spadaccini to bellow, “You can say 1-2-3 million dollars, and that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. Now, go out and do it!” Ok, so did they immediately start slamming the ball all over Sunoco Field, the Burrs new and impressive home? Not exactly, but in time they did impose their will on West, and won comfortably in a mercy-rule shorten game. The score was just 1-0 heading to the fourth, but the Saints broke through with a six spot to open it up. In this inning N-G sent eleven men to the plate. They only managed three hits during the frame, but were helped immensely by four walks and a hit-batter. In fact, for the game Burr hurlers issued ELEVEN free passes and plunked three. The big hits in the Saints game-altering inning were supplied by soph. 1B Mark Donato (3-run triple) and sr. DH Aggie Osano (two-run double). N-G would bat-around again in the fifth, where they scored four additional runs. This time run-scoring hits were delivered by sr. C Joey Armata (3-run triple) and soph. PH Torre Martino (RBI single). Twelve of the thirteen N-G players who had a plate appearance reached base via a hit, walk, or HBP. Some of the headliners were: Sr. CF Dan Behlau (2 W’s, HBP, 3 runs, RBI, SB), jr. 2B Billy Fulginiti (2 W’s, 1B, run, SB), Donato finished with 4 RBIs (Also, adding a first-inning sac fly), and soph. 3B Al Baur (2 W’s, run, SB). Manning the mound and going all five was sr. RHP T.J. Kinsey. He allowed just two hits and a total of five base-runners in the game. Three of the runners and both hits came in the Burr home fourth. After two outs, a pair of singles and a plunking loaded the sacks, but Kinsey got a soft roller to the mound to put a halt to the Burr threat. Relying on mostly a decent fastball he fanned eight. The Saints have to be happy with their current (6-2) record, but something tells me that Spadaccini won’t let them get complacent. For now, times are still tough for the Burrs, but the roster is littered with youngsters and it’s told that first-year head coach Kevin Manning exhibits a positive approach. Time will tell if some of these kids develop and others are eventually brought in to aid the cause. Today marked their 63rd consecutive league loss! Still, a step forward has been accomplished in securing Sunoco Field (35th & Moore), a beautiful complex situated just off the 76-expressway and buried in the middle of the refinery that sits there. Trust me folks, this field is sharp, and is a much better place to call home than where the Burrs were playing. West will more than likely struggle for a little while longer, but miracles don’t happen overnight. It’s not going to be easy, but getting a good field to play your games should help in the long run. The Burr hits were had by soph. DH Jake Grogan, a blooper along the right-field line, and frosh. C Nick Lewandoski, with a sharply hit ball down the third base line. Freshman CF and leadoff hitter, Eric Bradley, reached base twice with a HBP and a walk. Soph. RHP Kevin Sessa started and was decent through three innings before his bout with wildness began. Jr. SS/RHP Ed Colon and soph. 1B/RHP Rich Henderson worked in relief. Prior to the game, West sr. 1B/LHP Eric Brennan (Heading to Lock Haven for basketball) handled the pre-game prayer. Included in this was a moment of silence for the late John Marzano. Nice gesture! An even greater gesture was learned by yours truly after the game. As I was walking away, I heard Spadaccini tell his troops to get packed up quickly, so they could head right over to John’s viewing from the field. I like the thought of going over as a team. Especially when you consider that John and many of these kids come from similar backgrounds. Good job, fellas! I’m pretty sure that when looks down at the proceedings tonight, that this act will bring a big smile to his face.

