On the Trail With Ted, Baseball 2018

On the Trail With Ted
Baseball 2018

Posts for the 2018 baseball season . . .
my email . . . tedtee307@yahoo.com.

AUGUST 21
TEDBIT
The subhead at the very top says it all . . . Games were played 45 years ago on May 31, 1973.

AUGUST 15
TEDBIT
You will not believe the details of an Inter-Ac game played in 1952 . . .

JULY 12
TEDBIT
At least in "modern" times (1978-forward), Mike Lake now owns a Catholic League record for baseball coaches -- largest gap (18 years) between stints at the same school. And he's pretty close to the record for the other major sports. Succeeding his father, Al, Mike coached Ryan's diamond squad from 1990 through 2001 and he has just been hired for the 2019 season. In between he coached La Salle University for 10 seasons (2008-17) and for four years beforehand assisted Lee Saverio. The cake-taker for the three major sports is Eddie Burke, who had a 22-year gap between stints as St. Joseph's Prep basketball coach ('71/'93). Eddie guided Drexel University's squad for 14 seasons (1978-91). He had quite the coaching life. How many guys, anywhere, in any sport, were the head coach at different schools in four consecutive years? Eddie steered St. Thomas More in its last year of existence ('75), then McDevitt in '76 and West Catholic in '77 before moving up to Drexel. Also, he won CL crowns in consecutive seasons -- '71 at SJ Prep and '72 at ST More. Amazing. John "Jocko" Collins also lived quite the sporting life. He was a Phillies scout and prominent college basketball ref and coached at four CL schools -- North Catholic (1930-31), Salesianum in Delaware (1936-37) and ST More ('43) in addition to the Prep stints listed below. Jack Concannon's stretches at Monsignor Bonner/Bonner-Prenderdast, separated by 19 years, lasted nine total seasons. No football bosses qualify for the list.

Name/School	Years	Gap
Eddie Burke	1969-71	22
St. Joseph's Prep	1993-99
John "Jocko" Collins	1944	19
St. Joseph's Prep	1963-65
Jack Concannon	1992-96	19
Msgr. Bonner/Bonn.-Pren.	2015-18
Mike Lake	1990-2001	18
Archbishop Ryan	2019

JUNE 27
TEDBIT
I first picked a Daily News All-City Baseball Team in 1978 and the times were much different. Multi-sport contributors, even stars, were numerous. As shown on the list below, five guys also earned first team All-City honors in football and two more were second-teamers. Three of the baseball-football first teamers were also quality basketball players. Strong guess: Those times are gone forever. Feel free to feel sad.

Details in the Other Major Sports for First Team All-City Baseball Players in 1978
Pos.	Name	School	Football	Basketball
1B	Tito Nanni	Chestnut Hill	1st team All-City defensive back	1st team All-Inter-Ac forward
INF	Craig Shumock	Gtn. Academy	1st team All-City defensive back	GA's second leading scorer
INF	Ed Lowery	Roxborough
INF	John Loughery	Penn Charter	1st team All-Inter-Ac quarterback	2nd team All-Inter-Ac forward
C	Frank DeSantis	Penn Charter	2nd team All-City DB
OF	Bob Loscalzo	Dougherty	2nd team All-City QB
OF	Marc Fleming	Judge
OF	Steve Harvey	Franklin	1st team All-City punter
DH	Tom Dunfee	Bartram	1st team All-City linebacker
P	Tom Stauffer	Bonner
P	Joe Lynch	Egan	Played receiver and kicked

JUNE 26
TEDBIT
The list below shows all black players who earned first team All-City baseball honors from 1978 through 2018. Most were also key performers, even stars, in football and/or basketball. The McAllisters (Jon and Jawan) are brothers. Josh Ockimey owns 11 homers and 37 RBI in 59 games for Boston's AA team and is pushing hard to become the fourth black city leagues player to reach the majors. The others: Gratz' Roy Campanella (Hall of Fame) and Harold "Pat" Kelly and Overbrook's Jeff Leonard. Leroy Kelly, Pat's brother, is in the NFL Hall of Fame.

Black First Team All-City Honorees
Name / Position	School	Year(s)
Steve Harvey, of	Franklin	1978
Ricky Ford, inf	Germantown	1979
John DeLeon, 1b	University City	1979
Lamont McGill, of	Franklin	1980
David Orr, of	Malvern	1981
Ernell Harley, of	Mastbaum	1981
Deron Miller, inf	Franklin	1983-84
Anthony Franklin, of	Franklin	1984
Chris Wyche, of	Germantown	1985
Scott Thompson, of	West Catholic	1987
Terrell Berthau, inf	Franklin	1989
Rob Hale, p	Southern	1989
Courtney Batts, inf	Penn Charter	1992-93
Larry Abney, of	Olney	1992
Ed Bowman, inf	Mastbaum	1997
Eric Pugh, inf	Overbrook	1999
Mike Gibbs, dh	Roxborough	2002
Jon McAllister, of	Chestnut Hill	2009-10
Aaron Wilmer, dh	Washington	2010
Josh Ockimey, dh-1b	Neumann-Goretti	2012-14
Jawan McAllister, of	SJ Prep	2013-14
Marquise Wood, of	Roman	2018
Brandon Sanders, 1b	SJ Prep	2018
Isaiah Payton, inf	Episcopal	2018

JUNE 25
TEDBIT
All-City baseball teams have been picked for 41 years and the list below shows the Top 5 schools in terms of first team honorees. Penn Charter leads the way with 37 -- 28 guys once, five twice and two thrice. Malvern (36), Neumann/N-G (34), La Salle (29) and Judge (27) round out the Top 5. Malvern is No. 1 in the most-different-honorees with 30.

