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Yes, There's Ryan in Baseball Return to TedSilary.com Home Page There's no cryin' in baseball, but there IS Ryan and
he's here to cover the sport for the website . . . Ryan McCarthy is a
Plymouth-Whitemarsh grad with an interest in journalism and he'll be hitting the Catholic
League trail. |
MAY 28
CATHOLIC LEAGUE SEMIFINAL
Conwell-Egan 11, O'Hara 4
Conwell-Egan
defeated Cardinal O’Hara, 11-4, in the first of Saturday’s two Catholic League
semifinal matchups. The Screaming Eagles
consistently took advantage of their many opportunities, scoring runs in five of seven
innings.
Senior
pitcher Chris David, an All Catholic second-teamer, had a no-hitter
through five innings. Oddly enough, he was
taken out of the game in the sixth with the no-no still intact. Egan Head Coach Rich Papirio said after the game
that there were more important things to worry about than that.
“I
knew the whole game that he had the no-hitter,” he said. “All I wanted was outs, I could care less
about a no-hitter. We wanted to get the last
three outs so that we can move on to the first championship game in 22 years for this
school.”
Papirio also noted that
David at first wanted to stay in, but thought better of it.
“He’s one of those pitchers, and I like him for that, he’s
got the temperament, ‘Give me the ball, I want to be out there, don’t take it
away from me,’ ” said Papirio. “This
time when I went out (in the sixth) he said, ‘I’m tired coach.’” He had thrown 82 pitches on a hot day, and with
the team up 10-1 at the time there was no reason to leave him in.
David
was opposed by O’Hara’s intimidating lefthander, Josh Rickards,
a first-team All Catholic selection. Unfortunately,
he had a forgettable performance in the biggest game of the year. In 4.1 innings of work, Rickards surrendered seven
runs (three earned), five hits, and five walks. He
also committed an error on a bunt attempt, twice hit David with pitches, and balked home a
run.
Papirio
said his team was well prepared for Rickards, a player that when he is on, can shut a team
down. “I know that Josh Rickards is the
type of player that can stand you on your ear. We
talked about Rickards for the last three days of practice,” he said. “He likes to pitch away from the hitters. I didn’t want us to try to pull him, we did a
great job of taking the ball the other way.”
Rickards’
inconsistency combined with O’Hara’s formidable offense being unable to get it
going made for a long day for the Lions. Led
by Southern Division MVP Sean Barksdale, this usually potent lineup
managed only two hits all game and the second should have been an out.
They did, however, jump out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Leadoff
man Steve Cook reached on an error by third basemen Brian Herman,
and moved to second on a sacrifice by Brian Giacobetti. He stole third, and scored on a wild pitch to give
O’Hara a 1-0 lead. The lead didn’t
last long, though, as C-E scored twice in the top of the second to take a lead they would
never relinquish.
Senior co-captain Matt Burns
bunted and reached first. Greg Martoccio then sacrificed, but the ball
was bunted rather hard and Rickards had to field it while going a shade toward the back of
grass. There was no chance for Rickards to get him on the play, but he tried and threw the
ball away, allowing the runners to advance to second and third with no outs.
David
hit a grounder to first that scored Burns and advanced Martoccio to third. Rickards then balked him home with two outs and
nine-hole hitter Mike Verdeur at the plate, giving C-E the 2-1 lead.
The Eagles kept the pressure on in
the third, scoring three more times and taking a 5-1 lead.
Junior John Malloy started the inning with a one-out
infield single, and Joe Marziano walked.
Martoccio hit a two-out basehit to right scoring Malloy, and DH Ryan
Terry followed with a two-run double to the gap in right center. After hitting David with a pitch and walking Ryan
Donlen, Rickards retired Verdeur to end the inning and prevent any further
damage.
But
O’Hara couldn’t respond to Egan’s constant pressure. They never really threatened and were down 10-1 by
the bottom of the sixth inning. David walked
sophomore Pat Young to start the inning, and ran a 3-0 count to Tom
Connelly.
Papirio
says the third ball was when he knew David had to come out.
“That third ball was an indication that Chris just had lost his rhythm,”
he said. O’Hara got its first hit later
that inning off of Herman, an RBI single by Matt Catania that made the
score 10-2.
Egan
added another run in the top half of the seventh, and O’Hara scored twice in the
bottom half as sr. Jim Young sent a looper to right that went for a two-run triple after
Verdeur stumbled while coming in.
The
win sets up an all-Northern Division championship game, as the Eagles will face La Salle
in the final on Wednesday. The teams split
their two regular season matchups, with each team winning on its home field. Both finished 12-2, tied for the division lead,
with the Explorers earning the number one seed in the playoffs by way of a tiebreaker.
“We
shut them out the first game 1-0, they shut us out 3-0,” said Papirio regarding a
possible rematch in the championship game. “You
get us and La Salle together and it could be classic.”
GAME NOTES….I asked Zielinski on May
5, after he threw a two-hit, nine strikeout complete game against Ryan, whether he thought
he might throw back-to-back games in the playoffs. He
said simply, “I don’t know, we have to get there first.” Well, they’re there, and I’d be shocked
if the Co-MVP of the Northern Division doesn’t take the mound on short rest for the
championship game….Ryan Biernat, senior co-captain of Egan’s
football team, requested that I quote him. “Meat
(David) is the man,” he said. Who can
argue with that? If you toss five innings of
no-hit ball and knock in a run, despite getting hit by a pitch twice you must be the man….Several coaches have said to
me in not so many words that the South is a better division than the North. One said it was deeper, noting Carroll (South) was
a much better team than North Catholic (North) in a comparison of two teams that just
missed the playoffs. Fair enough. Another came right out and said the South was
better, and that it was tougher to make the playoffs from there because you have to face
tougher pitching and more quality opponents than you do in the North. Bonner Head Coach John Fleming,
after an April 25 victory over O’Hara, said, “Nothing on the North, but I wouldn’t
be surprised if we had the opportunity to play them (O’Hara) in the championship game
June 1.” None of them meant any
disrespect, of course, but here we are four days away from an all-North final. Good luck to both teams.