APRIL 21
CL RED
Bonner 10, Roman 2
  No sun issues today, as the weather dipped back into a late March mode and gave us a mostly overcast and blustery afternoon. If you’re unsure of what I’m referring to, just last week while covering a game at Bonner’s new field, the sun wreaked some havoc on the teams that caused multiple misplays and uneasiness around home plate. Today, there were no concerns in that area. I even noticed the development of a batter’s eye out in centerfield. We’ll see if this lends a little assistance down the road. As for the game, the young Cahillites gift-wrapped four first inning tallies and the Friars never looked back. Before Bonner even got a hit in the inning they were the recipients of three errors, two walks, a wild pitch, and a balk. Later on in the frame solid RBI hits were produced by sr. 1B Bill Hollingsworth (double) and sr. DH Lou Tomasetti (single). This would be plenty of support for ace sr. LHP Conor Kerins, as he handled Roman with relative ease in five innings of work. Interestingly, he threw mostly all fastballs. I remember a few change-ups early, and if he did throw a breaking ball, it couldn’t have been more than three or four total. Hey, if the heater is working, then why touch the thermostat? In his day’s work he allowed one run on three hits, walked as many, and once again hit double digits in the strikeout column with ten. An area of concern could be that for the second straight outing he ran a few extra deep counts early in the game. Five of the first seven batters he faced went to a full count. In mop-up duty, sr. RHP John Condo allowed one unearned run in two innings. Offensively, Bonner tacked on two runs apiece in the third, fifth, and sixth innings. Starring at the plate were; Tomasetti (3-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI’s), Hollingsworth (2-for-3, 2B, W, 2 RBI’s), Kerins (2B, W, 2 Runs), and sr. SS Rob Benedict (2-for-4, 2 Runs, 2 SB’s). Additional run-scoring hits were provided by sr. OF Matt DeBarberie (single) and sr. CF Pat Warrington (double). The best defensive moment for the Friars was had by sr. 3B Dan Haley, who turned a third-to-first double-play in the seventh inning. It appears to be a transition year for Head Coach Joe Tremoglie and his Cahillites. I recognized only a few names from last year and twelve of the seventeen players on the roster are underclassmen. Also, when mental errors plagued Roman in the early innings, Tremoglie was quick on the trigger to get another kid an opportunity. Offensively, sr. INF Tom McGee scored both Roman runs. The first came after he smacked a triple to right-center and was brought home on a groundout by sr. 1B Matt Hodges. Later on, he scored on a seeing-eye single by sr. CF Andre Butler. It was Butler who supplied the defensive gem of the game when he made an acrobatic snag of a rocket hit by Hollingsworth in deep center. Other Cahillites with positive plate experiences were; jr. 3B Nick Santiago who reached base three times with a single, walk, and HBP and sr. DH Chris Montowski who contributed a pair singles. Early in the contest soph. RF Steve Herbetko made a nice sliding catch to take away a Friar hit. Getting the start for Roman was jr. RHP Joe Plover. He wasn’t overpowering and didn’t have the best command, but he could have benefited from some help behind him. He allowed eight runs in 4 2/3 innings, but the first five were unearned and more than likely the first six could have been avoided. He allowed six hits, 3 walks, and fanned just one. Relieving Plover was soph. LHP Rich Argentieri.  He K’d a couple in the sixth, but also surrendered a deuce on four hits. I sat with John “Lefty” McCauley and Bonner scorekeeper Mary Callan, mother of sr. LF Bob Callan. Cool moment of the day came when a red-tail hawk glided in from center field and landed in a tree beyond the batting cage. At the halfway point these teams are situated at opposite ends of the standings. Bonner is now (6-1), while Roman sits at just (1-6).

APRIL 17
CL RED
La Salle 11, O’Hara 5 (9 inn.)