PENN CHARTER (37)		MALVERN (36)		NEUMANN/N-G (34)		LA SALLE (29)		JUDGE (27)
John Loughery, inf	1978	David Orr, of	1981	Nick Martino, c	1982	*Gene Schall, p	1988	Marc Fleming, of	1978
Frank DeSantis, c	1978	Mike Laino, inf	1982	Anthony Grosso, 1b	1986	Jack Stanczak, 1b	1989	Dave Gallo, inf	1979
David Amaro, of-1b	1979-80	Mike DeNoia, p	1983	Rob Carfagno, p	1988	Chris Massella, inf	1990	Mike Stankiewicz, inf	1980
*Mark Gubicza, p	1981	Bill Lockhart, of	1985	Lou Spadaccini, of	1991-92	Roger Harrington, of	1992	Cosmo Losco, of	1980
*Ruben Amaro, inf	1983	Tim Kerns, dh	1988	Nick Del Percio, dh	1991	Kevin Kline, dh	1994	Harry Murray, of	1982
Steve Floirendo, dh	1986	Matt O'Brien, of	1993	Ray Russo, of	1993	Drew Middlemiss, 1b	1997	Pat Waninger, p	1982
Dave Healy, p	1986	Glenn Davis, 1b	1994	Doug Rubino, p	1995	Ed Bongard, c	1998	Mark Iacovelli, inf	1985
Jamie Dimond, inf	1987	*Ben Davis, c	1994-95	Tom Daly, c	2003	Jeff Pietrak, of	1998	Kerry Cahill, inf	1986
Dave Nanni, dh	1989	Dave O'Brien, of	1996	Mark Donato, 1b-p	2008-10	Bryan Harvey, inf	2000	Chris Gies, p	1987
Courtney Batts, inf	1992-93	Josh McKinley, inf	1997-98	Al Baur, inf	2009	John Reifsnyder, inf	2001	Ron Filippo, of	1988
Mike Samuel, p	1993-94	Ryan Edginton, of	1999	Mike "Zoom" Zolk, inf	2011	Ryan Parfitt, of	2001	George Beisel, inf	1990
Mike Sposato, of	1994	Derek Duclos, p	2001	Joey Gorman, p	2011-12	Dan Waters, of/p	2002-03	*Bob File, inf	1994
Frank Maletta, inf	1995	Will Romanowicz, p	2004	Jimmy Kerrigan, of	2012	Matt Zielinski, p	2005-06	Kevin McGerry, p	1997
Domingo Negron, 1b	1996	Tom Grandieri, of	2006	Josh Ockimey, dh-1b	2012-14	Sean Saverio, c	2007	Kris Dufner, inf	1998
Pat Larkin, of	1997	*Phil Gosselin, inf	2007	Bay To, of	2014	Shawn O'Neill, p	2009	Brian Kearney, c	1999
Matt Arizin, p	1997	Chris "Goose" Gosik, of	2008	Pat Doudican, p	2014	Joe Forcellini, 1b	2011	Eric Ruhland, of	2000
Joe Larkin, of	1999	John Gentile, p	2008	Charlie Jerla, p	2014	Corey Baiada, c	2012	Kirk Bucholski, of	2000
Kenny Devenney, of	2000-01	Mike Lubanski, dh	2009	Vinny Vaccone, inf	2015	Kevin Long, p	2012	Dale Curry, dh-c	2003-04
Aaron Greenfield, c	2002	Ty Young, inf	2010	Matt McKeown, of	2015	Dominic Couci. p	2013-14	Matt Compton, p/dh	2005-06
Taylor Baum, 1b	2003	Chris O'Brien	2011	Tommy Nardini, c	2015	Chris Melillo, 1b	2013	Ryan Kreider, 1b	2007
Ryan Nanni, of	2005	Nick Bateman, of	2011-12	Nicky D'Amore, inf	2016	Jimmy Herron, cf	2014-15	Kevin Conroy, 1b	2010
Mark Adzick, p	2005-07	Joe Ravert, 1b	2012	Brian Verratti, of	2016	Nick Dermo, c	2014	Mike McLaughlin, of	2011
Doug Fleming, c	2008-09	Joe Poduslenko, inf	2012-13	Jeff Ciocco, p	2016	Andrew Cossetti, c	2017-18	Christian Lutz, dh	2016
Mark Rhine, inf	2009	Steve Robinson, c	2013	Jared Healey, inf	2017	Eric Marasheski, ss	2018	Dan Hammer, p	2016
Kenny Koplove, p	2012	Matt Maul, inf	2014	Colin Eiser, of	2017-18	Joe Miller, p	2018	Chuck Kelley, p	2018
Steve Cohen, inf	2014	Tim Quinn, dh	2015
Mike Siani	2016-18	Chris Butera, p	2015
Joey Lancellotti, p	2017	Shane Muntz, c	2016
		Chris Newell, 2017	2017-18
		Billy Corcoran, p	2017-18
*-advanced to MLB

JUNE 20
TEDBIT
The club is small, but its members are very proud. This is year No. 41 for All-City baseball teams and just six guys have earned first team honors three times. Penn Charter's Mike Siani is the newest honoree. The sr. CF recently was selected in the fourth round of the amateur draft by the Cincinnati Reds. If he can't reach terms on a contract, he'll head to the University of Virginia, to which he committed before he played a varsity game at PC. Now for the amazing part about these six guys: Five batted and/or threw lefthanded. Howie Freling, Mark Donato, Josh Ockimey and Siani are lefty swingers and Mark Adzick pitched lefthanded, as did Donato (senior honors as pitcher). Ryan's John Price pitched righthanded. He was also a quality football player, earning second team All-City honors as a defensive back in 1998. He also quarterbacked the Raiders in that season, leading them to the Catholic League championship game. He missed much of his senior season due to a broken hand.

First Team All-City Three-Times
Name	School	Years	Pos.	*Minors	#Length
Howie Freiling	Northeast	1982-84	1B	AAA	4 years
John Price	Ryan	1998-00	P	no
Mark Adzick	Penn Charter	2005-07	P	np
Mark Donato	Neumann-Goretti	2008-10	1B-P	high A	3 years
Josh Ockimey	Neumann-Goretti	2012-14	DH-1B	AA	5 years
Mike Siani	Penn Charter	2016-18	OF	TBD
*Highest level reached . . . #Length of pro career

JUNE 19
TEDBIT
In the 2003 and '04 seasons, Malvern compiled a 1-6 record (ouch) in one-run Inter-Ac League games. The Friars reversed that trend by going 3-1 in '05 and they've done rather well over the last 14 seasons. Their record in one-runners is 19-12 and they've won 10 championships (seven outright, three shared). The breakdown is below. One extra note: Malvern's first one-run I-A game in this century was a 1-0 win over Germantown Academy in 2000. The run scored on a third inning homer by Mike Ryan. He's the brother of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, a Penn Charter product.