MAY 12
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Bonner 7, Kennedy-Kenrick 5
Monsignor
Bonner clinched second place in the Southern Division Thursday, defeating Kennedy-Kenrick
in a well-played game at Latshaw/McCarthy Field in Norristown. The game was tied 3-3 after six innings, but the
Friars scored four in the seventh and held on to win 7-5.
All seven runs, six of them earned,
came against Kenrick’s star RHP Josh Eidell. The Villanova signee struck out ten batters, and
looked unhittable through the first three innings. Bonner
stayed patient against him and managed two big innings in the fourth and seventh. Head Coach John Fleming was
modest about his team’s performance against a very tough pitcher.
“He has a good
fastball, good breaking stuff. We just
guessed right, and that’s what baseball’s about,” he said. The Friars hit two home runs off Eidell, both of
which came on curveballs. Fleming said he had
established the curve early in the game, which led the players to change their approach at
the plate. Normally a team that looks for the
fastball, they sat on the curve and took what he gave them.
Eidell was bested on the mound by the
tandem of senior starter Mike Fitzgerald and junior reliever Dan
Leicht. Fitzgerald matched him pitch
for pitch in the early innings, and Leicht pitched well late in earning the win. “Michael stepped up, he threw very well. He hasn’t been extended seven innings much
this year, so his pitch count got up in the 70’s and we thought that was
enough,” said Fleming. “Danny
Leicht, he’s stood up all year. He comes
in late in the game, wants the ball when the money’s on the line, and that’s the
kind of kid you want to have.”
Fleming, a former assistant under Frank
Allison at Cardinal O’Hara, is in his first season as head coach at Bonner. He says that before the year began there were
three goals he had for the team.
“Our first goal was get in the playoffs,
second goal was second place, third goal was first place,” he said. “Today we clinched two of the three goals,
clinching a playoff spot and second place.” Clinching
second also means that Bonner will have a bye, which Fleming says will go a long way in
helping get their ace, RHP Tom Moran, rested for the postseason.
In the top of the first inning, Bonner
scored to take a 1-0 lead. Kevin Ward
hit a short, two-out fly ball to right field that was dropped by rightfielder Tom
Mahoney. The big man was aggressive
and took second on the play when the ball rolled away from Mahoney. It paid off when the next batter, cleanup man Joe
McGilligan, blooped one into shallow right that brought him home.
The scored remained the same until the
fourth inning, when Bonner put two more on the board.
McGilligan drilled a solo homer over the fence in left-center that made it a
2-0 game. Third basemen Phil Leonard
then doubled and was eventually knocked in on a Tom Tarpey base hit,
giving the Friars a 3-0 lead.
K-K came right back with two runs of
their own in the bottom of the fourth. D.J.
Santoro and Lenny DelGrippo each singled to begin the inning. Eidell then helped his own cause by doubling to
the fence in right. The runners scored
easily, but Eidell was thrown out at third base on a great
relay throw by shortstop Brian Meagher.
The play killed the Wolverines' momentum and Fitzgerald got out of the
inning with no further damage.
In the bottom of the sixth, K-K would
tie the game at 3-3. DH Kevin
Lawrence walked, and shortstop Dennis Morgan hit a one-out
triple that scored him and tied the game. Leicht
got Rigg to ground out to short in the next at-bat, holding Morgan at third. He then retired Kevin Barnett to
preserve the tie.
In the seventh, Bonner blew the game
open. A fired up Friar bench were all on
their feet and cheering as Andrew Case, the nine-hole hitter, drew the
first walk of the game from Eidell. Leadoff
man Ryan Hunt was then intentionally walked to get to pinch-hitter Joe
Boyle.
Boyle ripped one into the gap in right center that centerfielder Mike
Dayton just missed making a spectacular
diving catch on. Dayton couldn’t hang on
as the ball went in and out of his glove. Case
and Hunt scored to make it a 5-3 game. The
next batter, Ward, put the game away with a two-run homerun to left that made the score
7-3.
Meagher gave K-K life in their half of
the seventh when he bobbled a sure double play ball, putting two men on with nobody out. The Wolverines did score two in the inning on RBI
singles by DelGrippo and Lawrence, but Leicht got Morgan swinging on a high fastball to
end the game.
GAME NOTES….A group of K-K fans were
sitting in the bleachers behind home plate, in an area they’ve affectionately dubbed
“The K-Zone.” As Eidell accumulated
his ten strikeouts, they were hanging K’s on the wall behind them….They also had
a series of good lines for the umpire. In the
bottom of the seventh, the umpire called a strike on a pitch that was way outside. “Yeah, dust off that outside corner,”
one of them yelled as the umpire tended to the plate later in the inning….Eidell has
a nasty hook, just like the guy in the other
dugout, Moran. Even though he got hit some,
it was still obvious how good his stuff is. Those
two and L aSalle junior Matt Zielinski are the best pitchers I’ve
seen this year….K-K third basemen Kevin Barnett made the best play I’ve seen
this year by far in the fifth inning. Hunt
ripped one down the line that he dove for, and while still on his knees, fired a laser to
first that beat him by a quarter-step. They
play drew a loud ovation from the crowd….Latshaw/McCarthy, also St. Joe’s
University’s home field, is the nicest I’ve seen so far this year. Wouldn’t it be nice for every team to have
such a well-maintained field, with dugouts, fences, a digital scoreboard, press box, etc. Some of the fields I’ve seen this year leave
something to be desired.
MAY 9
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Judge 7, North Catholic 3
Father Judge beat North Catholic Monday, 7-3,
in a game that essentially determined the postseason fate of each team. Judge came in 6-5, a game ahead of North for the
last of four playoff berths in the Northern Division.
A win for the Falcons would have tied the team’s records at 6-6, but
the loss now puts them two games back with only two to play.
Junior LHP Justin
DeCristofaro had a big day for the Crusaders, going 2-3 at the plate with three
RBI. He also threw six innings, allowing
only one earned run on six hits, striking out three while walking two. North made good contact on him early, but
DeCristofaro settled in nicely and had a solid outing in a very important game.
