MAY 20
CATHOLIC PLAYOFF, LOSERS BRACKET/SECOND ROUND
Ryan 9, Bonner-Prendie 0
  This losers bracket tilt was originally scheduled for yesterday, but soggy weather pushed it to today. Not only did the wet weather give the teams an extra day, it also gave them a different site. B-P’s field was a no-go today because of lingering issues, so it was off to the fast track of La Salle University. And boy did the Raiders take advantage of the speedy carpet, especially early. Ryan managed ten hits in the game (all singles) and by my count nine of them hit in the infield before finding a hole to the outfield. There were a couple of clean hits of the infield variety mixed in there. Anyhow, the tone was set immediately when sr. SS Dan Stahl, who fouled-off six pitches in a ten-pitch AB, singled up the middle to start the game. After a steal and an infield hit by soph. DH Shane Smith, jr. 2B Bobby Romano singled to score Stahl. Following this was a productive fly out to center by jr. LF Connor Golden which moved Smith from second to third base. Then, sr. CF Gage Galeone scored Smith on a groundout. Nice station-to-station execution here. Soon after the Raiders would add a third run in the inning, as sr. 1B Matt Graber began his productive day with a RBI single to score Romano. From here Ryan would never look and the Friars would really never threaten. Can you say anti-climatic? As for the rest of the scoring the Raiders would add an unearned run in the second to make it, 4-0. Once again Stahl was in the middle of it as he drew a two-out walk and again pilfered second. He eventually came across when Smith reached on an error. In the visiting fourth, Ryan would add three more. With the sacks full, Galeone walked to make it, 5-0. After a force-out at home on a come-backer, sr. C Dylan Egan broke it open with a 2-run hit. In the sixth, Graber (3-for-4) plated two more with his third hit of the game on a rocket through an in-tight infielder. Ryan had a super approach early on against B-P’s starter jr. RHP Brad Scull (5 Rs, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 Ks), who needed 91 pitches to work 3 1/3 innings. Meanwhile, sr. RHP Chris Elmes was workmanlike on the bump for Ryan. Quite frankly, he more than likely hurled the most comfortable 120-pitch outing I have ever seen. Only twice did B-P have a runner reach third base. In the first, sr. SS Jim Haley tripled to the right field corner, but was stranded as Elmes was able to fan sr. 3B Frank Saviski. In the fifth, the Friars had a 1st & 3rd situation with one out, but Elmes induced a tailor-made twin-killing off the bat of Haley. If B-P’s balloon hadn’t popped already, it most certainly did at this point. Elmes threw 83 of his 120 pitches for strikes (69%). He whiffed 8 and only walked a single batter. Also, throwing a heavy ball he was able to garner ten outs via ground balls. Very nice! Stahl was most active in making six plays at shortstop. Other offensive leaders aside from Graber were; Stahl (2 Rs, 2 SBs, 2 Ws, 1B), Romano (2-for-2, 2 Rs, SB, HBP, W), and Galeone (2 Rs, 2 SBs, W, 1B, 2 RBIs). Interestingly, with the washout yesterday this enabled Elmes to pitch on normal rest. The rainout also put B-P’s ace sr. RHP Dan Vanderslice on normal rest, but the Friars’ brass opted for Scull, who was set to pitch yesterday and knew he was getting the rock after B-P lost on Friday. ‘Slice ended up pitching the last three innings in relief (3 K’s) and yielded a pair of runs. Honestly, I’m not sure a last-minute change of plans would have mattered all that much. Ryan played very well and Elmes was extremely sharp. As for the Friars, they end PCL play was a couple of duds, as they were outscored 18-to-3 in their two losses. Sr. 1B Dan Furman collected a pair of hits as one of B-P’s few highlights. Interesting stat of the day. The teams evenly split 52 total foul balls. Moving forward the Friars will still compete in the D-12 3A title game if Arch. Wood doesn’t win the PCL championship. Tomorrow, Ryan will travel to Wood in an elimination game. The Raiders lost to the Vikings last Wednesday, 7-3, in a first round game. The winner of this game will play the loser of the SJ Prep/LaSalle game. Also, tomorrow at Immaculata College. This game’s winner will sit back and wait for the losers bracket to play itself out. Ultimately, the winner of the the SJP/LS game tomorrow will have to be beaten twice to not win the PCL crown.