  Before I get into the meat and potatoes of this report, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank the weather gods. The weather has been a little dicey this spring, but today was nothing short of glorious. The sun beamed, the temperature was warm, and the wind was a non-factor. You just got to love that! And you especially have to appreciate it, when the game just goes and goes and goes a little more. All total, three-hours and eight-minutes, a combined 34 different players saw action, and their were an unbelievable 347 pitches thrown. Phew! Ok, let’s mosey on into the late innings. Specifically, the home seventh, and with the Explorers holding a 5-4 lead. O’Hara’s jr. C Bill Pace, who hit the ball with authority all day long, scorched a drive over jr. CF Kevin Kelley’s head for a double. This was Pace’s fourth consecutive extra-base hit, as he also slammed two other doubles and a triple. Next, sr. 1B Rob Ostapowicz successfully laid down a sacrifice to move Pace to third. Then, sr. LF Mike Baselice hit a soft grounder to short with the infield in. Pace got a great jump and beat the throw home to tie the game. Ok, TS.com reporter starting to get antsy. Flyers hockey is starting soon! Then, in the eighth, each team mustered up a threat, but both half innings ended with runners on third and it was off to the ninth. Antsy level rising! Fortunately (Sorry Lions, but Huck has to get home!), the Explorers would break through, and did so in a way that left little doubt that this epic would be ending in the near future. La Salle scored six runs in the ninth and only needed two hits to get them. They were helped big time by four O’Hara errors and another four walks (2 intentional) in the frame. Run-scoring groundouts were had by sr. C Jason Raschiatore and jr. SS Tyler Freeman, while jr. RF Kevin Johnson (3-for-5, 2 RBI’s) knocked in a run with a single. The other three runs scored on an assortment of miscues by the Lions. The winning pitcher turned out to be jr. RHP Jeff Schill, who retired all four batters he faced. Prior to him, sr. LHP Matt Day worked 4 2/3 of relief. He yielded 3 runs (2 earned) on 3 hits, while fanning six. He also started a key double-play to squelch an O’Hara threat in the fourth. He seemed to get better as he went along and threw the ball rather nicely. Today’s starter for LaSalle was jr. RHP John Bernhardt who worked 3+ inning. He surrendered two runs on 2 hits, but had a little trouble with control during his stint. Additional RBI’s were had by sr. 3B Mike Higgins on a HBP, Raschiatore on a groundout, and sr. DH Andrew Wood (2-for-5) on a 2-run single during LaSalle’s three-run fifth. Sr. 2B Frank Pierson (2 runs) laced a triple, while adding a single, and a pair of walks in the game. Sr. LF Jeff Murtha singled, walked, had a SAC, and scored twice. This La Salle team is solid and skipper Joe Parisi will have them prepared. It didn’t appear to me that they had too many boppers (Just 8 hits today) in the line-up, so playing good defense and some small ball is probably how they’ll try to beat teams. Today, Parisi had them bunting a lot. For the most part they were successful, as they got down two sacrifices and another two that went for hits. For O’Hara, they could only manage six hits, and four of them came via one player. Pace finished 4-for-5, with 3 runs and a RBI. He also eliminated a would-be base-stealer in the first and made a sensational diving stop of a ball thrown wildly past first base. Even though he made the snag, his momentum took him past the out-of-bounds line. Great hustle though, especially considering it was the eighth inning. Sr. 2B Tom Coyle (2 runs) and jr. 3B Kevin Sack had the other two hits, both singles. Baselice (Two) and jr. 1B Tom Fiorelli knocked in runs on groundouts. O’Hara was 0-for-10 with RISP. Pitching the fatal frame and taking the loss was jr. SS/RHP Sean Coogan. It should be mentioned that 4 of the runs were unearned. Prior to stepping to the mound, Coogan showed good hands at SS, where he handled four balls flawlessly. Coyle was also solid at second and made all six chances he had.  