Malvern's One-Run Inter-Ac Games, 2005-18
Year	Winner	Loser	Score
O-2018	Germantown Academy	Malvern	3-2
	Malvern	SCH Academy	4-3
	Malvern	Penn Charter	3-2
2017	Malvern	Haverford School	6-5
	Penn Charter	Malvern	1-0
	Penn Charter	Malvern	1-0
O-2016	Malvern	Germantown Academy	3-2
	Malvern	SCH Academy	3-2
	Episcopal	Episcopal	6-5
	Penn Charter	Malvern	1-0
	SCH Academy	Malvern	6-5
O-2015	Malvern	Episcopal	7-6
	Malvern	Haverford School	7-6
	Haverford School	Malvern	4-3
	Malvern	Penn Charter	5-4
S-2014	Haverford School	Malvern	3-2
	Malvern	Germantown Academy	6-5
O-2013	None
O-2012	Malvern	Chestnut Hill	7-6
	Malvern	Germantown Academy	4-3
O-2011	Malvern	Haverford School	5-4
	Malvern	Episcopal	2-1
	Germantown Academy	Malvern	3-2
	Haverford School	Malvern	1-0
2010	None
2009	Malvern	Episcopal	5-4
O-2008	None
S-2007	Malvern	Haverford School	5-4
S-2006	Penn Charter	Malvern	4-3
	Malvern	Haverford School	5-4
2005	Malvern	Chestnut Hill	8-7
	Germantown Academy	Malvern	3-2
	Malvern	Haverford School	7-6
	Malvern	Germantown Academy	6-5

JUNE 18
TEDBIT
This is year No. 33 for the Carpenter Cup Classic and 19 Catholic League guys have played in three tourneys. Infielder Tom Sergio, of the ol' Bishop Kenrick, in Norristown, even played in four (1990-93). He then started for four seasons at North Carolina State and was selected in the fourth round of '97 draft by the Texas Rangers. After his minor league days ended -- in '99 at AA Tulsa, he hit .291 with 38 doubles, 10 homers, 72 RBI and 19 steals -- he was the coach for Kennedy-Kenrick's final three seasons (2008-10). That school was in Kenrick's old building and included kids, mostly from Conshohocken/nearby, who would have attended the ol' Archbishop Kennedy. That one closed in '93.

The Catholic League's Three-Time Carpenter Cup Classic Participants
Last Name	First	School	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Bell	Mike	Ryan	1995	1996	1997
Carey	Marty	O'Hara	1987	1988	1989
Carr	Harry	Roman	1990	1991	1992
Daley	Matt	Roman	2001	2002	2003
DiMaggio	Frank	Carroll	1993	1994	1995
Dolan	Tom	Ryan	2002	2003	2004
Donato	Mark	Neumann-Goretti	2008	2009	2010
Furman	Steve	Bonner-Prendie	2014	2015	2016
Harrington	Roger	La Salle	1990	1991	1992
Kusters	Dan	Wood	1989	1990	1991
Manto	Jeff	C-E (1)/SJ Prep (2)	2015	2016	2017
McCrossen	Kyle	Wood	2008	2009	2010
Pietrak	Jeff	La Salle	1996	1997	1998
Price	John	Ryan	1998	1999	2000
Sergio	Tom	Kenrick	1990	1991	1992	1993
Spadaccini	Lou	Neumann	1990	1991	1992
Sywulak	Gregg	La Salle	2015	2016	2017
Williams	Shane	SJ Prep	2011	2012	2013
Zolk	Mike	Neumann-Goretti	2009	2010	2011

JUNE 17
TEDBIT
As the list below shows, the Inter-Ac's first round results in the Carpenter Cup Classic have been kinda bad/very good over two centuries. From '86 to '99, the I-A went 3-11. Since 2000, the record is 12-7 and the latest hot stretch is 6-for-7. There was also a 6-for-7 stretch from '01 through '07. There have been three versions of I-A participation through the years. The I-A played on its own in '86 and '87, joined with the Bicentennial League from '88 through '04 and switched to team up with independent schools beginning in '05. Thursday, I-A/Indy beat Berks County, 12-3, as SCH Academy soph Jared Sprague-Lott went 2-for-2 with a walk and three RBI. The batters rapped nine hits and drew 10 walks while the pitchers recorded 15 strikeouts. The I-A's first game in '86 was a classic. In part for what happened, but more for how late it happened. I-A defeated the Central League, 15-3, at Veterans Stadium and the game ended at . . . 12:18 a.m.! It was the third game of a tripleheader that began at 1 p.m. The far-and-away highlight was a three-run homer by Germantown Academy soph Mark Steffens, who wound up playing in the minors. Mark batted lefty and the ball cleared the fence in right-center a few feet to the right of the 371-foot sign. The shot would have been a grand slam, but just one pitch earlier GA's Joe Petko raced home on a wild pitch.

I-A's First Round CCC Wins
Year	Opponent / Score
'86	Central, W, 15-3
'91	Catholic, W, 4-3
'95	Mercer Co., W, 6-4
'01	Delaware Co., W, 9-3
'03	Catholic, W, 6-4
'04	Oly./Colonial, W, 11-1
'05	Burlington Co., W, 6-0
'06	Oly./Colonial, W, 7-3
'07	Burlington Co. W, 11-10
'12	Delaware South, W, 12-11
'13	Public League, W, 14-4
'14	Delaware South, W, 14-1
'16	Delaware North, W, 4-1
'17	Delaware County, W, 2-1
'18	Berks County, W, 12-3

JUNE 16
TEDBIT
If you've paid attention to the Catholic League's participation in the Carpenter Cup Classic over the last seven years, perhaps you've said to yourself, "Is there now a rule? Every team must have a Furman?" (smile) Might as well be. The Furman brothers -- Dan, Steve and Nate -- have played throughout and Nate is only a soph, so let's expect two more appearances. To keep the family thing going, Joe DeBarberie was Bonner-Prendie's coach through 2017 and the current Friars' boss is . . . you got it, son Steve. Below are stats for the Furmans. Dan was a pitcher for Pitt. Steve's a catcher for Iona. Nate is an infielder.

Stats for B-P's Furman Brothers in the Carpenter Cup Classic
Dan	Opponent	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
2012	Chester County	0	2	3	0	1	0
2013	SOL American/Continental	1	0	0	0	0	2
	Totals	1	2	3	0	1	2
Steve	Opponent	AB	R	H	BI
2014	Tri/Cape	2	0	0	0
2015	Mercer County	1	1	0	0
	Berks County	2	0	0	0
2016	Burlington County	3	0	2	1
	Delaware South	3	0	0	1
	SOL National/Bicentennial	2	0	0	0
	SOL American/Continental	2	1	1	0
	Totals	15	2	3	2
Nate	Opponent	AB	R	H	BI
2017	SOL American/Continental	2	0	1	2
2018	Tri/Cape	2	0	1	1
	Totals	4	0	2	3
	Steve-Nate Totals	19	2	5	5

JUNE 15
TEDBIT
Aidan "Curly" Frye, a recent SCH Academy grad and four times a first team All-Inter-Ac honoree, certainly has fared well on that big stage called the Carpenter Cup Classic. In three appearances over four years -- yes, he made the Inter-Ac/Independents squad as a freshman -- he has allowed just one hit and one run (unearned) over seven innings while walking NONE and recording 11 strikeouts. The breakdown is right below. Curly's next stop will be La Salle University.