MAY 17
CATHOLIC SECOND ROUND PLAYOFF
SJ Prep 11, Bonner-Prendie 3
  Not too many ways to slice this one. The visiting Hawks grabbed this baby by the throat early and never looked back. Now, they’ll take on arch-rival LaSalle in the last of the winners only games in this year’s PCL double-elimination playoffs. This game will be played Tuesday at Immaculata College. The winner in that one will have a firm grasp at a possible title, as they would have to be beaten twice by the survivor of the losers bracket. The Friars entered this game winners of all fourteen of their contests against PCL foes, including a 11-7 triumph over the Hawks in a non-league tilt about a month ago. But today they were just soundly beaten and in this game that can happen from tine to time. Many contributions for the Hawks in this one. Offensively, they pounded out 15 hits by eight different players. But for props purposes let’s start with soph. RHP Colin Cunningham and his noteworthy outing. In going the distance the youngster tossed 117 pitches (68 strikes), while allowing 7 hits and 3 runs (2 earned). He did issue three walks, but was able to fan five. I really enjoyed his bulldog mentality. A lot of fight in this kid and he did a good job of keeping the ball low, as witnessed by his nine ground ball outs. How about a couple of oddities involving his performance? One, B-P only swung and missed on 4 of his 117 pitches. Two, he had one sequence where he retired five consecutive hitters on just five pitches. Not sure I have ever seen that before. How so? A fly out to jr. CF Jawan McAllister (sprinting hard to toward right-center with two runners on) ended the second. In the third, he retired B-P’s heart-of-the-order on three pitches. Then, he retired the leadoff man in the fourth with his first offering. Over the final five innings he kept a potent B-P line-up off the tally sheet and held them to just three hits. Two of these hits were of the infield variety. Great job, kid. Offensively, the Hawks scored four in the first and three more in the second to seize command. For good measure they added a four-spot in the seventh. Key run-scoring hits in those first two innings were provided by; sr. C Tim Rafter (RBI-double), jr. 3B Chris Martin (2-run single), sr. LF Shane Williams (2-run double), and jr. RF Chase Standen (RBIs on a FC & double). The Hawks had a good approach against B-P’s sr. RHP Dan Furman (Pitt), who entered the contest without a blemish in the loss column and a sub-2.00 ERA. The Hawks were aggressive and took quite a few balls the other way for solid hits.  Furman was pounding the strike zone in that first inning (25 pitches; 21 strikes), and the Hawks missed few of them. In the seventh, McAllister and Standen scored on a wild pitch/passed ball combo. Rafter with a sac fly and sr. 1B Tom Mullin (RBI-double) also brought in runs. Those who shined at the dish included: McAllister (3-for-5, 2 Rs, 2 SBs) Williams (3-for-3, 3 Rs), and Standen (2-for-5, 2 Rs). Sr. 2B Frank Santore and Mullin (entered the game in bottom of 5th) each collected two hits. Including hits/walks, 21 Hawks reached base. Another area where the Hawks thrived was on the base paths. They took a total of 12 bases via steal/wild pitches/passed balls. For B-P, they scored their three runs and had four of their hits in the first two innings against Cunningham. Sr. SS Jim Haley belted a deep RBI triple down the right-field line. He would come across on a groundout by sr. 3B Frank Saviski. In the second inning, sr. CF Tom Crumlish (2-for-4) knocked in a run with a single. The only other Friar with multiple hits was sr. DH Brandon Gaal with a pair of singles. On the hill, sr. RHP Chris Goggin did some Houdini work by twice getting out of 2nd & 3rd, no out jams. He stranded seven in three scoreless innings of relief. The Friars undoubtedly are not pleased with their clunker today, but they still have life and every reason to believe they can still be a factor in these playoffs. They will now host Ryan on Sunday (1 o’clock) in the win-or-go-home side of the bracket. Also playing Sunday will be Neumann-Goretti traveling to Wood. If a team from the win-or-go-home side of the bracket is going to raise some PCL hardware, then they’ll have to win a total of five games in ten days. Or, six in twelve days if you’re N-G or Ryan. Whoa!

MAY 15
CATHOLIC FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF
Bonner-Prendie 5, O’Hara 3
  One would have to think that the baseball gods were going to make sure that these two long-time Delaware County rivals got a chance to renew acquaintances at some point. For as long as I can remember the Friars and Lions have competed against each other with much vigor as league opponents. However, this season they participated in different divisions, B-P (Blue) & O’Hara (Red). With that no regular season games were had between the teams. Strange, huh? Oh Well, better late than never. And why not meet in a playoff scenario where the stakes are that much higher, right? Or, are they? This year is the first season that PCL honchos have implemented a double-elimination tournament between their eight playoff teams. So, even though the Lions were on the short end of the stick today, they’ll still have a chance to make some noise in the losers’ bracket of the tournament. Meanwhile, B-P advances to the winners’ side, where I’m sure it feels just a little more comfortable at this juncture. Regardless of the format nothing was going to keep the spirit down in this affair. In front of a huge crowd situated behind the centerfield fence, the Friars plated two in the home fourth to break a 3-3 tie. We’ll start here for highlight purposes. Sr. DH Brandon Gaal led off with a lined single to right. At this point he yielded to pinch-runner  Jesse Basden, a jr. OF. Sr. LF Chris Goggin followed and was asked to bunt on a bunt-steal play, but he missed a high, outside pitch, and Basden was easily gunned by jr. Dan Dwyer. Ultimately, Goggin would reach with good hustle on an infield hit to second and then advance to second base on a passed