Judge
played an opportunistic game, using timely hitting to make North pay for their mistakes. RHP Sean Murphy was not very sharp, and his
defense made costly errors behind him. He
would leave the game after the Crusaders scored six runs, all unearned, in the third inning.
The Falcons
still have a chance, albeit a slim one, of making the postseason. Several things will have to go their way in order
to make it happen. Judge Head Coach Joe
McDermott realizes the possibility still exists, and emphasized they can’t
be too excited about the two-game lead in the standings.
“We’ve
just got to get Wood (their next opponent),” said McDermott. “North could go out and win two and we wind
up playing them again someplace. I
don’t want that to happen, that’s why we’ve just got to go out and win them
one at a time.”
In the top
of the first, the North bench was very vocal in rooting on their teammates at the plate. So vocal, in fact, that the umpire called time
and told the coaches the players must keep it down. It
was obvious they were ready to play, and they came out swinging the bat well.
Leadoff man Chris
Wenger and Tim Wallace both singled to begin the game. An infield hit by Brett Bryan
scored Wenger and gave North the quick 1-0 lead. Cleanup
man Mike Constantine then walked to load the bases with no outs.
North had a chance to build a
comfortable lead for Murphy before he took the mound, but failed to do so. Sophomore Derrek Etsell
lined out to shortstop Rich Burger, who doubled off Wallace at third. The next batter, Chris Bonecourse,
also lined out to Burger to end the inning.
Judge tied the game at one in the
second inning when DeCristofaro tripled to deep left-center scoring DH Chris
Schwartz, who was recently brought up to Varsity after playing well for JV.
In the top of the third, North came right back
to take a 2-1 lead. Wallace tripled to start
the inning, and third basemen Dan Higgins misplayed a Bryan grounder,
allowing him to score.
But their lead would not last long. In the bottom half of the third, Judge put
together the six-run rally that North would never recover from. The Crusaders had two outs with only one runner on
base, but three errors kept the inning alive.
Higgins reached on an error by Wenger to
start the inning. After Phil Gushue
struck out and Matt Compton grounded out to Murphy, cleanup man Jason
D’Ambrosio singled to score Higgins and tie the game at 2-2.
Murphy then hit Schwartz with a pitch
and walked Joe VanBuskirk to load the bases with one out. The next batter, senior Jerry Gaul,
hit an infield single that scored D’Ambrosio and made it a 3-2 game. Gaul was followed by DeCristofaro, who hit a
basehit up the middle that cleared the bases
after centerfielder George Fenton let the ball go under his legs. That gave Judge a 6-2 lead, and catcher
Joe Thompson hit a RBI single to make it 7-2.
DeCristofaro seemed to settle in well
after a big cushion, which he helped create, was in place.
North didn’t threaten in the fourth or fifth innings. They did score an unearned run in the sixth when
Wenger singled home Murphy to make it a 7-3 game. Compton
came in to finish the job in the seventh.
GAME NOTES….Coach McDermott may have
downplayed the significance of the game, but it certainly wasn’t lost on North. As the players ran off the field when the side was
retired in the fifth, Wenger said, “We’ve got two at bats left in our season. Six outs is a lot.” Unfortunately for them, six outs weren’t
enough to pull this one out….The several things I mentioned that North needs to go
their way: 1. They must win against La Salle and Wood to end the regular season, and
finish 7-7 2. They need for Judge and Ryan to
lose Thursday, making them both 7-6 3. Judge and Ryan play Monday in the season finale. The loser of that game would be 7-7, tied with
North for the last playoff spot. And because
it is a tie for the last playoff spot, a play-in
game would result. A tie for any spot higher
than fourth would be resolved by way of tiebreakers….Also, if only Judge or only Ryan
loses Thursday, they would need that same team to lose their head-to-head game (confusing
right!)….North Catholic junior Jim Quinn is the Falcons' answer to
La Salle’s Joe Winning. Before
the game even started he was chirping away at his teammates, and he continued on right
through most of the game. I love kids like
that. They’re entertaining and they keep the team upbeat….Lost in the shuffle
was North senior Greg Shaffer, who relieved Murphy after the third
inning. He pitched well, allowing no runs on
two hits, with two walks and two strikeouts in his three innings of work….Ten runs
were scored in this game. The only one that
was earned came in the top of the first inning.
MAY 5
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
La Salle 4, Ryan 0
La Salle
won its ninth straight Catholic League game Thursday over Archbishop Ryan, 4-0, behind yet
another solid outing from junior lefthander Matt Zielinski.
Zielinski was virtually unhittable,
striking out nine while allowing only two hits and two walks. Two Ryan batters reached scoring position, one of
them by way of La Salle’s only error of the game.
The
complete game shutout improved Zielinski to 4-0 in the Catholic League, and lowered his
ERA to an astounding 0.39. He had one
no-decision at Conwell-Egan early in the season, a game in which he threw eight scoreless innings. The Explorers lost that game 1-0 in the ninth,
their only loss in league play this year.
La
Salle head coach Joe Parisi said the performance was a “typical Matt
Zielinski-pitched game,” meaning a low pitch count, balls thrown for strikes, and a
lot of opposite field flyouts because hitters can’t get around on him. He also noted that before the season began, he had
no idea how good Zielinski or the defense around him was going to be.
“I
knew Matt was good, but I’m not smart enough to realize that he’s going to give
up two earned runs in 36 innings,” said Parisi.
“Part of it is I don’t know that I’m going to have Tommy
Lyons playing a flawless second base, Mike Villari who catches
anything hit to centerfield, Bill Warrender catching everything in right
field. Our defense in really good, we
don’t allow a whole lot of balls to fall in.”
Zielinski
also expressed the total confidence he has in his defense when he’s on the mound. He repeatedly said that if he did his job and put
the ball in play, his defense would make the plays behind him. It appears the Explorers have bought into playing
a solid team game, being unselfish, and doing the little things it takes to help the team
win.