Curly Frye's Pitching Stats in the Carpenter Cup Classic
Year	Opponent	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
2015	Berks County	1	0	0	0	0	0
2017	Delaware County	3	0	0	0	0	5
2018	Berks County	3	1	1	0	0	6
	Totals	7	1	1	0	0	11

JUNE 14
TEDBIT
The Catholic League played on Day 1 of this year's Carpenter Cup Classic and the result, though not even close to ugly, wasn't desirable. The CL fell to Tri/Cape, 4-3, and that was the fifth first-round loss over the last seven years. This is year No. 33 for the CCC and the CL has experienced first round setbacks 15 times. It won the tournament in '87, '90 and '05.

CL'S First Round CCC Setbacks
Year	Opponent / Score
'86	Suburban One American, L, 15-8
'89	Mercer County, L, 9-4
'91	Bicentennial/Inter-Ac, L, 4-3
'94	Mercer County, L, 16-4
'96	Delaware North, L, 5-3
'00	Burlington County, L, 9-0
'01	Suburban One National, L, 10-4
'02	Suburban One American, L, 7-5
'03	Bicentennial./Inter-Ac, L, 6-4
'08	Burlington County, L, 10-7
'12	Chester County, L, 13-7
'13	Suburban One American/Continental, L, 8-3
'14	Tri/Cape, L, 6-4
'17	Suburban One American//Continental, L, 20-5
'18	Tri/Cape, L, 4-3

JUNE 13
TEDBIT
The 2017-18 school year is over for Catholic League teams and maybe you're wondering, How did the teams match up in the three major sports? The breakdown is below. Included are regular season league games, CL playoffs, City Titles and state playoffs. Neumann-Goretti's winning percentage was an impressive .826 while Roman, Wood and La Salle formed a close-together three pack down the line a little. Eight of the 14 schools finished above .500.

Performances by CL Schools in the Three Major Sports, 2017-18
School	Foot	Bask	Base	Totals	Pct.
Neumann-Goretti	9-1	18-2	11-5	38-8	.826
Roman	2-5	20-2	8-6	30-13	.698
Wood	10-1	8-6	8-5	26-12	.684
La Salle	5-3	6-8	17-2	28-13	.683
Carroll	0-7	14-5	15-4	29-16	.644
SJ Prep	11-1	11-8	6-8	28-17	.622
Bonner-Prendie	1-6	18-3	6-9	25-18	.581
O'Hara	4-4	6-9	10-4	20-17	.541
West Catholic	6-2	3-10	none	9-12	.429
Ryan	4-4	6-8	2-10	12-22	.353
Judge	1-6	1-12	9-5	11-23	.324
Conwell-Egan	5-5	4-13	4-11	13-29	.310
Lansdale Catholic	5-4	2-12	1-12	8-28	.222
McDevitt	1-5	7-11	0-12	8-28	.222

JUNE 12
TEDBIT
The Catholic League's three-game winning streak in state semifinals, accomplished by Neumann-Goretti, came to an end last night when Carroll fell to Lower Dauphin, 3-2, in Class 5A. Now it's up to La Salle to make sure the CL's overall semis record doesn't dip below .500. The CL is now 5-5 and the Explorers' opponent -- 4 p.m. at Immaculata University -- will be Bensalem. Four of the five semis survivors (all but N-G in 2015) have powered forward to win state crowns.

Results for Catholic League Teams in State Semifinals
Year	Class	Team	Opponent	Result	Score
2009	4A	SJ Prep	Parkland	Lost	4-2
	3A	Neumann-Goretti	Abington Heights	Lost	9-4
2012	4A	La Salle	Hatboro-Horsham	Won	7-5
	3A	Neumann-Goretti	Lampeter-Strasburg	Lost	2-0
2014	4A	La Salle	Spring-Ford	Won	3-0
	2A	Neumann-Goretti	Loyalsock	Lost	4-3
2015	2A	Neumann-Goretti	Loyalsock	Won	9-1
2016	2A	Neumann-Goretti	North Schuylkill	Won	3-0
2017	2A	Neumann-Goretti	Bellwood-Antis	Won	10-9
2018	5A	Carroll	Lower Dauphin	Lost	3-2
	6A	La Salle	Bensalem	TBD

JUNE 10
TEDBIT
Well, we're halfway through the state playoffs for 2018 and the Catholic League now owns more runs than its opponents over 10 years of competition. The CL already owned a winning record through 2017 at 31-23, but trailed in runs by 200-197. That problem has been fixed, at 234-223, and the winning percentage is up to .581 (at 36-26). La Salle in 6A and Carroll in 5A are still alive and their semifinal clashes will take place tomorrow. Good luck to both squads!

Results for Catholic League Teams in State Playoffs (36-26, 234 RF-223 RA)
Original Format
	CLASS 4A		CLASS 3A		CLASS 2A
	W-L	RF-RA	W-L	RF-RA	W-L	RF-RA
2009	2-1	8-10	2-1	13-13	0-1	1-8
2010	0-1	1-4	1-1	10-8	1-1	3-10
2011	0-1	3-8	0-1	1-3	--
2012	4-0	23-17	2-1	11-4	--
2013	0-1	4-11	0-1	6-9	0-1	2-6
2014	4-0	16-6	0-1	1-3	2-1	9-7
2015	1-1	3-2	0-1	0-2	3-1	18-13
2016	0-1	1-2	0-1	5-6	4-0	12-1
	11-6	59-60	5-8	47-48	10-5	45-45
New Format
	CLASS 6A		CLASS 5A		CLASS 4A		CLASS 3A		CLASS 2A
	W-L	RF-RA	W-L	RF-RA	W-L	RF-RA	W-L	RF-RA	W-L	RF-RA
2017	1-1	4-6	0-1	0-2	0-1	3-7	0-1	5-6	4-0	34-26
2018	2-0	17-1	2-0	10-4	0-1	0-8	0-1	3-4	1-1	7-6
	3-1	21-7	2-1	10-6	0-2	3-15	0-2	8-10	5-1	41-32