ball. Next, sr. CF Tom Crumlish lofted a solidly struck ball to center that avoided sr. CF/RHP Nick Donovan. The ball fell for a double and allowed Goggin to score on what proved to be the winning run. Soph. 2B Rich Tecco followed with a flyout to center, then sr. SS Jim Haley walked. This set the stage for sr. 3B Frank Saviski, who promptly lashed a hit through the middle to plate Crumlish for a two-run lead. From here, both teams went quietly in the fifth and sixth innings. Heading to the seventh, B-P starter sr. RHP Pat Vanderslice remained on the hill and easily handled jr. SS John Banes and sr. 2B Ryan Roberts with whiffs. These were his 9th & 10th of the game. But what’s the old adage? The hardest out to get in a baseball game is the last one. Well, that was partly true here. Donovan worked a walk on a full count and then sr. RF Bob Ieradi was plunked to put the tying runs on base. By now ‘Slice had eclipsed the 100-pitch mark (105 total, 70 strikes), and B-P skipper Joe DeBarberie summoned jr. RHP/RF Brad Scull from the outfield to face sr. DH Scott Grinnan. It took the hard-throwing Scull just four pitches to induce a game-ending fielder’s choice, as Haley (slick all afternoon at SS) flipped to Tecco at second for the force. Vanderslice was very good throughout and just a couple of hard-luck moments kept him from really neutralizing the Lions’ bats. Three times in the game ‘Slice uncorked wild pitches on strikeouts. Two of these fortunate runners would come around to score for the Lions. In the third inning he actually fanned four Lions and recorded a fifth out on a grounder. His final line: 6.2 IP, 5 H (all singles), 3 ER, 2 W, 10 Ks. Frosh. C Steve Furman was his battery mate in this one and battled back there. The youngster is already capable, but will undoubtedly get even better with experiences like today. He made a critical play in the fourth when he picked off an O’Hara baserunner at first after a strikeout. B-P actually trailed 2-0 in the third, but provided a three-spot to grab their first lead of the game. Haley’s RBI-hit in the hole brought in Crumlish (2-for-4, 2 R). Later, an error with the bases loaded allowed the second run to score. Then, showing great instincts, Haley scooted in from third on a wild pitch. Great read and break on his part. For O’Hara, I like what Banes brings to the table. This kid just oozes table-setting grit. Today, he played a part in all three of O’Hara runs. In the first he walked despite being buried 0-2, moved to second on a groundout, and then scored on a clean hit by Donovan. In the third, he K’d but reached on one of those aforementioned wild pitches. A steal and passed ball moved him to third, then he scored on a groundout by Roberts. In the fourth, he brought home sr. LF Matt Masi with a single to left. This momentarily tied the game, 3-3. Soph. LHP Chris Fusaro got the start (3.2 IP, 5 R, 3ER, 4 Ks, 81 pitches) for the Lions. He may have been a little green for this type of game, but I like his future. He’s already has some height and it appears that additional growth may occur. Donovan replaced him and impressively worked the final 2.1 innings. He allowed just one hit and fanned four. B-P will host SJ Prep (7-2 win over N-G) on Friday afternoon, while O’Hara will travel to South Philly to take on the Saints in a win-or-go-home game. The other two games on Friday will be Wood at La Salle (Winners) and Judge at Ryan (Losers). This was just the fifth time ever that B-P and O’Hara have met in a playoff game; first time since 2006. The Friars now hold bragging rights, 3-to-2. As I mentioned earlier there was a great crowd on hand for this tilt. The only bad thing is that because of how B-P’s field sits all of the fans are situated beyond the outfield. Because of this it’s hard to get a great feel for what they bring in terms of uplifting the atmosphere. Nonetheless, great showing today by all in attendance. B-P assistant and good buddy John “Blade/Lefty/J-Mac” McCauley was MIA today due to a class trip to New York. No worries, though. I kept him abreast throughout with updates via text. Another good buddy of yours truly, John “Moe” DeMucci, is now assisting with the JV team for B-P’s program and was on hand for this one. Moe and I go back a long time to our SW Philly days. Shared many a shore house with Moe, but that’s a report for another site. Smile!

MAY 13
CATHOLIC PRELIMINARY PLAYOFF
Father Judge 11, Carroll 4
  The Crusaders were the road team in today’s PCL Preliminary Playoff, but they had little problem taking advantage of the cozy dimensions of Carroll’s Alumni Field. Judge belted four home runs and never trailed in the contest. This was one of two PCL prelims today, as O’Hara bested Lansdale Catholic (6-5) with a walk-off plunking in the other. Now, Judge will join the double-elimination portion of the tournament, as they’ll travel to La Salle on Wednesday to do battle with the PCL Red top dog Explorers. Even though the Crusaders had the long ball working and belted out a dozen hits, it was Carroll’s misplays on the field that really did them in. The Patriots made five such misplays. Four of these five baserunners ended up scoring and a total of five unearned runs came across. This just can’t happen with the threat of a routine fly ball leaving the yard. Judge plated two unearned in the visiting first. Sr. C Ryan Mackiewicz plated one on a fielder’s choice, while sr. DH Brandon Mau brought the other in with a slashing hit to left-center. In the home second, Carroll cut the lead in half on a solo home run by sr. 2B Steve Dengler to right-center. However, Judge would answer in the third when sr. SS Jeff Seigafuse lifted the first of his two solo blasts. In the fourth, the Crusaders scored two more to make it, 5-1. Mackiewicz bashed a solo shot to center, then soph. 2B Andrew Magiera brought another one home on a sac fly to right-center. Carroll would show signs of life in their half of the fourth. Sr. SS Eric McGough lofted a high drive to left that barely cleared the fence for a solo HR making it, 5-2. Then, a walk to sr. 1B Evan