An example
of that came in the bottom of the second inning, when La Salle scored to take a 1-0 lead. Will Phillips started the inning
with a walk. Bill Warrender then executed a
hit and run to perfection with a base hit to right field, moving Phillips to third with
one out. A huge hole was created for
Warrender when Ryan second baseman Chris Dolan moved to cover the bag
after Phillips took off before the pitch.
“We
spent 45 minutes in practice on Tuesday just on hit and runs,” Parisi said. “The guys have totally bought into what
we’re trying to do here. You see the
guys hitting the ball the opposite way, you see them hitting it hard up the middle,
that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Later in
the inning, Sean Saverio hit a one-out sacrifice fly that gave La Salle
the lead. Villari hit a sharp liner that
centerfielder Kyle Unger made a beautiful sliding catch on, saving at
least one run and ending the inning.
La Salle
would keep the pressure on, scoring two more runs in the bottom of the third. Steve Ullrich reached on an error
by shortstop Anthony Carter. Cleanup
man Mike Pennington doubled down the right field line to score Ullrich
and make it a 2-0 game.
Pennington
eventually scored on a Phillips sacrifice fly that gave LaSalle a comfortable 3-0 lead. They would score one more run in the bottom of the
sixth when Lyons doubled to score Saverio.
In reality,
though, one run was all they would need. Zielinski
struck out the side in the fourth, and finished the game by retiring the side in order in
the sixth and seventh inning.
La Salle is now 10-1 in the Northern
Division, and on a roll heading into the end of the regular season. But Zielinski says that his coach won’t let
the team be complacent. “He keeps
saying, ‘Think about the next game as our last. Play it as hard as you can. Focus on
only the next game and nothing beyond that.’ ”
That’s the attitude he wants them
to have, and there’s a good chance it could carry them far into the postseason.
GAME NOTES….Zielinski reminds me a lot
of Monsignor Bonner righthander Tom Moran. Both of these guys want to win badly, and not for
themselves—for their team. Asked how he
felt about his two-hit shutout, Zielinski said, “It’s a good win, we’ve got
to win every game now. Next one’s Wood
and we’ve got to get that one because we want to win out.” It takes a lot of maturity for someone his age to
put team success before anything else, and he does that….Also, he and Moran have much
the same demeanor on the mound. In his Daily
News piece on him, Ted mentioned the fact that Tom never smiles during a
game. Parisi said exactly the same thing
about Zielinski. “I tried to get him to
smile at one point, it’s almost like trying to get a hit against him,” he said. Wouldn’t it be nice to see a Zielinski vs.
Moran matchup at some point come playoff time?....Parisi loved the fact that the team had
executed two hit and runs to perfection. But
in the fourth they tried one that didn’t go so smoothly. Pennington failed to swing at a pitch out of the
zone, resulting in Lyons being easily thrown out at second to end the inning. At the time he was quite perturbed, but after the
game he quipped, “I might have questioned his mental perspicacity, I
think.”….Seniors Nick DiEnno and Anthony Carter got the only
two hits of the game off Zielinski. Oddly
enough, they also drew the only two walks he issued.
The rest of the lineup was a combined 0-20, with one batter reaching on an error.
APRIL 28
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
O'Hara 16, Roman 10
Cardinal
O’Hara won a slugfest against Roman Catholic Thursday, in a battle between two of the
three teams tied for first place atop the Southern Division. The score was tied 8-8 heading into the seventh
inning, but O’Hara exploded for eight runs and blew the game open. Roman scored two more in their last at-bat,
eventually losing 16-10.
Believe
it or not, though, the story of this game was not offense.
It was pitching. More specifically, the pitching of O’Hara
lefthander Josh Rickards, who only three days ago dislocated his right
shoulder while at bat against Monsignor Bonner. Assistant
Coach John Coyle said Rickards was cleared to play after a visit to the
hospital revealed no tears in the shoulder. He
assured his coaches in the third inning he was ready to pitch if need be.
When O’Hara scored four runs in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game
back up at 8-8, he came in to try and slow down the Cahillite’s offense. Rickards was dominant despite his injury,
recording eight of nine outs by strikeout in his three innings of work.
“He was throwing hard today because he wanted to prove something,” said
Coyle. “He wanted to prove that he
wasn’t going to sit out.”
Each team got off to a quick start offensively, and neither team allowed the other
to maintain a lead. O’Hara scored three
runs in the top of the first, and Roman responded with three runs of their own thanks to
home runs by pitcher Tim Hoban and cleanup man Bob Spinks.
Hoban would single home another run in the bottom of the second to give Roman the
4-3 lead. The Lions fired right back in the
top of the third when cleanup man Sean Barksdale singled home Brian
Giacobetti to tie the game again at 4-4.
Senior
first basemen Nick DeMalto started Roman’s half of the third inning
with a deep home run to left-center, making it a 5-4 game.
Later in the inning, leadoff man Carmen Delmastro singled
home Matt Bennett and Mike Mychak to give Roman a 7-4
lead. They would add another run in the
fourth inning when Spinks hit his second home run of the game over the centerfield fence.
The
game stayed true to form as O’Hara quickly erased Roman’s lead in the top of the
fifth inning. Leadoff man Steve Cook
walked with one out and Giacobetti reached on an error by Delmastro that opened the door
for a big inning.
Barksdale
doubled to score Cook and Giacobetti in the next at bat, and he was quickly knocked in
when DH Marco Menna tripled to right.
Matt Catania laid down a beautiful bunt along the first
base line that scored Menna, tying the game at 8-8.
Several chants of “it’s a
new ball game” could be heard from the O’Hara bench after the tying run was
scored. Indeed it was a new game, and things
would only get worse for Roman as Rickards entered the game and shut the door on them.
In the top of the sixth inning,
O’Hara came out aggressive on the basepaths as they tried to get the go ahead run on
the board. Rob Crowley
reached base on an error by Bennett to start the inning.
With Pat Young at bat, Crowley’s pinch-runner, Mark
Concannon, took off for second base but was thrown out by catcher Brian
Cooper.