Pitching some great ball in relief was sr. RHP Mike Jennings. He worked four innings (5th thru 8th) and gave up no runs and just two hits. He did an excellent job of keeping the ball low, as his first nine outs and 10 of the 12 he recorded came on ground balls. Jr. Russ Trojan started the game and worked the first 4+. He allowed 5 runs on 5 hits. Sr. CF Joe Sessa cut down a runner tagging-up from third base with a strong throw home. There were a ton of foul balls in this game that needed retrieval duty. Apparently, jr. OF Evan Higgins, a gritty fullback on the O’Hara football team, is a coach favorite in this role. It was quite amusing watching the other Lions poke a little fun at him every time his name was called out. Ok, did I get home in time for the Fly-Guys? Kind of! I had to make a pit stop at Nick’s for a beef combo. So, by the time I arrived to the nest it was already 1-1 and about eight-minutes remained in the first period. It turned out alright though, as the game went into a second overtime, with the Flyers pulling one out, 4-3. Hence, it is now 12:49 as I wrap up this report……

APRIL 15
CL RED
Bonner 6, SJ Prep 4
     OK, you’re facing the defending league champs and your ace pitcher is on the mound. However, your top gun starts his outing with nine straight pitches out of the strike zone and then ends it with twelve consecutive misfires. You can’t be feeling good, right? A frustrating day was had? Not so fast, especially if you’re first-year Head Coach Joe DeBarberie and his upstart Friars of Monsignor Bonner. The ace I speak of is sr. LHP Conor Kerins, who in the early going this season has just dominated opposing hitters with a man-versus-boy attitude. Today, his beginning and ending junctures were far from ideal, but the middle? Whoa! It was utter dominance! In between his bouts with wildness, Kerins didn’t allow a walk and whiffed THIRTEEN! Only three Hawks managed a hit in the game, while two of the four runs allowed were unearned. I wouldn’t classify the southpaw as a flame thrower, but he does throw hard, and has the ability to crank it up additional notches when the time calls. He also possessed a hard breaking ball that was extremely difficult to lay off today. In three league games this year he has thrown 19 innings, allowed just 11 hits, and struck out 36. When you’re just a hair or two away from a 2:1 strikeout to innings pitched ratio, then it is safe to say that you’re doing something right. When he finally left in the visiting seventh he had thrown 111 pitches and the Hawks were kicking up a fuss. Back-to-back walks and a hit-batter had the bases loaded without an out recorded. Debarberie summed sr. RHP John Condo from the pen to face Hawk three-hole hitter sr. SS Tim Edger. Condo, in major pick-me-up fashion, induced a tailor-made double-play ball to sr. SS Rob Benedict, who calmly stepped on second and tossed to first for the twin-killing. Huge! A run did come across to make it 6-4, but Condo got sr. 1B Aaron Haas looking for the final out to record a clutch save. As for the game’s scoring this is how it went. The Hawks scored first when imposing jr. DH Jim Lynch laced a single to left in the first that plated sr. 2B Brett Tiagwad (1-for-2, 2 W’s). Bonner answered in the home half. Sr. RF Matt McGillian pounded a double to deep leftfield that produced a second-and-third situation. Then, a passed ball allowed sr. LF Bob Callan to score, and in their haste to cut down Callan, the Hawks threw wildly and saw McGillian score from second for a 2-1 lead. The Prep scored an unearned run in the second inning on a groundout by Tiagwad. In the fifth inning, the Hawk actually grabbed a 3-2 lead with another unearned run, as Tiagwad came across on another passed ball (More on this later!). However, the lead would be short-lived, as the Friars plated three in their half of the fifth inning. Benedict led-off with a walk. After an out, he moved to second with a steal, and then third on another pass ball. McGillian followed with a walk and then stole second. Next, Kerins showed that his arm wasn’t the only clutch part of his game. With the infield in, he slapped a ball up the middle just out of the reach of a diving Edger to plate two runs for a 4-3 advantage. Later, the Hawks gift-wrapped a third run on an errant throw that would have been the final out. In the sixth inning, the Friars scored yet another unearned run to pad their lead to 6-3. All total, the game only featured seven hits by seven different players. Also, just four of the ten runs scored proved to be earned. The pitchers were definitely in control, but there might be another factor for the lack of thunder at the plate between the teams. Bonner has a new field at the school. There are many, many good things to like about it too. Beautiful infield, it’s no longer a bandbox and has a spacious