Harvey and single by Dengler (3-for-3) had the Pats feeling good. However, a bunt attempt was popped-up for the first out. Not sure I completely agree with this decision at this point, but more on that later. Anyhow, jr. RHP Matt Lafferty did single afterward to bring across Carroll’s third run. Judge RHP sr. Josh Teson fanned the next batter for the second out and then jumped ahead on the next. At this point Carroll let Lafferty leave first early on a steal attempt. Teson did calmly step off, but when he turned and headed towards second, Dengler broke for home. Teson wheeled and threw, but Dengler slid in just before the tag of Mackiewicz. Nice execution by the Pats to make it, 5-4. From here it would be all Crusaders, though. Judge would respond with a four-spot in the fifth to all but ice the game. Seigafuse led off the inning going the other way for a home run to the deep part of rightfield. After an error and wild pitch, Mackiewicz slammed a liner off the fence in left-center for his third RBI of the game. The final nail in the coffin came when Mau went oppo-boppo to deep left-center to make it, 9-4. Judge final two runs came courtesy of RBI-hits by Teson in the sixth and jr. 1B Mike Taffe in the seventh. Meanwhile, Teson was doing his part to silence the Carroll bats over the final three innings. Carroll would manage just a single hit in the final three innings. In the seventh, Teson needed just eight pitches to set down the Patriots in order. His final line read: 7 IP (93 pitches, 55 strikes), 5 hits, 4 ER, 5 walks, and 7 strikeouts. Also, Teson was able to retire Carroll in order in the first and third innings. Overall, I thought he did a good job of keeping the ball low and out of the middle of the plate. It appeared that a good change-up was his most effective pitch. Judge had five hitters collect two hits; Seigafuse, Teson, Mackiewicz, Mau, and soph. RF Ryan O’Neill. For Carroll, outside of Dengler’s three hits the Pats went a collective 2-for-22 against Teson. Lafferty worked the first 4 1/3 (68 pitches, 49 strikes) innings and threw a ton of strikes. He tossed first-pitch strikes to 22 of 24 batters. That was the good. The bad was that Judge went 5-for-6 when swinging at the first pitch (Two HRs). Still, he deserved a better fate as just 5 of the 9 runs allowed were earned. Jr. RHP Brian Chesky (1.2 IP) and sr. RF-LHP Joe Sparacino (1 IP) worked in relief. Earlier I mentioned a bunt play that I thought was a little odd with the Pats trailing (5-2) in the fourth. I guess you can find a way to make a case for that one. However, in the sixth inning with the score, 10-4, Carroll once again had two on and no outs. After taking a strike, Lafferty who re-entered to bat, clearly squared to bunt in a sacrificing manner. The ball was fouled back and he later popped out swinging away with two strikes. Listen, I’m not on the Carroll staff and I definitely don’t know the strengths of their players. Also, maybe a sign was missed? Again, I’m not sure. I’m typically tentative when questioning a coach’s decision because I understand that it’s not an easy thing to do. With that said, I just think it’s inexcusable to give up an out in the sixth inning, when down six runs, and in a place where balls often find the other side of the outfield fence. Just my two cents. This marked the first time since 2001 that the Crusaders and Patriots had locked horns in a playoff tilt. Judge was swept in the regular season against La Salle (3-0) and outscored in those games 29-to-7. But the slate is now clean and this Judge squad appears to have the ability to hack a little. The other 1st-Round match-ups will be O’Hara at Bonner Prendie, N-G at SJ Prep, and Ryan at Wood. It should be a lot fun over the next two weeks. I think I’m going to like this new setup.

MAY 2
CATHOLIC BLUE
Bonner-Prendergast 9, Lansdale Cath. 7
  On a downright gorgeous afternoon for baseball, this tilt started out like most of the games that I have attended involving B-P this season. How so? Well, this marked the eighth time I have kept score for the Friars this year. In those games, B-P has outscored their opponents, 21-2 in the first inning, and 37-2 in the first two innings. Today was no different. The Friars plated one in the first, 5 more in the second, and a pair in the third to grab a commanding 8-0 lead. Another coasting to victory, right? Not exactly. The Crusaders demonstrated zero quit and much grit to actually make a game of this. In fact, they came reasonably close to fighting all the way back. For highlight purposes lets fast forward to the visiting six. The Crusaders trailed, 8-2, and B-P’s sr. RHP Pat Vanderslice was seemingly in control. Through five frames ‘Slice had not hinted at any wildness. That would change and change quickly, as sr. DH Ian Conwell (1-for-2, 3 R’s, HBP, SB) walked, sr. 2B Mark Savini was plunked, and sr. 1B Tom Gibbons also walked to load the bases to start the sixth inning. Next, jr. CF Brian Farrell scored a run on a fielder’s choice groundout. This was followed by a booming two-run double to left by jr. RF Matt Hull (3-for-4, 3 RBIs) to make it 8-5. This spelled the end of Vanderslice’s day, as he was replaced by sr. 3B-RHP Frank Saviski. With a duck still sitting on the pond, Saviski was able two fan the next two Crusader batters in impressive fashion. He appeared to be bringing it. The Friars would restore some order in the home sixth when they added an unearned run to make it 9-5. Moving to the seventh I didn’t expect much of a LC uprising simply because Saviski had looked so dominant against the two batters he faced in the sixth. This mindset remained when he retired the leadoff hit on a soft tapper to the mound. How quickly things can change, though. A sharp single to right by soph. SS Mike Christy started the rally. At this point the hinges really started to come off for Saviski. Incredibly, he plunked the next three LC hitters; Conwell, Savini, and Gibbons. Phew! The latter of the three made the score, 9-6. Fortunately, Saviski would settle down for the Friars. Farrell made it 9-7 