Young would walk to bring up
nine-hole hitter Tom Connelly. With
one out and a two-strike count on Connelly, an apparent hit and run attempt backfired when
Connelly struck out and Cooper threw out Young stealing second to end the inning. Roman’s bench and crowd were fired up, and
Cooper was yelling and pointing at the O’Hara bench as his teammates mobbed him at
home plate.
The emotion didn’t create any
momentum, however, as Rickards quickly struck out the side in the bottom of the sixth. The second of those strikeouts was Cooper, who was
taunted by the O’Hara bench as he left the batter’s box. And just for a little added drama, it was Cooper
who relieved Hoban on the mound for the seventh inning.
You had to believe O’Hara wanted
to make him pay for his antics in the sixth inning, and they wasted little time doing so. After a walk to Cook to start the inning,
Barksdale crushed one over the fence in centerfield.
Menna followed with another home run in the next at bat to make the score
11-8. Cooper gave up two more hits before
being replaced by sophomore Dave Deodato, who fared no better.
RBI hits by Crowley, Young, Cook, and
Giacobetti made the score 16-8, and put the game out of reach. Rickards did give up two runs in the bottom of
the seventh on a Dominique Joseph homer, but struck out the next three
batters to end the game.
O’Hara is now in a tie for first
place with Bonner at 7-2 in the South. Roman,
6-3, is in a tie with Kennedy-Kenrick for the final two playoff spots after KK won both
ends of their doubleheader with West.
GAME
NOTES….It was cold and rainy when the game started, but the weather finally
cleared up nicely about halfway through the game….Many thanks to Roman’s young
scorekeeper, who helped me to fill in the blanks from the first inning, which I missed. Ted and I had a mix up and both
ended up at LaSalle, so I rushed down to catch this game but missed the whole first
inning….Apparently, O’Hara doesn’t have any extra pants for shortstop Matt
Catania. I noticed the tear in his pant leg
against Bonner and he had the same tear Thursday at Roman.
I say stick with it, it adds character to the uniform….Bob Spinks’ father
will be happy to know that I mentioned the two home runs his son hit, as he reminded me
several times to do so. He is definitely his
son’s biggest fan, something you always love to see….Same goes for Dominique
Joseph’s father, who congratulated his son not for the homer he just hit in the
seventh inning, but for not giving up and continuing to fight….Coyle said his team
needed a game like this because they haven’t been hitting. Good luck to anyone trying to beat O’Hara if
their offense is clicking and Rickards is
throwing lights out.
APRIL 25
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Bonner 6, O'Hara 2
It
was a beautiful day for a baseball game. Temperatures
were in the high 40’s with a stiff, cold wind and no sunshine for most of the day. Apparently, the conditions didn’t bother
Monsignor Bonner’s star RHP Tom Moran, who threw a complete game as
his team defeated Cardinal O’Hara 5-3 Monday. The
win pulled Bonner even with O’Hara at 6-2 in the Southern Division, creating a
three-way tie for first place with Roman.
Moran allowed three runs on five hits, with three walks (one intentional), while
striking out five. He also helped himself out
at the plate going 2-3 with two singles and two RBI.
It was a gutsy performance in a huge game, and he did it on only three days rest.
Moran
threw six innings in last Thursday’s blowout win over Carroll, and Head Coach John
Fleming wanted to throw him again Monday so that come playoff time he knows he is
capable of going on short rest. Fleming
praised his toughness, saying that Moran’s “not a big rah-rah guy,” but
that he leads by example.
“He’s
the best competitive pitcher,” said Fleming. “He just has something about him on
the mound that he’s going to find a way to get you out. In the sixth inning I asked him how he is, he
says, ‘You’re not taking me out.’ There
was nothing you were doing to get him out of that game today, and that’s what a
leader’s about.”
The game had promised to be a great pitching duel, with O’Hara’s ace
lefthander Josh Rickards opposing Moran on the mound. But Rickards, who Fleming said looked unhittable
in the first inning, dislocated his right shoulder swinging at a pitch in the bottom of
the second inning. He did come back out to
pitch the third, but lost command of his pitches and gave up two runs before being taken
out of the game.
Bonner
scored in the second inning on a Tom Tarpey single that scored Joe
McGilligan, and took a 1-0 lead into the top of the third. Obviously bothered by the injury, Rickards hit
nine-hole hitter Andrew Case with a pitch to start the inning. He then
made an error on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Ryan Hunt, putting men on
first and second with no one out.
After
a Steve DeBarberie sacrifice advanced Case and Hunt, Kevin Ward
knocked them both in with a single to right that gave Bonner a 3-0 lead. Rickards walked one more batter before being
replaced by Harry Duke. Later
in the inning, Moran delivered a two-out RBI single to give himself a 4-0 cushion.
O’Hara
got one run back in the fourth on a homerun by cleanup man Sean Barksdale
that barely cleared the fence in right center. In
the fifth inning, down 5-1, they had a chance to get back in the game as Moran looked
unsettled on the mound.
He
walked nine-hole hitter Mark Grant to start the inning, and leadoff man Steve
Cook promptly crushed one over the fence in right to make it a 5-3 game. Matt Catania then walked and took
second on a wild pitch. A tired Moran could
easily have buckled and let inning get out of hand, but he didn’t do that.
Instead
he showed the toughness and competitiveness his coach described in getting himself out of
the inning. Moran got Brian
Giacobetti to ground out, and then intentionally walked Barksdale to bring up DH Marco
Menna. The move paid off when Moran
got Menna to ground into a 1-6-3 double play that ended the inning and the rally.
O’Hara didn’t seem to stand a chance after that. A rejuvenated Moran retired the Lions in order in
the sixth. In the seventh he gave up a
one-out single before retiring the next two batters to end the game and secure Bonner
their share of first place in the South.
GAME NOTES….Up next for Bonner is 1-7
Neumann-Goretti on Thursday. Assuming they
take care of business, they will remain in a tie for first place with the winner of
O’Hara-Roman at Boyce field….After the game, Fleming predicted that his team may
meet up with O’Hara one more time this season. “That’s
a good baseball team over there. Nothing on
the North (Northern Division),” he said, “but I wouldn’t be surprised if we
had the opportunity to play them in the championship game June 1. And that’ll be a great baseball game if we
get that opportunity. They would look forward
to it, I know we’ll look forward to it.”….It was nice to finally get the
opportunity to meet Huck and Ted at the game. I’ve had a great time covering the games so
far and I look forward to the rest of the season.