JUNE 9
TEDBIT
This is year No. 10 for the Catholic League as a PIAA participant and if there's one thing we have learned, primarily via Neumann-Goretti, it's this: NEVER know what'll happen when you face teams from around the state. In a quarterfinal yesterday, the Saints, who won state crowns in 2016 and 2017, were blanked by Schuylkill Haven, 4-0, in a Class 2A quarterfinal. That was the third time they've been shut out in state action -- also 2-0 by Lampeter-Strasburg in a 2012 3A semi and 9-0 by Neshannock in the 2015 2A final. But get this: In Catholic League playoffs and City Titles, Neumann/N-G has scored in 64 consecutive games! The breakdown is 55 CL playoffs and nine City Titles. In 1983, when the nickname was Pirates and the colors were orange and black, Neumann was blanked by long-closed St. James, 2-0, in a second round playoff. SJ's pitcher was lefty Joe Knoud, who allowed three hits. Neumann's pitcher was lefty Frank DiMichele, who wound up pitching in the majors. He also allowed three hits. In the 64 games, Neumann/N-G has racked up 398 runs for an average of 6.2. The numbers over the last 10 years are 40-263-6.6. Again, those numbers do not include state playoffs. . . . In all, CL teams have suffered seven shutouts in state play. Wood has also thrice been blanked -- in 2010, 2015 and 2017 -- while Bonner-Prendie got hit with a donut earlier this week.

Neumann/N-G Has Scored in 64 Consecutive CL Playoffs/City Titles
Year	Games	Runs	Year	Games	Runs	Year	Games	Runs
1984	1	2	1996	x		2008	2	2
1985	1	2	1997	3	19	2009	4	34
1986	3	38	1998	1	12	2010	2	15
1987	2	9	1999	x		2011	4	40
1988	2	7	2000	x		2012	4	34
1989	x		2001	x		2013	4	16
1990	1	7	2002	x		2014	8	49
1991	2	8	2003	x		2015	4	30
1992	2	9	2004	x		2016	4	20
1993	2	12	2005	x		2017	4	21
1994	x		2006	x		2018	2	4
1995	2	8	2007	x
	18	102		4	31		42	265

							64	398
							Avg.	6.2

JUNE 7
TEDBIT
Malvern Prep knows how to one-up a guy. Er, a rival school. On the first day of the MLB draft, Penn Charter CF Mike Siani was selected in the fourth round of the MLB draft and that development enabled the Quakers to tie Germantown Academy, Judge and Malvern for first place among city leagues schools in this category -- Most Guys Drafted Right Outta High School. Then came day three and . . . Sr. RHP Billy Corcoran was tabbed by the Texas Rangers in the 36th round and Malvern's number jumped to eight. The breakdown is below. Congrats to Mike and Billy! . . . If I missed anyone, you know the deal. Email is right up top. Thanks.

	MALVERN (8)
Year	Name	Pos.	Round	Team
1993	Matt O'Brien	OF	55	Expos
1994	Glenn Davis	1B	18	Twins
1995	*Ben Davis	C	1 (2)	Padres
1998	Josh McKinley	SS	1 (11)	Expos
2004	Mike Lorentson	P	38	Padres
2009	Chris Gosik	OF	49	Phillies
2017	Shane Muntz	C	36	Padres
2018	Billy Corcoran	P	36	Rangers
	GTN. ACAD. (7)
Year	Name	Pos.	Round	Team
1970	David Lawson	P	4	Yankees
1972	Tim Lewis	P	39	Dodgers
1978	Craig Shumock	3B	14	Twins
1988	Mark Steffens	OF	23	Phillies
1994	Rick Welsh	SS	8	Orioles
2010	Sean Coyle	SS	3	Red Sox
2010	Keenan Kish	P	34	Yankees
	JUDGE (7)
Year	Name	Pos.	Round	Team
1967	Norm Kraft	3B	8	White Sox
1967	Tim Foy	C	35	White Sox
1978	Vince Pellegrini	P	25	Pirates
1979	Joe Healy	P	23	Mets
1986	Kerry Cahill	SS	43	Braves
1997	Kevin McGerry	P	5	Giants
2005	Shane Erb	P	49	Phillies
	PENN CHARTER (7)
Year	Name	Pos.	Round	Team
1970	Jim Sloan	P	17	Expos
1981	*Mark Gubicza	P	2	Royals
1993	Courtney Batts	INF	25	Orioles
2007	Mark Adzick	P	18	Phillies
2009	Rob Amaro	3B	40	Phillies
2011	Andrew Amaro	2B	47	Phillies
2018	Mike Siani	OF	4	Reds
*-advanced to majors

JUNE 6
TEDBIT
This is year No. 54 for the baseball draft. In that time, 16 "Our Guys" have been selected out of high school within the first five rounds. The Upper Echelon Club's latest member is Penn Charter CF Mike Siani, who yesterday was tabbed by the Cincinnati Reds in the fourth round (pick No. 109). The lefty thrower/swinger committed to Virginia as a freshman at PC before he even played in a varsity game. Four of the guys on the list below advanced to the majors and two graduated in the same year, 1981 -- RHP Mark Gubicza (also PC) and catcher John Marzano (Central). John did not sign right out of high school. All three non-signees were later redrafted and played in the minors.

"Our Guys" Drafted in Top 5 Rounds Out of High School, 1965-2018
Year	Name	School	Pos.	Round	Team	Sign?	Again?
1978	Tito Nanni	Chestnut Hill	1B	1 (No. 6)	Mariners	yes
1995	*Ben Davis	Malvern	C	1 (No. 2)	Padres	yes
1998	Josh McKinley	Malvern	SS	1 (No. 11)	Expos	yes
2003	Chris Lubanski	Kennedy-Kenrick	OF	1 (No. 5)	Royals	yes
1980	Dan Cataline	Ryan	OF	2	Cubs	yes
1981	*Mark Gubicza	Penn Charter	P	2	Royals	yes
1981	*John Marzano	Central	C	3	Twins	no	yes
2010	Sean Coyle	Gtn. Academy	SS	3	Red Sox	yes
1970	David Lawson	Gtn. Academy	P	4	Yankees	yes
1974	*George Riley	Southern	P	4	Cubs	yes
1999	Jeff Randazzo	O'Hara	P	4	Twins	yes
2018	Mike Siani	Penn Charter	OF	4	Reds	TBA
1989	Jack Stanczak	La Salle	1B	5	Astros	no	yes
1993	Scott Hunter	Northeast	C	5	Dodgers	yes
1997	Kevin McGerry	Judge	P	5	Giants	no	yes
2014	Josh Ockimey	Neumann-Goretti	1B	5	Red Sox	yes
*-advanced to majors