with a sac fly to center, but the second out was recorded. Then, he was able to retire Hull on a soft pop-up to shortstop to end the proceedings. Interestingly, Farrell managed three RBIs in three different manners that didn’t involve a hit. Aside from the SF, he also brought one home on sac bunt, and another on a fielder’s choice. On the bunt play, Conwell displayed great instincts in scoring from second base without a B-P miscue to aid the cause. Great hustle! Defensively, Gibbons speared a low line drive to his right with the bases loaded. Jr. C Sean Becker was just a little frisky behind the plate. Numerous times he attempted to throw behind B-P base-runners situated at first. He had no such luck in nabbing anyone, but he did impressively gun down two trying to pilfer second. A quick release benefited him here. Sr. RHP Dan Carey, a side-armer, did a respectable job in relief for the Crusaders. He tossed the final 3.2 innings (67 pitches, 40 strikes) and allowed only two runs (1 earned). For B-P, their big inning was the second where they scored five on six hits. Jr. RF Brad Scull (3-for-4, 3 RBIs) plated the first two of the inning with a solid hit to right-center. Sr. CF Tom Crumlish (2-for-3, 2 Rs, SB) brought home a run with a double down the right-field line. Soph. 2B Rich Tecco and sr. SS Jim Haley (2-for-3, 2 RBIs, SB, R, W) also had run-scoring hits in the second. In the third inning, Scull belted a RBI triple deep down the right-field line. He later scored on a wild pitch. Vanderslice reached base twice (Deep double to CF) and scored twice thanks to the courtesy running of jr. OF Jim Welischek. ‘Slice worked the first 5.1 innings (87 pitches, 52 strikes) to pick-up the win. He surrendered 5 earned runs on as many hits. He fanned four. Saviski earned the save. Prior to taking the ball he played a solid hot corner making four plays that came his way, included in this was starting an around-the-horn twin-killing. If there is a record for most combined pickoff attempts, catcher snap throws, courtesy stalls for a dinged player, and meetings at the mound between pitcher-catcher (sometimes coach), then I think it may have been broken it today. Boy, did this one really drag in the middle innings. B-P finished the regular season (12-0) in the PCL Blue division. Trying to find out when the last time they went through a PCL RS unbeaten. This wonderful site only goes back to 2000. The Friars best campaign since then was a (12-2) year in ’06. Stay tuned! Maybe, our Teddy S. will dig this info up someday. I mean he has nothing better to do, right? Smile!
  UPDATE FROM TED: If so, it hasn't happened since '77. Standings for that season are unavailable, but Bonner did win the old Southern Division. A playoff story mentioned that star lefty Tom Stauffer owned an 8-1 record; no mention of whether that record was just for division games or overall. The '70 and '74 Friars also won the South, so it's possible one of those squads went unbeaten in division play. Meanwhile, the '98 squad finished 17-1, which was the best mark before this year's 12-0 took the top spot over at least a 36-year period. Congrats to coach Joe DeBarberie and his players/assistants. If someone knows Bonner's division record in '77, '74 and '70, please send the info to silaryt@phillynews.com.
  **UPDATE, PART II:** Received a note from a little birdie familiar with that black & gold school in Warminster. Bonner's league loss in '98 was to Wood. So, the Friars did post a perfect mark against South foes that season, but, as in some other seasons, there were cross-division games that counted in the standings and that was one of 'em.
  ***LATEST UPDATE*** From Joe Smagala, a manager for St. James' team in 1970 . . . Monsignor Bonner's 1970 team definitely did not go unbeaten in the Southern Division. The May 26 edition of the Delaware County Daily Times shows the Catholic League South final standings with Bonner's record at 13-3. I was in my junior year at St. James that year, and was one of the team managers.  I remember that coach John Mooney pulled all of the managers out of school after the 3rd period that day so we could work on getting a very muddy Deshong Park field in Chester ready for the game against Bonner.  Unfortunately (for us), Bonner won that game, and Bishop Neumann beat us, 5-0, in our next game at FDR park in South Philly to knock us out of the first-place tie and open the way for Bonner to take the division title. We beat Archbishop Carroll in our last game to finish 12-4, one game behind Bonner.  Two of our four Southern Division losses were to Bonner, by scores of 3-1 and 6-4.
  ***LATEST UPDATE*** From Joe Smagala, a manager for St. James' team in 1970 . . . Based on the attached article from the May 16, 1974 edition of the Delaware County Daily Times, it's safe to say that Bonner's baseball team didn't go undefeated in Southern Division play in 1974, either.  According to the story that day, Bonner had just suffered its second consecutive loss after opening with ten straight Southern Division victories. Still researching 1977.  Will let you know what I find.
  http://delawarecolib.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewer.aspx?img=84929037&firstvisit=true&src=search&currentResult=7&currentPage=0
  ***FINAL UPDATE*** From Joe Smagala, a manager for St. James' team in 1970 . . . No unbeaten 1977 season for Bonner, either.  Bonner and Carroll both finished Southern Division play with identical 11-3 records (Delaware County Daily Times, May 25, 1977).
http://delawarecolib.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewer.aspx?img=91070575&firstvisit=true&src=search&currentResult=3&currentPage=0
The Friars and Patriots met four days later in a game to decide the Southern Division championship, which was won by Bonner, 7-1 (Delaware County Daily Times, May 31, 1977).
http://delawarecolib.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewer.aspx?img=91070646&firstvisit=true&src=search&currentResult=2&currentPage=0

APRIL 22
CATHOLIC BLUE
Bonner-Prendergast 11, Conwell-Egan 0 (6 inn.)