APRIL 21
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Judge 6, Ryan 4
Father
Judge junior Matt Compton had a huge game at the plate and on the mound,
leading his team to a 6-4 win over Archbishop Ryan Thursday. Compton went 3-3 at the plate with a triple, two
doubles, and four RBI. He also threw 4.2
innings, striking out four and giving up five hits. His
three walks all came in the fifth inning as he began to tire.
Judge
Head Coach Joe McDermott said Compton did more than expected in his first
start since being injured. “Every time
out Compton’s pitched good, but this is his first time out in awhile because he hurt
his tailbone,” he said. “He was
obviously getting tired, you could see it when he was getting up. He came in and other than the walks he did a good
job.” McDermott also added that
Compton’s performance was much needed because he has had to take things “game to
game” with his pitching staff.
On the other hand, Ryan Head Coach Ron Gerhart said his team came
out flat and never recovered, losing a chance to better their playoff positioning. “We came out dead, couldn’t get moving
at all. We just waited till the very end and
couldn’t get a key hit when we needed it,” he said of his team’s effort. “I don’t know how you do that when
you’re playing Judge and you could be two games up on them and in a nice spot for the
playoffs. Now you’re talking about
fighting for a playoff with the Norths (North Catholic), the Woods (Archbishop Wood), and
all the rest of those guys.” The win
would have been a big one for Ryan at the halfway point in the Catholic League regular
season.
In
the top of the first, Judge took a 1-0 lead when Compton tripled to knock in shortstop Jeff
McMahon. McMahon also had a nice day
at the plate, going 2-3 with two singles and a walk.
Joe McGillen, a long-time area scout with the Major League
Scouting Bureau, noted that run may be the only one Compton would need to win the game. McGillen says that he was there to watch “no
one in particular, everyone in general,” but he seemed impressed by Compton and you
get the feeling he may have been there to watch him more so than any other players.
In
the top of the third, McMahon and Compton would again team up to produce a run and give
Judge a 2-0 lead. With two outs and nobody
on, McMahon hit a base hit up the middle. Compton
then came up and crushed a ball to the fence down the left field line, easily scoring
McMahon for his second RBI.
After
failing to get anything started in the bottom of the third, a frustrated Ryan team let the
game slip away in the fourth. After two quick
groundouts to begin the inning, consecutive errors by shortstop Anthony Carter
and first baseman Rob Fisher allowed Jerry Gaul and Joe
Thompson to reach base. Pitcher Nick
Klein then walked nine-hole hitter Dan Bucher to load the bases.
Ryan needed to shut the inning down while it was still only a 2-0 game, but
couldn’t make a play. Consecutive
singles up the middle by leadoff man Dan Higgins and McMahon scored Gaul
and Thompson, giving Judge a 4-0 lead. With
the bases still loaded, Compton came to bat with a chance to blow the game open. He did just that with a two-run double down the
left field line off third baseman Ed Kovacs’ glove, scoring Bucher
and Higgins to give Judge a comfortable 6-0 lead.
After
retiring Ryan in order in the fourth, Compton got tired and started missing the strike
zone in the fifth. He walked Klein to start
the inning, and second basemen Chris Dolan laid down a nice bunt for a
base hit. Nine-hole hitter Steve
Covely reached on an error by Bucher at second that scored Klein.
Compton
responded nicely by striking out the next two batters, but then walked Nick DiEnno
to reload the bases, and walked Fisher to force Dolan home and make it a 6-2 game. Coach McDermott had seen enough, and relieved an
exhausted Compton with LHP Justin DeCrristofaro.
DeCristofaro walked the first batter he faced to force home another run and make it 6-3. It looked like Judge’s lead was crumbling
after three straight walks forced home two runs, but leftfielder Anthony Turco
struck out swinging at a curveball to end the rally.
In
the bottom of the seventh, Ryan had two men on and two out when Carter hit a fly ball down
the right field line that dropped in for a hit and scored Kovacs to make it 6-4. Turco had another chance to come through with men
on second and third, but flew out to left to end the game.
Both
teams are now 4-3 in the Northern Division, tied for third place and the last two playoff
positions behind Conwell-Egan and LaSalle.
GAME NOTES…. In addition to McGillen,
a scout for the Toronto Blue Jays was in the crowd.
He didn’t say who he was there to watch either, but it seemed obvious
who stood out….Both teams had issues with umpire Joe Lieberman. Before the game started, Lieberman banned two of
Ryan’s bats from being used because they were dented.
An argument ensued between him and the Ryan bench, but ultimately his
decision stood. Coach Gerhart said the ruling
was ridiculous and noted that if a new bat had to be bought every time one got a dent,
“the Catholic League would be broke…I think we’re halfway there
already.”….Gerhart also got upset when the umpires made Turco take off a chain
with a cross that he was wearing. “This
is the Catholic League. You can’t wear a cross?” he asked
sarcastically….The Judge bench took issue with Lieberman when he threw Steve
Carr out of the game for an illegal slide in the seventh inning. Carr took out the second basemen while being
forced out, and Lieberman ruled he slid outside the basepath.
APRIL 18
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
La Salle 2, North Catholic 1
Controversy
erupted in the last inning of Monday’s Northern Division game between La Salle and
North Catholic at Piccoli Playground, a very
entertaining contest that La Salle won 2-1.
With two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the seventh inning, the Explorers'
Will Phillips hit a blooper into shallow center that dropped in for a
hit. Junior Jeff Liberatore
scored, and senior cleanup man Zac Hess was waved around to try and score
the go-ahead run.
The
throw to home was there in time but a bit wide. North
Catholic catcher Mike Constantine caught the ball and waved his arm
around to tag Hess out as he was crossing home. Hess
was called safe and the North bench and fans erupted in protest.