JUNE 5
TEDBIT
Back on May 31, I pointed out that McDevitt has posted just three Catholic League wins over the last 15 seasons against schools that still exist and have a team. And that perhaps the school should drop baseball or find a way to play that sport in a small enrollment suburban league. Among those who checked in was Jack Rutter, the Lancers' former basketball coach. He was good friends with the late Ed Markowski, that '95 team's coach, and the duo even worked together as police officers in Philly's 6th District. He said that team deserved a mention and that Ed was really into McDevitt baseball. Those Lancers finished 9-5 in the Northern Division and that mark was good enough for second place behind North Catholic (12-2). Their one playoff game resulted in a 9-4 loss to Ryan in the second. Outfielder Eric Elmer and infielder Kevin Pinkos were first team All-Catholic honorees. Pitcher Tim Flaherty was a second teamer. Elmer made second team All-City. Pinkos made third team (at the DH spot). I covered three McDevitt games that season -- a 4-1 win over Ryan and a 2-1 loss to North in the regular season and the 9-4 playoff loss. The roster and my scoresheets for McDevitt are in this set. (They're kinda light. I've always used pencil. Just click on each item to make it larger and, hopefully, easier to read.)

JUNE 4
TEDBIT
The Inter-Ac coaches recently picked their All-Inter-Ac teams (first and second) and each featured one freshman. In this century, nine freshmen have earned first team honors and 14 have been placed on the second team. Three have been first teamers for four consecutive years -- SCH Academy's Aidan "Curly" Frye ('18) and Jon McAllister ('10) and Germantown Academy's Tommy Coyle ('09).

Freshman All-Inter-Ac Honorees in This Century -- First Team / Second Team
Year	First Team	Team	Pos.	Second Team	Team	Pos.
2018	Joe Jaconski	SCH	INF	Lonnie White	MP	OF
2017	None
2016				Jack O'Reilly	EA	INF
2015	Justin Meyer	HS	P-OF	Billy Corcoran	MP	P
	*Aidan "Curly" Frye	SCH	P	Mike Siani	PC	P-OF
2014	Tommy Toal	HS	INF	Matt Gorman	PC	P
2013	None
2012	Kevin McGowan	HS	INF	John Aiello	GA	P-INF
2011	None
2010				Doug Trimble	EA	INF
2009	Kenny Koplove	PC	P	Demetrius Jennings	PC	INF
				Nick Bateman	MP	OF
				Matt Primavera	CH	DH
2008	None
2007	*Jon McAllister	CH	OF	Slater McCue	GA	DH
2006	*Tommy Coyle	GA	INF
	Rob Amaro	PC	1B-DH
2005	None
2004				Mark Adzick	PC	P
				Anthony Cafagna	CH	P-INF
2003	None
2002	None
2001				Sean Grieve	GA	P
2000	None
*-first team four years

JUNE 3
TEDBIT
La Salle finished 14-1 in Catholic League play, counting the regular season (11-1) and playoffs (3-0), and that record gives these Explorers the sixth spot on the list below. Three teams have achieved perfection and Judge's '82 squad checks in at No. 1. Back then, the Northern Division still numbered nine teams and Joe McDermott's team stormed to 16 straight wins before triumphing in the semis (2-0 over Egan) and final (6-1 over Carroll). Pitcher of the Year Pat Waninger and outfielder Harry Murray earned first team All-City honors. Second team: infielder Dennis Minich and DH Stanley Brach. Third team: outfielder John Higgins and pitcher Paul Mazurek.

Top Catholic League Champs by Winning Percentage, Regular Season & Playoffs, 1978-2018
Year	School	Coach	Reg. Sea.	Play. W	Total	Pct.
'82	Father Judge	Joe McDermott	16-0	Two	18-0	1.000
'06	Conwell-Egan	Rich Papirio	14-0	Two	16-0	1.000
'11	Ss. Neumann-Goretti	Lou Spadaccini	12-0	Three	15-0	1.000
'80	Archbishop Ryan	Rich Papirio	15-1	Two	17-1	.944
'92	Roman Catholic	Joe O'Brien	13-1	Two	15-1	.938
'18	La Salle	Kyle Werman	11-1	Three	14-1	.933
'12	Ss. Neumann-Goretti	Mike Zolk Sr.	9-1	Three	12-1	.923
'90	Archbishop Wood	Paul Ellis	14-2	Two	16-2	.889
'08	St. Joseph's Prep	Chris Rupertus	12-2	Three	15-2	.882
'79	West Catholic	Ed Brouillette	12-2	Two	14-2	.875
'83	Cardinal O'Hara	Bill Dugan	12-2	Two	14-2	.875
'95	North Catholic	Pete Maddaloni	12-2	Two	14-2	.875
'05	La Salle	Joe Parisi	12-2	Two	14-2	.875

JUNE 2
TEDBIT
The scores rolled in one by one and the eyebrows raised higher and higher. No way! Way. In four on-the-field City Titles, the Catholic League yesterday bested the Public League by a combined score of 55-0. That total does not count Neumann-Goretti's forfeit win over Masterman. Through 2015, the CL was perfect. At the highest enrollment level -- 4A in 2016, 6A in 2017 -- Judge fell to Olney then SJ Prep did so to Frankford. The CL has now won 30 of the 32 showdowns, counting the forfeit, and the average victory margin stands at 9.9, not counting the forfeit. The breakdown is below. The original series -- one game each year -- lasted for 35 years from 1945 through '79. The Pub twice put together three-game winning streaks -- 1947-49 (Southern each time) and 1959-61 (Southern, then Bartram twice).

Victory Margins for CL Teams in City Titles, 2009-18
Year	6A	5A	4A	3A	2A	Avg.
2009			10	16	11	12.3
2010			7	10	10	9.0
2011			5	5	None	5.0
2012			13	13	None	13.0
2013			8	5	3	5.3
2014			15	8	11	11.3
2015			10	8	10	9.3
2016			Lost	16	6	11.0
2017	Lost	11	6	10	4	7.8
2018	19	15	13	8	W For.	13.8
Total	19	26	87	99	55
Avg.	19.0	11.0	9.7	9.9	*7.9	*9.9
*-not counting forfeit

JUNE 1
TEDBIT
You could say Frankford has owned this century in Public League baseball. And current coach Juan Namnun (Class of '95) has been a constant. He was an assistant when coach Bob Peffle (Class of '65) won five championships from 2000 through 2007 and as the head man he has won six in 11 seasons. The breakdown is below. A quick search showed that Neumann-Goretti won 11 Catholic League basketball crowns over 18 seasons (1997-2014) and that Roman won 11 over 17 (1978-94). Frankford's feat is 11 in 19.