outfield, nice dugouts, among other things. However, one problem that I noticed is how the sun shines directly in the eyes of the batters and catchers during the game. There were a total of six passed balls and wild pitches, and many more almost in those categories during the game. One has to think that the sun played a part. Not too mention the glare from cars parked beyond the fences and the masses of people that stand out there too. I’m not an expert on this type of thing, but I think it bears watching. With a pair of shades of course! Defensively, Benedict plays a strong shortstop. Not the biggest of kids, but he does a very good job of attacking the ball and has a stronger arm than you would think for his size. He handled four chances successfully. The best defensive play of the game was had by Haas, who used his 6’4” frame to snag a bunt attempt up against his dugout on the run. Very nice! The tough luck loser for the Hawks was jr. RHP Kyle Mullen. Not a big kid, but threw hard for size and pitched well in the middle innings. He ended up going five inning and allowing just three hits. Just two of the five runs he allowed were earned. He fanned five in his day’s work. Jr. RHP Kevin Gillen worked the sixth and allowed an unearned run. Bonner is now unbeaten in league play and this is probably a little surprising. However, as a club they do have qualities that help teams win consistently. Their pitching, with Kerins and an emerging jr. Ryan Haley, can be formidable. They’re not a team that is going to pound the ball all over the yard, but appear to play decent defense, run the bases well and aggressively, while make the most of their offensive opportunities. These are always good ingredients for a delicious outcome. We’ll see where things go from here…..

APRIL 14
CL BLUE
Neumann-Goretti 4, Carroll 3
     Has Catholic League baseball returned to South Philly? Wait! It never left, right? No, but over the past four seasons the Saints have experienced considerable struggles. And though there were marginal campaigns prior to that, postseason play hasn’t been achieved by the Saints, nee Pirates, in ten seasons. So, a revival of sorts has been overdue. Currently, only five league games have been played, but so far so good, in the newly instituted Red/Blue format. The friendlier enrollment-based set-up should be beneficial for the Saints, as they look to achieve a combination of confidence and momentum. However, it should be noted that N-G already possesses two wins against teams (K-K & Carroll) that have had their way with them over recent times while playing in the CL South. With the win today, the Saints sit at 4-1 and will be no worse than tied for the top spot through two-and-a-half weeks of play. Yes, a word of caution must be offered; as Manager Lou Spadaccini’s club is very young, therefore, experience and depth could pose hurdles along the way. On top of this, it is very early! Still, one can appreciate the energy and focus that Spadaccini and his staff are trying to impress upon their team. As long as commitment persists, then additional satisfaction can certainly be attained. Another reason quality moments may loom is the presence of super soph. LHP/1B Mark Donato. Already blessed with impressive physical skills, as well as what appears to be a strong understanding of the game, the budding star is equally adept at shining at the plate and on the mound. Today, it was the latter, as he kept the Patriots off balance all day. Amazingly, up until one out in the seventh, only two Carroll balls left the infield. Both were supplied by jr. 3B Neil Gilman on a pair of knocks. One of the hits came on a bad-hop single that rocketed over sr. SS Aggie Osano's head. All total, he threw 114 pitches in the complete game. Just two of the three runs he allowed were earned, as he was able to scatter six hits. He also fanned six and yielded just two walks. Despite the hefty pitch count, he appeared to be throwing just as well at the end as he was in the beginning of the game. I liked how mixed his pitches, and not once did I get a sense that he fell into a pattern. This kid should have all kinds of fun over the next two-plus seasons. As for the scoring in the game, the Saints jumped on top with one in the home first. Sr. CF Dan Behlau walked, stole second, and was moved to third on a groundout. Next, Donato grounded to short to bring Behlau across. Carroll tied it up in the third on a RBI-single by jr. CK Nick Szalejko. The