When
the top of the seventh ended, North Head Coach Gene Bryan was in the
umpire’s ear about the call until his team came to bat. The Falcons had one last chance but failed to
score and the game ended 2-1. Naturally,
both coaches felt differently about the call that ultimately decided the game.
“To
be perfectly blunt, if he would have called him out I might’ve gotten tossed,” said LaSalle Head Coach Joe Parisi. “From my angle I could see Zac’s (Hess)
back and the glove, so if he hit him, he hit him in the back. If he hit him in the back Zac probably got to the
plate.” Parisi added that his assistant
coaches told him the tag had been missed, and when he asked whether it was a lucky call or
a good call, they told him it was a good call.
“You’re
out of position a little bit, you know, what are you going to do?” said a frustrated
Bryan regarding the umpire’s view of the play. “It’s
their call, that’s the bottom line.”
Parisi
wasn’t thrilled about the approach his hitters were taking against Sean
Murphy, but he was proud of the way they pulled the game out when it mattered
against a tough pitcher. La Salle needed the
win to stay in a tie for first place with Conwell-Egan, who defeated Ryan 6-4 Monday.
“We
did what we had to do to win a game, and hopefully that’s what our mentality
is,” he said. “We wanted to leave
here tied for first place, and it wasn’t pretty but we got it done.”
There wasn’t much offense in the game through the first three innings as
Murphy and Matt Zielinski took turns mowing down opposing batters. It was baseball the way its purist fans love to
see it played; fast-paced, low scoring, and with great pitching.
North
would finally break the scoreless tie in the bottom half of the fourth inning. Shortstop Tim Wallace walked to
begin the inning, and cleanup man George Fenton hit a single up the
middle to put men on first and second with one out. Zielinski
made a huge play to pick off Wallace trying to steal third with five-hole hitter Brett
Bryan at the plate, leaving only Fenton on first with two outs.
The
pickoff’s significance was magnified when Bryan drilled a triple to the fence in
left-center, easily scoring Fenton from first and giving North a 1-0 lead. Derek Estell grounded out to end the inning in the
next at bat.
In the top of the sixth, LaSalle had its first real opportunity to create some
offense. The Explorers had men on first and
second with one out after Tom Lyons was hit by a pitch and leadoff man Mike
Villari singled up the middle. Leftfielder
Steve Ulrich then hit a double play ball to short that
was misplayed by Derrek Etsell on the relay to first. The ball rolled behind the bag and Lyons tried to
score the tying run from second, only to be gunned out at home by Etsell on a nice
recovery to end the inning.
In
the top of the seventh, LaSalle had the middle of its lineup coming to bat to try and keep
the game alive. Three-hole hitter Mike
Pennington reached base on an error to start the inning. Pennington was injured on the play and Liberatore
pinch-ran for him.
Hess
then walked to put men at first and second. After
a sacrifice by Bill Warrender moved the runners up to second and third, Sean
Saverio was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out. DH Nick Manzi hit a hard line
drive to second and Saverio was almost doubled off at first to end the game.
With
two outs and the game on the line, Phillips stepped to the plate. He came through in a big way for the Explorers
when he hit the blooper to center that scored the tying and eventual winning runs. It was only LaSalle’s second hit of the game,
and their first since the first inning.
“He
went up there swinging, which I give him a lot of credit for,” said Parisi of
Phillips. “That’s a tough position
for a kid playing his first varsity season to be in, and he was aggressive. I could see in his eyes he was going to have a
good at-bat.”
The
win moved LaSalle to 5-1 in the Northern Division, tied with Egan for first place. North Catholic fell to 2-4.
GAME NOTES….After his injury,
Pennington was eager to get back in the game and play third for the bottom of the seventh,
shouting “This is a big game” several times as he tried to take the field. Coach Parisi sat him down though, wanting him to
keep stretching in case he needed him to bat….Senior pitcher Joe Winning
was very vocal from the LaSalle bench all game
as he urged his team on. After the top of the
fifth ended on two consecutive strikeouts by Murphy he screamed, “We’re not
getting shut out by this kid. We need one run!”….The call at home plate was a
difficult one for the home plate umpire to make. He
did seem out of position to see the tag the way it was made. Also, both benches complained several times during
the game about his strike zone….After the game ended, a North player shouted several
times, “Thanks for losing the game for us, blue." A spectator also walked right
up to the umpire and said, “Congratulations on blowing the game for us.” It was unacceptable behavior, especially by the
North fan. The umpire may have had a rough
day, and he had to make a tough call to decide a close game, but there is never any excuse
for someone to behave the way that fan did.
APRIL 11
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
SJ PREP 14, O'HARA 3
St.
Joe’s Prep came out swinging, and connecting, against Cardinal O’Hara’s
star lefthander Josh Rickards in the first inning of this Southern
Division showdown.
The
Prep scored three runs in the top half of the first and never looked back as they went on
to crush the defending division champions in what was every bit a lopsided game. Junior RHP Matt Leddy tossed a
solid four-hitter with eight strikeouts, but did walk five batters.
O’Hara rarely threatened to score on Leddy all game. Their first real opportunity came in the fifth
inning after two consecutive walks loaded the bases with one out in a 6-0 game. Leddy responded by striking out the next two
batters and ending O’Hara’s only chance to get back in the game.
Prep head coach Chris Rupertus says he never would have expected
this result against a tough opponent. “We
come in and we know that we are going to compete with them, but you never expect anything
like this,” he said. “It was a
combination of circumstances that helped us out early, primarily we were aggressive at the
plate.”
Rupertus told his kids to be looking to swing early in the count against Rickards,
who he says throws hard and is around the strike zone.
“You know early in the count you better go up there swinging or else he’s
going to make you look foolish late in the count on curve balls,” he said of
Rickards. “So we told our guys,
'Don’t get backed up in the count. It might not be your strike, but if it’s a
fastball strike you’ve got to swing.’ We
did, and we connected, and next thing you know we jumped out to a big lead.”