Frankford's Pub Championship Wins in This Century
Year	Loser	Score	Winning Pitcher
Coach Bob Peffle
2000	GAMP	5-3	Ed Durfor
2003	Northeast	3-1	Joe Farina
2004	Northeast	6-4	Joe Farina
2005	Central	9-6	Kelinton Tejada
2007	Central	7-5	Esteban "Shortie" Meletiche
Coach Juan Namnun
2008	Central	15-5	Esteban "Shortie" Meletiche
2011	Edison	5-4	Omar Cruz
2012	GAMP	8-3	Omar Cruz
2013	Franklin Towne	9-2	Eduardo "Cheese" Sanchez
2017	Olney	8-6	Luis Ramos
2018	Central	5-4	Abenego Santos

MAY 31
TEDBIT
McDevitt joined the Catholic League for the 1963-64 school year, but did not have a baseball team until 1972. School officials thought baseball might hurt the track program. Speaking of hurt . . . For a very long time, being a baseball Lancer has not been easy and perhaps it's time to ditch the program or at least get permission from CL officials to join a small-enrollment suburban league. The school's record in CL games over the last 15 seasons is 27-181 for a winning percentage of .130. Of those 27 wins, just THREE have been racked up against schools that are still around and still have a team. Dougherty, North Catholic and Kennedy-Kenrick closed in 2010. West Catholic dropped baseball after the 2011 season, then tried to bring it back in 2014. The Burrs lost four games, then forfeited their last 10 due to low numbers. As for McDevitt, the Lancers were outscored this year by 181-3. The totals over the last two years are 340-5 and are 559-44 over the last four. When McDevitt beat Carroll in 2016, it ended a 41-game, on-the-field CL losing streak. It hasn't won since and is 1-69 over the last 70 games. Over the last 13 seasons, according to lists compiled by Randy Seidman, just four Lancers have played college baseball.

McDevitt's Results in CL Regular Season, 2004-18
Year	W-L	Wins Over . . .
2004	2-16	Dougherty, North
2005	2-12	Judge, Dougherty
2006	3-11	North, Dougherty (2)
2007	3-18	Dougherty (3)
2008	4-9	West (2), Dougherty (2)
2009	4-12	West (2), Dougherty (2)
2010	3-13	Dougherty (2), Kennedy-Kenrick
2011	2-10	West (2)
2012	0-10
2013	1-11	Conwell-Egan
2014	2-12	West (2, both by forfeit)
2015	0-12
2016	1-11	Carroll
2017	0-12
2018	0-12
	27-181	Last 15 years (.130)
	1-47	Last 4 years (.021)
	6-90	Last 8 years (.063)
	3	Wins over schools still open with teams
	16	Wins over closed schools
	8	Wins over West (no team since 2014)

MAY 30
TEDBIT
Tom Beck has been an accomplished umpire for four decades and Saturday he experienced a first . . . handling the plate in the Catholic League championship game. According to boxscores going back to 1976, it was also his debut of any kind in a final. The primary reason is likely the fact that Tom was off doing college games. Tom starred at the original Council Rock High, also experienced success at Temple and played for two seasons in the Phillies farm system. As a freshman in 1973, he lofted an 11th inning sacrifice fly to give Temple a 4-3 win over Delaware and the Middle Atlantic Conference championship. He also had other big moments. As near as I can figure, Tom is the eighth guy since 1976 to make his CL final umpiring debut at the plate. Others: Jim Cronin in '81, Bill Lawrence in '88, Bill "Babs" Haines in '02, Paul Fricker in '04, Mike Finney in '05, Jack Dabagian in '07 and Steve Porrini in '10.

Plate Umps in Catholic Baseball Finals, 1976-2018
Name	No.	------- Years -------
Ed Kerrigan	6	2000	1985	1982	1980	1979	1976
Bill "Babs" Haines	6	2017	2016	2011	2008	2006	2002
Carlos Deno	5	2015	2013	2012	2003	1999
Jim Ricci	4	2001	1996	1991	1986
Jim Cronin	3	1990	1984	1981
Paul Fricker	2	2009	2004
Tom Scartozzi	2	1998	1995
Bruce Martin	2	1992	1989
Tom Beck	1	2018
Steve Porrini	1	2010
Jack Dabagian	1	2007
Mike Finney	1	2005
Art Chapman	1	1997
Pete DeIuliis	1	1994
Gary Brooks	1	1993
Bill Lawrence	1	1988
Bill Harris	1	1987
Jim King	1	1983
Greg Mills	1	1978
Tony Focht	1	1977

MAY 29
TEDBIT
As was noted at this time last year, information on assorted websites says lefthanders make up only 10 percent of the population, though I did see one mention of 12 percent. But check this out: Over the last 43 years, 35 percent of the winning pitchers in Catholic League finals have been lefties. La Salle's Joe Miller just joined the club and Neumann-Goretti's Phil Sanborn did so last year, so this is the third time there have been back-to-backers -- also La Salle's Rogers Burns in '94 and North Catholic's Chris Heck in 1994-95, Judge's Shawn O'Neill in '76 and North's Jeff Etsell in 1976-77.