Saints would take the lead for good in the fourth. Soph. 3B Al Baur led off with walk. This was followed by soph. 1B Michael Riverso getting plunked. Then, after a fly out, jr. DH Blaze Cedrone walked to load the bases. Spadaccini then summoned freshman Dom Riverso, younger brother of Michael, to pinch-hit. The moved paid off major dividends, as Riverso served a ball into right-center to plate two. Insurance was added in the fifth when M. Riverso ripped a double into right-center to score jr. CR Anthony Pfettcher (2 SB’s for jr. C Joey Armata, who walked twice). For the game, the Saints were just 2-for-13 with RISP. Both hits were courtesy of the Riverso brothers. Things did get a little hairy in the visiting seventh as the Pats kicked up a fuss. With one out, Gilman reached base for the third straight time with a walk. Next, soph. 1B Seamus Finnegan slashed a ball down the first base line for a double. Then, sr. DH/RHP Phil Dougherty stroked a two-run single to right to make it 4-3. However, further trouble was prevented when Donato got sr. PH Mike Wearz on a lazy fly down the right field line and Szalejko to end the game on a fielder’s choice. The Saints only collected four hits, but were the beneficiaries of six walks and a hit batter. As it turned out, all four runners who scored came via a walk or the hit batter. For Carroll, Szalejko reached base thrice from the leadoff spot. Finnegan scored two runs, while Dougherty collected two hits. In fact, the bottom of Carroll’s line-up supplied most of the juice, as the two thru five hitters went a collective 0-for-12. Ouch! If this wasn’t bad enough, twice Donato cut down base runners with pickoffs. Another time, a potential threat fizzled when a sacrifice bunt failed and the runner on first took off for second and was eventually eliminated in a rundown. Suffering the loss was sr. LHP Andrew Candelore. As noted, he issued far too many free passes, but he did battle for the most part and I appreciated his competitiveness. He lasted 5 1/3 and gave up just three hits. The defensive play of the day was supplied by sr. RF Jared Tuwalski, who ran down a deep drive by Donato and made a nice over-the-shoulder catch. The best defensive play made by a foot was provided by Carroll assistant coach Bob Fuhrmeister (Class of ’95), who took a wicked line drive off the cleat down in the third base coaching box. He quickly shook it off. This further proved that Skipper Fran Murphy knows exactly how to stay out of harm’s way. I spent most of the day over toward the Carroll bench and conversed with Fr. Ed Casey, a Carroll assistant and former coach of yours truly. Always good talking with Ed! He routinely has plenty of information to share and loves talking baseball. Today, he told me that Finnegan’s great-grandfather was Jimmie Dykes. Who? Well, Dykes spent 44 years in the major leagues as a player and manager. He was even hired by Connie Mack to manage the Philadelphia A’s in 1951. Fr. Casey mentioned to me that he thought he may have been involved in a trade as a manager too. After conducting a little Google search, I did find that he was once traded for another manager in 1961. Very interesting, I must say!

APRIL 2
CL RED
O’Hara 10, SJ Prep 4
  Well, it was off to Springfield this afternoon for my first diamond duty of the year, as the Lions hosted the Hawks in the league opener for both clubs. These teams are no strangers to one another; as former Southern Division combatants, but times have changed in the Catholic League, and now each compete in the big-school CL Red Division. The Hawks are the defending CL champs and return many quality parts. And though the final score is not shocking, it is at least somewhat of a surprise that the Lions won this comfortably. It should be mentioned that one of the Hawks’ star players is currently unavailable (needs to handle a school issue). Still, the Lions, who return just two holdovers from a playoff team last season, jumped on top early and never looked back. After spotting the Hawks a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, the Lions answered in-kind with a three-spot in the home half. Jr. 1B Tom Fiorelli and sr. OF Mike Baselice each clubbed opposite field doubles to plate the runs. In the next inning, the Lions were at it again in the crooked number department. This time the damage was four tallies, as the lead swelled to 7-1 in the early going. The first run of the frame was plated on a ground-out by sr. 2B Tom Coyle, son