And
jump out to a lead they did. In the top of
the first, Rickards did not help himself when he walked leadoff man Tom Elliott
and Jim Bogan to start the game. Then
junior third basemen Matt Tiagwad, Prep’s best hitter, drilled a
ball over the fence in right center to give them a 3-0 lead before there was even an out.
In
the top of the third, Prep would get on the board again twice, ending Rickards day early. Tiagwad walked to start the inning, and senior
cleanup man Brian Veit singled to left.
Then junior Nelson Russom hit an opposite field ground rule
double down the right field line, scoring Tiagwad.
After
Leddy struck out, senior Steve Vassalotti hit a hard line drive that went
off the glove of O’Hara third basemen Brian Giacobetti,
scoring Veit and giving Prep a 5-0 lead. Senior
catcher Pat McKeever hit another hard line drive at Giacobetti, who made
a nice play and doubled Russom off at second to end the inning and keep the game from
being blown open.
It
was 6-0 in the bottom of the fifth when O’Hara mounted their only real threat of the
game. First basemen Jonathan Szeliga
singled to left. Leddy then walked Rickards
and left-fielder Harry Duke to load the bases with one out. O’Hara needed something big to happen to get
back in the game, but Leddy squashed the rally by striking out catcher Mark Grant
and shortstop Matt Catania in succession.
O’Hara’s
inability to make anything of their first real opportunity to score in the game seemed to
deflate them, and in the sixth inning they gave up another three runs that put the game
out of reach. The runs came on a Veit home
run to right center which followed a single by Bogan, and Tiagwad being hit by a pitch
from Rich Varrasse. Prep
would add five more runs in the seventh, making the score 14-0.
O’Hara scored their three runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh,
when Giacobetti hit a fly ball to center with the bases loaded. The ball was lost in the sun and misplayed,
allowing the bases to clear easily with everyone moving on the pitch. Leddy struck out the next batter, Jim
Young, to end the game. Both teams
are now 3-1 in Catholic League play.
GAME
NOTES . . . Leddy
was visibly upset on the bench after the game ended, but who wouldn’t be after just
losing a shutout with two down in the seventh? . . . The weather turned as ugly as the
game did for O’Hara in around the middle of the fourth inning. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped
what felt like 20 degrees, prompting some fans to break out the blankets they had brought
just in case (good thinking)…There were around 200 or so fans at the game, a nice
crowd. There were maybe 40 or 50 at the
Bonner-Roman game….Speaking of Bonner, assistant coach Bill Ford was
at the game scouting Prep for their game Thursday 4/15.
He said the Prep looked nice, and he was impressed by how hard they hit
Rickards.
APRIL 7
CATHOLIC SOUTH
BONNER 7, ROMAN 1
Monsignor Bonner defeated Roman 7-1 Thursday at John Boyce
field in Roxborough behind a stellar performance on the mound by RHP Tom Moran.
Moran was opposed by RHP Tim Hoban, who threw well but walked seven batters and was
the victim of a poor showing by his defense.
Moran threw a complete game two-hitter, striking out six and walking only one over
seven innings. Roman had trouble making contact with Moran’s nasty curveball all
game, with leadoff man Carmen Delmastro getting their only two hits.
It was an especially good showing considering Widener assistant coach Jack
Vandegrift was behind home plate with a radar gun all game scouting Moran. He
struggled at the plate, going 0-5 and striking out four times. But Vandegrift attributes
that more to nerves than anything else and said Moran did a great job, consistently
throwing the fastball at 83 mph and the curve at 68-70 mph.
"He was around the plate all day," said Vandegrift. "Good control, good
velocity, good movement on his pitches, good breaking ball. He had a good game."
Bonner head coach John Fleming also had high praise for his hurler and was
proud of the way his team played. "Tom pitched awesome, he carries the torch for us
every game. We expect to win when he pitches," said Fleming of Moran. "The
curveball he throws might be one of the best in the area, and defensively he fields his
position pretty well."
Fleming felt the team turned the corner and are ready to start playing good
baseball. "This was our best game, we competed and matched their intensity.
That’s the key," Fleming said. "Every time you go out you’ve got to
match the other team’s intensity and we haven’t been doing that up to this
point. Today I think we grew up, so we’re looking for a good successful run
now."
Bonner had a chance to get on the board right away in the first inning as cleanup
man Kevin Ward hit a ball to the fence in left. Leadoff man Joe Boyle was
going on the pitch, but got caught in a rundown rounding thrd and was eventually tagged
out by catcher Brian Cooper.
Roman had a chance to fire back in the bottom half of the first as Delmastro laid
down a beautiful bunt along the first base line for an infield hit. He then proceeded to
steal second base and third base with nobody out. The next two batters Moran struck out
and Hoban grounded out to shortstop Matt Kern to end the inning.
Unfortunately for Roman, it was the best offensive opportunity they had all game
until the sixth inning when Delmastro tripled and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Mike
Mychack.
In the top of the third, Bonner took advantage of three walks and two costly errors
to get on the board. Joe McGilligan reached on an error by Delmastro, Ward walked,
and catcher Ryan Hunt walked to load the bases. Kern hit a two-out grounder to
second baseman Steve Books that went right through his legs and allowed two runs to
score. After an infield hit by DH Matt Gallagher scored another run, Bill Larkin
drew the third walk of the inning to reload the bases. Boyle came to the plate for the
third time in three innings with a chance to blow the game open for Bonner, but Hoban
managed a huge strikeout to keep Roman in the game. Ironically, he struck out the side in
what was otherwise a forgettable inning for the Cahillites.
Moran responded to his team scoring runs for him with two consecutive 1-2-3 innings
in the bottom half of the third and fourth innings. In the top of the sixth, the Friars
extended their 4-0 lead on a triple by Gallagher that scored Leonard and Kern. Gallagher
would eventually score from third after an error by Hoban on a Tom Tarpey grounder,
who moved to shortstop after being replaced on the mound.
Roman scored their one run in the bottom of the sixth and Moran closed them out
with yet another 1-2-3 inning in the seventh. Bonner improved to 2-1 in the early going,
Roman fell to 1-2.