  Hey, we are in the third week of April, right? Ok, this time of year can be somewhat unpredictable when it comes to the weather, but I was hoping for a few degrees more on the thermometer by this point. Well, at least the rain stayed away and that is always a good thing. Today, the Friars took a workmanlike approach and methodically handled the Eagles throughout. They belted 13 hits and scored in every inning but the second. The game ended with a thump, too. With the Friars ahead comfortably, 9-0, sr. SS Jim Haley (2-for-4, 2 Rs, SB) led off the home sixth with an infield hit up the third base line. Following this, impressive sr. 3B/RHP Frank Saviski slammed a rocket over the leftfielder’s head for a run-off (WALK-off does not apply here. Smile!), game-ending home run. Earlier, Saviski lifted a deep triple to right to score another. In B-P’s three-run first, he provided the game’s first run on a groundout, as he totaled four ribbies in the contest. Also in the first Haley scored on a wild pitch and sr. 1B Pat Vanderslice (2-for-3, 2B, 2 Rs) came across on a hit by winning RHP sr. Dan Furman (2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBIs). From here B-P would never look back. They added two more in the third on Saviski’s triple and a RBI-single by D. Furman. Soph. 2B Rich Tecco (2 Rs, W, HBP, SB) scored the sixth run on another wild pitch in the fourth. The Friars would score three more times in the fifth. Run-producing hits were provided by sr. DH Vince Tomasetti, sr. RF Chris Goggin, and sr. CF Tom Crumlish (2-for-4, SB). On the bump for the Friars was D. Furman. He tossed a comfortable 67 pitches (46 strikes) over his five innings of work and held the Eagles hitless for the first four innings. A lead-off hit to right by sr. 1B L.J. Chalmers broke-up the no-no. Yes, it was clean and hit with authority. Two batters later jr. SS Bill Bonfig (SB) squirted one of the middle to place runners at the corners. However, the Eagles failed to illuminate the scoreboard after D. Furman induced a groundout to third and then recorded his seventh strikeout of the game to end the threat. At one point D. Furman retired ten straight batters. Saviski took the pill for the sixth and worked around a leadoff infield hit by sr. 3B Mike Petrizzi and a plunking to jr. RF Justin Forktus. A pair of K’s aided his cause here. For C-E, sr. RHP Dan McLaughlin started and suffered the loss. For my money, I appreciated how this kid competed against a rather potent line-up. Yes, he yielded 9 runs (Only 4 were earned) and 13 hits, but he kept the ball down for the most part and did his best to mix up his pitches. A couple of misplays behind him hurt, as well as couple of other plays that were hits but had a chance to be had. His best inning was the second when he retired the side in order on just five pitches. All total, he tossed 95 pitches (51 strikes). He did record nine outs on the ground and like I mentioned had two other ground ball plays not recorded. Bonfig (5 plays made) and Petrizzi (three) were busy on the left side of the infield. B-P now moves to (9-0) in the PCL Blue. One more win will wrap-up the regular season title and the Blue’s #1-seed for the Friars. If you get a second take a glance at the new PCL playoff format that Teddy S. has posted on the site. Interesting to say the least. PCL honchos are now going with a double-elimination format. In this system it will be possible (Not sure how likely) for a team that plays in one of those opening round games to play a total of eight games in sixteen days. Phew!!!

APRIL 21
NON-LEAGUE
Bonner-Prendergast 11, SJ Prep 7
     Only a slight chill in the air prevented this afternoon from being perfecto in the weather department. Still, the sun shined brightly, and on Senior Day a decent crowd was on hand to witness a mostly entertaining game between the host Friars and Hawks. This was a rare midseason non-league affair pitting teams that sat perched atop their respective divisions; SJ Prep (PCL Red) & B-P (PCL Blue). It is safe to assume that each club wanted to exhibit a strong showing in this game, even if top-of-the-rotation pitchers weren’t being used. So, temporarily the Friars will hold bragging rights. We’ll see in a month or so if this changes when the second season commences. B-P did something today that I don’t believe I’ve ever witnessed before. For the first five innings of the game they had exactly three hits in every inning. And since they were the victors, they only batted in the home sixth after this. In that frame they managed only a one-out walk. C’mon, ha ha. Amazingly, all fifteen of their hits were singles. Also, a rarity. A minimum of six batters faced SJP pitching in each of these first five innings and in every frame they scored at least one run. Trailing, 1-0, after the Hawks’ first turn, B-P countered with two on run-scoring hits from sr. SS Jim Haley and sr. 1B Pat Vanderslice. From here they would never relinquish the lead. In their next at-bat they plated three more. A pair of errors (SJP committed a total of six in the game) led to the first two runs of the inning. Then, Haley (3-for-5, SB) scorched a hit to left to produce the third of the inning. Trailing, 5-1, The Hawks kicked up a fuss in the third when their first five batters reached via hits. All were stung. First, jr. RF Alex Stewart’s double plated jr. CF Jawan McAllister (2 R’s, SB, HBP, W). Then, Stewart came home on sr. LF Shane Williams’ (2-for-3, 2 R’s, W) hit to right. Next, soph. 1B Dino Cattai plated Williams with a hit to make it, 5-4. At this point soph. RHP Collin DiGalbo entered for the Friars. Hawks’ jr. 3B Chris Martin (2-for-3) sacrificed for the first out to move the runners to second and third. However, DiGalbo struck out the next two Hawks to end the threat. Good job by the youngster in this spot. In B-P’s half of the third they would again answer. Sr. CF Tom Crumlish (3-for-5, 2 R’s, SB) plated a pair with a clean hit to make the score, 7-4. The Friars would tack on another in the fourth on sr. C Brandon Gaal’s (2-for-3) single. The Hawks would make it 8-6 in the fifth on a RBI-triple by sr. C Tim Rafter (2-for-3, W) and RBI groundout by Cattai. On the chance, Haley ranged far to his left and onto the OF grass to make the play. Very impressive! The final nails would be put into the coffin in B-P’s half of the fifth when they scored thrice. Soph. 2B Rich Tecco (2 Sac bunts, 2 walks, 2 R’s) led off with a walk. Haley followed with a slowly hit ball up the third base line for a hit, but when the throw went awry it allowed Tecco to score from first and Haley to reach third. Next, sr. 3B Frank Saviski singled in the hole to left to score Haley. Then, after Saviski stole second he came home on a hit by jr. LF Dan Healey. The Hawks would add a run in the seventh on a RBI hit by sr. SS Pat O’Dell. However, B-P’s sr. LF-RHP Chris Goggin fanned McAllister to finish the game. DiGalbo (61 pitches, 41 strikes) went 3 innings, allowing 2 ER on 3 hits. Showing a live fastball he fanned four during his outing.  DiGalbo, who made solid inroads as the Friars’ quarterback last fall, could also have some success as a top hurler in his final two seasons. Definitely bears watching. Sr. RHP AJ Camarota started for B-P and threw well in his two innings. He didn’t allow a hit and the Hawks only scored on a strikeout-wild pitch. Sr. RHP Dan Furman (Pitt) got some work in and pitched a scoreless sixth. He’ll start tomorrow in a league game against Conwell-Egan. Defensively, Saviski showed some nice hands on a few plays at the hot corner. For the Hawks, they used four pitchers in the game. Soph. RHP Colin Cunningham worked the first two innings and took the loss. Sr. LHP Pat Prieto faired the best amongst the Hawks’ pitchers in working 1.2 innings (2 K’s) without allowing a run. All total 273 pitches were thrown by a total of nine pitchers for both teams. Phew! Behind the plate was the humorous Bill “Babs” Haines. At one point a B-P player had thought he had walked and started up the first baseline. Before he could get too far, Haines quipped, “3-2, it’s America, son.” Throughout the game a BBQ flamed on the outskirts of centerfield. Also, music and player introductions were provided by former Bonner football player Steve Clement ’05.  Steve’s a good a guy, who is a current assistant with the football team and the co-Director of admissions for B-P. And now baseball team DJ. Get that man a hat rack. Smile!

APRIL 8
CATHOLIC BLUE
Bonner-Prendergast 12, McDevitt 0 (5 inn.)
  With the game scheduled for 3:45 the Lancers didn’t show up until shortly before 4 o’clock. Then, by the time the teams went through warmups the clock had reached 4:20. No, I wasn’t hoping for a 35-minute delay. Hey, these things sometimes happen and since it was such a nice day not all was bad on this front. Ok, so did McDevitt’s tardiness allow them to sneak-up on the more talented Friars? Hardly! Sr. RHP Pat Vanderslice (Temple) was downright dominant and over-powering towards the over-matched Lancers. His lone blemish was a four-pitch walk to the sr. RF Johan Rivas with one out in the visiting first. Rivas managed to pilfer second, but would be stranded there after Vanderslice K’d the next two batters. This theme would continue. All total, Vanderslice (4 innings) and sr. RHP AJ Camarota (one inning) would retire the final fourteen batters that McDevitt sent to the plate in their combined no-hitter. ‘Slice would end up with 11 whiffs on the 12 outs he recorded. Soph. 3B Dan Janoson was the only Lancer hitter to put the ball in play (Soft groundout to second) against the imposing Vanderslice, who needed just 56 pitches (39 strikes) in his four innings of work. Camarota (One K) retired the side in the fifth to end the game. McDevitt did tag a couple of balls in this inning, but sr. LF Gerald Amodei and sr. 1B Marcus Rhoades had liners caught in the infield. In three league games to date, Vanderslice holds a (3-0) record, while allowing no runs and 5 total hits over 16 innings (21 strikeouts). Not bad, right? As for the offense, the Friars struck for 3 in the first, one in the second, 7 in the third (sent 11 to the plate), and another run in the fourth. Sr. LF Chris Goggin went 2-for-2, with three RBIs. Sr. 1B Dan Furman (2 R’s, RBI) also collected two hits, including a double. Jr. DH Danny Healey slammed a double, while sr. CF Tom Crumlish uncorked a run-scoring triple during the 7-run third. Other RBI’s were provided by sr. SS Jim Haley (2 R’s, 2 SB’s) on a Sac fly and jr. RF Brad Scull (2 R’s, SB) on a fielder’s choice. For McDevitt, sr. CF Dan Affleck made four plays in the outfield, including a nice catch of a ball in deep left-center. Soph. SS Zach Coates made a fine, sprawling play in the hole late in the game. Even the B-P bench gave him a few kudos on that play. Sr. RHP Tim O’Neil started the game for the Lancers. He hurt himself with some walks, but a few misplays led to some of his misfortune. McDevitt committed six errors in the game and their pitchers walked as many. Just way too many to overcome against a team like B-P. O’Neil ended up tossing 74 pitches (37 strikes) in just 2.1 innings of work. Sr. RHP/1B Gabe Dwyer worked the final 1.2 for the Lancers. Even with the late start, the game ended reasonably at about 5:50.