of first-year manager John Coyle. Next, Fiorelli (2 runs) lifted a ball straight up the chute that should have been the final out of the inning. Instead, the ball drifted back into fair territory and fell untouched to the ground. Amazingly, the ball had serious spin on it that had it traveling towards foul territory, but in the confusion of the play, a Hawk bent down and touched it making it a live ball. Consequently, another run crossed to make it 5-1. Next, more trouble followed, as Baselice followed with his second double in as many innings to score two more. Good job by eight and nine-hole hitters, jr. CF Justin McBride and jr. SS Sean Coogan for igniting the rally with back-to-back singles to begin the inning. The Hawks would close the gap to 7-3 in the third and then 8-4 in the sixth, but there would be no late-game heroics today. The Lions secured things with two additional runs in the home sixth; the big blow was a run-scoring double by sr. OF Sean Young. For the game, O’Hara recorded 13 hits by ten different players. Baselice notched three knocks in total. Jr. C Bill Pace (1B, W) scored two runs and stole a pair of bases. Coyle (HBP) ripped a double, while sr. 1B Rob Ostapowicz added a RBI-single off the bench. Garnering the win today was sr. LHP Joe Sessa, who pitched six solid inning. He was able to mix a decent fastball with above-average off-speed pitches to keep the Hawks off balance for the most part. Especially effective was a change-up that had good movement on it. He did surrender all four runs (3 earned) on 8 hits, but struck out seven during his time on the hill. If there was an unflattering moment for Sessa in the game it came at the plate. On a day when the Hawks had a ton of difficulty securing balls in the air, the senior lead-off hitter committed a big-time no-no when he failed to run out a pop-up behind third base. The ball ended up landing in fair ground, but Sessa was easily thrown out at first because he failed to run the play out. Just can’t happen! Just the other night, I was watching the Braves and Pirates. Trailing by two runs a Brave batter lifted a ball to leftfield in what appeared to be the final out of the game. Instead, it fell in between a pair of Pirate outfielders, and because Braves’ star Chipper Jones was running hard all the way, he was able to score form first to tie the game. The announcer followed the play with this comment, “What great hustle by Chipper, not taking anything for granted, all the coaches ask from you is to run your hardest four, five, or six times game.” Makes perfect sense to me! I’m sure this will be a learning lesson for the youngster, who has a chance to be one of the top hurlers in the league this season. Defensively, sr. RF Tom Moore stymied a Prep rally when he cut down a Hawk runner at the plate to end the fifth inning. Also, Young made a nice sliding grab in the sixth to prevent another Prep run. For the Hawks and skipper Chris Rupertus this was far from a thing of beauty. Mental errors, as well as the physical ones, plagued them all afternoon. Jr. RHP Kevin Gillen suffered the loss, and though he wasn’t sharp, his fate could have been much better. He worked the first four innings, while jr. LHP Bob Della Polla threw the last two. Officially, only three of the ten O’Hara runs went as unearned, but if a couple of plays were made, then a bunch more could have been avoided. Sr. SS Tim Edger (Rhode Island for FB) thumped a trio of doubles, scored two, knocked in two, and stole a base. Not normally a shortstop, the athletic Edger faired well for the most part. Sr. 2B Brett Tiagwad (St. Joe’s) scored a pair of runs. Sr. 1B Aaron Haas (1B, W) and sr. LF Pat Malloy (2-for-3, W) each knocked in a run. The Lions have a new field and I must say it looks pretty nice so far. Its location sits behind the lacrosse/soccer field, which was situated at the top-of-the-hill along the first base side of the old field. Home plate is behind the right-field fence of the old field. Not the friendliest of walks from the parking lot, but a little exercise never hurt anyone, right? The dimensions going from left-to-right are as follows: 315’-375’-370’-372’-301’. Along the third-base side sits a scoreboard that is kept manually with chalk. Interesting, but it serves its purpose. Prior to the game there was a short ceremony in which the field was blessed by O’Hara’s very own Father Flanagan. I watched the game with John “Lefty/J-Mac/Blade” McCauley. Many laughs were had!