APRIL 4
CATHOLIC BLUE
Bonner-Prendergast 10, Carroll 1
     Just like in the first game between these two teams, the Friars used an early eruption to seize control and were never threatened by the Patriots. On Tuesday, B-P exploded for 8 runs in the opening frame on their way to a 15-0 whitewashing. Today, the Friars plated nine runs in the first two innings. A seven-spot in the home second was the most damaging. In the first, a RBI-hit by sr. SS Jim Haley (2-for-4, 2B) and run-scoring groundout by sr. 3B Frank Saviski plated a pair. As for the second frame, B-P used 11 batters to score their seven runs. The sequence went as follows: Sr. RHP Dan Furman led off with a single. Jr. DH Dan Healey reached on a bunt single. After a wild pitch, sr. LF Chris Goggin plated jr. courtesy runner Jim Welischek with a single. Afterwards, leadoff hitter sr. CF Tom Crumlish (2-for-3, 2 R’s) walked to load the bases. The fourth run of the game was brought home when soph. 2B Rich Tecco walked. After a strikeout, Saviski crushed a ball to right-center for a triple that plated three more. Next, jr. RF Brad Scull (2-for-3, 2 SBs) reached on an error. Then, sr. 1B Pat Vanderslice hammered a ball to straightaway center to score another on a Sac fly. Carroll’s jr. Joe DiWilliams made a sensational over-the-shoulder, Willie Mays-type play to record the out. Great hustle, kid! The final B-P run of the inning came courtesy of D. Furman who laced a double over the right-fielder’s head. From here the Friars mostly coasted. Carroll was able to ignite the scoreboard in the visiting fifth on a throwing error. B-P’s last run came in their half of the fifth when Haley doubled to left-center and Saviski followed with his his fifth RBI of the game on a single to left. D. Furman went the distance (96 pitches, 60 strikes) for the Friars. He allowed just three singles (two of the infield variety), an unearned run, 3 walks, while fanning five. He used mostly a heavy fastball to keep the Patriots at bay. B-P’s defensive highlight was provided by Scull who made a nice, sliding catch on a shallow pop along the right-field line. Carroll had two on and no outs on the play. Haley was steady in the middle of the diamond by making all five chances that came his way. For Carroll, sr. RHP Eric McGough got the start and he just didn’t have it. He lasted just two innings (50 pitches, 28 strikes), allowing the 9 runs (7 earned) and 8 hits. This kid has had success at this level, so better days should be had moving forward. sr. LHP/LF Joe Sparacino did an admirable job in relief. He worked four innings (71 pitches, 47 strikes) and mostly kept B-P in control. He did surrender one run on 4 hits, but the southpaw fanned six in total. Carroll’s hits were provided by soph. C J.T. Evangelist (2-for-3) and sr. SS Dan Bier (Walk, Run). B-P outscored the Pats 25-to-1 and outhit them 26-to-5 in the two-game series. Once again wooden bats were used by both teams.

APRIL 2
CATHOLIC BLUE
Bonner-Prendergast 15, Carroll 0 (5 inn.)
   I understood heading into this one that the weather conditions could be dicey in terms of being overly cold. And yes it was brisk for an early-April afternoon, but overall it wasn’t unbearable in the brrrrrrr department. That was a good thing for viewing purposes. As for the game? Well, not much drama here. I was able to see B-P over the weekend and knew they had a solid club. The hope was that Carroll would also be solid and we could be treated to an early-season showdown between PCL Blue contenders. Not to be! At least not on this afternoon. The Pats will get another try on Thursday when they travel to Drexel Hill for game two of the weekly series. The Friars wasted little time in jumping all over the Patriots in the visiting first, as they sent 11 batters to the plate and scored eight runs to seize command. Alas, never looking back. A pair of miscues and another 50/50 ball that could have been made played a large part in B-P’s early success. Seven of the eight runs proved to be unearned. Still, it wasn’t like B-P didn’t do any work with the sticks in the inning, as they collected six hits. The big blows were provided by sr. LF Chris Goggin (2-run 2B) and sr. CF Tom Crumlish (3-run HR) to center. The Friars wouldn’t score in the second, but were right back at in the third. Sr. RHP Pat Vanderslice (2-for-3, RBI), sr. 1B Dan Furman (3-for-3, 2 R’s), and jr. DH Dan Healey each singled to load the bases. Again, Goggin made the most of his sacks-are-full chance by yanking one down the third base line for another 2-run hit. Two batters later, soph. 2B Rich Tecco (2-for-3, W, 3 R’s) launched a wind-swept 3-run homer. It was B-P’s second Earl Weaver special of the day. This pushed the score to 13-0 and mercy rule proportions. B-P would plate two more in the fifth on back-to-back sac flies by sr. SS Jim Haley (2B, Run) (Penn St.) and sr. 3B Frank Saviski (2 RBIs, 1B). For the game the Friars belted 14 hits. Haley and Tecco both made nice plays behind Vanderslice (Temple), who was business-like in going all five innings. Using mostly a heavy fastball, he easily contained the Pats line-up, allowing just two singles. He did walk a pair and plunk one, but Carroll only threatened in the fourth. A hit by sr. RF Joe Sparacino, a plunking to sr. SS Eric McGough (had Carroll’s other hit), and a walk to sr. 1B Evan Harvey loaded the bases with no outs. However, ‘Slice recorded an out on a fly to center and then induced a 1-2-3 twin-killing to silence the uprising. Last week, Vanderslice shut out N-G in the league opener. He needed just 74 pitches (46 strikes) and went strike one on 15 of 19 hitters. For Carroll, jr. RHP Matt Lafferty suffered the loss. He deserved at least somewhat of a better shake here. One positive is that he did pound the strike zone (82 pitches; 60 strikes, no walks, 3 K’s) during his four innings of work. He’ll have better days. The teams used wooden bats for this game and will do so again on Thursday. The Friars improved to (3-0) in the PCL Blue with the win.