Winning Lefties in Catholic League Finals, 1976-2018
Year	Winning Pitcher	Winner	Loser	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
2018	Joe Miller	La Salle	Carroll	5	3	0	0	3	8
2017	Phil Sanborn	N-G	Wood	7	6	4	2	1	7
2014	Charlie Jerla	N-G	Roman	5	4	0	0	2	8
2011	Joey Gorman	N-G	Bonner	8	4	1	1	3	4
2009	Mark Donato	N-G	La Salle	8	4	1	1	5	10
2005	Matt Zielinski	La Salle	C-E	7	4	3	3	0	9
2002	Frank Gailey	Carroll	La Salle	7	3	0	0	1	6
1995	Chris Heck	North	Neumann	7	7	3	1	3	6
1994	*Roger Burns	La Salle	SJ Prep	1/3	0	0	0	0	0
1991	Keith Conway	Carroll	Wood	4 1/3	3	0	0	2	6
1986	*Javier Barreto	North	Neumann	3 2/3	1	0	0	2	5
1982	Kevin Waninger	Judge	Carroll	7	4	1	1	7	6
1979	Bill Mendek	West	Judge	7	6	2	2	5	5
1977	Jeff Etsell	North	Bonner	7	5	2	1	1	11
1976	Shawn O'Neill	Judge	O'Hara	7	2	0	0	7	5
*-in relief

MAY 27
TEDBIT
As La Salle yesterday bested Carroll, 10-0, in five innings, for the Catholic League championship, sr. twin brothers Andrew and Anthony Cossetti combined for five hits and three RBI. Let the research begin! As in, how often have brothers started together for CL champs? Going as far back as 1958, the answer/breakdown is below. The Cossettis are the fifth set of twins and, to add the coolness factor, their dad, Tony, was the second baseman and leadoff hitter for the Explorers' 1988 champs. Though both twins throw righthanded, Anthony bats lefty. North Catholic's Sanger identical twins took it a step further. Ken batted and threw lefty, Kevin was a double righty. Wait, so how were they identical? (smile) Roman's Carrs also followed that path -- Harry L/L and Mike R/R. But get this: Harry wrote and ate as a righty. The Pawloskis were prime contributors in the three major sports and spectacular students. Jim graduated first in his class. Ken checked in at No. 3. Their dad, Stan, played in the majors. The Gallaghers, Frank and Jim, played for St. James (located in Chester, it closed 25 years ago) and Frank played in the NFL. Via email, John Mooney, who coached that St. James team, let me know that the Gallagher clan also included twin girls, Susan and Lynn, and that the twin sets were born just 11 months apart. A younger brother, Joe, is the football coach at Haverford High. Boxscore stats are sketchy for Neumann's 1958 and 1960 champs. Ray "Chicky" Chiumento was the basketball coach at now-closed Bok for seven seasons (1994-2000). In addition to John Mooney, thanks to Joe Parisi, Charlie Pitale and Chet DiEmidio for their help in nailing down some details.

Brothers in Same Starting Lineup for Catholic League Championship Teams
Year	School	*Brothers (Twins)**	Pos.	Spot	AB	R	H	RBI
1958	Bishop Neumann	Charles Chew	C	4th	2		2
		Bob Chew	LF	7th
1960	Bishop Neumann	Ray Chiumento	2B	3rd
		Ron Chiumento	LF	5th	2	2	2	3
1961	St. James	*Frank Gallagher	1B	5th	4	2	2	0
		*Jim Gallagher	LF	6th	2	0	1	0
1980	Archbishop Ryan	*Jim Pawloski	1B	2nd	4	0	0	0
		*Ken Pawloski	SS	7th	2	2	2	2
1986	North Catholic	*Ken Sanger	1B	4th	4	2	2	4
		*Kevin Sanger	3B	7th	3	1	0	0
1991	Archbishop Carroll	Joe Aylmer	LF	7th	1	0	0	1
		Dan Aylmer	1B	9th	1	0	0	0
1992	Roman Catholic	*Harry Carr	RF	4th	4	2	2	1
		*Mike Carr	LF	5th	4	1	1	1
1996	Archbishop Carroll	Jay Aquilante	P	3rd	4	4	3	1
		Justin Aquilante	SS	8th	4	0	1	0
1997	Archbishop Carroll	Jay Aquilante	P	3rd	3	1	1	0
		Justin Aquilante	SS	9th	1	0	0	0
		Mike Fuchs	C	4th	3	2	2	2
		Jim Fuchs	1B	5th	3	0	0	0
2009	Neumann-Goretti	Mike Riverso	1B	5th	4	0	0	0
		Dom Riverso	CF	6th	3	0	0	0
2018	La Salle	*Andrew Cossetti	C	2nd	2	2	2	2
		*Anthony Cossetti	RF	3rd	3	1	3	1

MAY 26
TEDBIT
Assuming wicked weather doesn't intervene, the Catholic League baseball championship will be decided today at Immaculata University (10 a.m. start) as La Salle meets Carroll. Last year, for the first time over 69 years, the coach of the winning team, Nemann-Goretti's Mike "Zoom" Zolk Jr., was a guy who'd also started for a CL kingpin (at second base for that same school in 2011). Now, Mike Costanzo has a chance to match that feat. Mike was a star third baseman for the Patriots' title-winning squads in 2001 and '02. And I do mean STAR. He was the Daily News Player of the Year in both seasons, batting .438 with five homers and 22 RBI in one and .422 with 14-54 in the other. After playing college ball at Coastal Carolina, the lefty swinger was a pro for 10 seasons (2005-14) and spent 17 games with the Cincinnati Reds in 2012. In four playoff games over '01 and '02, Mike went 9-for-12 (.750) with seven RBI and seven runs scored . . . Over the same time frame in basketball, meanwhile, three guys have started for CL champions and guided CL schools to titles -- Eddie Burke in 1962 at St. Joseph's Prep, then Prep in '71 and long-closed St. Thomas More in '72 (yes, two in a row at different schools); Fran O'Hanlon at Tommie More in '66 and Monsignor Bonner in '88; and Tom Ingelsby at Cardinal O'Hara in '68 and Carroll in '95.

MAY 25
TEDBIT
Here are some nuggets concerning Penn Charter's Siani family. Mike is a senior. Sammy is a junior. Jake is a freshman. All three bat/throw lefthanded.
**In the 2014-15 school year, Mike made an oral commitment to Virginia before he played a varsity game for PC. He'd drawn raves for his play with the nationally known Whiz Kids program. On May 1 of the 2015 season, Mike, a lefty, was PC's starting pitcher and his opponent was Malvern frosh RH Brady Devereux. He also made an oral commitment (to Wake Forest) before playing his first varsity game.
**On May 12, 2015, in a home game, Mike hit a deep homer a shade to the left of dead right field . The ball cleared the hill beyond the fence and the driveway beyond the hill and landed on the brick wall that's part of the softball field's third base dugout.
**On April 19, 2016, in a game at Haverford School, PC accomplished a feat unmatched in major league baseball history. Sammy and Mike hit homers in the same inning (seventh) and in that same game one of them (Mike) hit into a triple play (fifth inning). In that seventh, Sammy, batting in the No. 1 spot and playing RF, hit a three-run homer. Mike, batting third and pitching in relief (after beginning the game in CF), hit a two-run homer.
**On April 28 of this season, in a non-league game at Archbishop Carroll, the brothers were stationed in all three outfield positions right from the outset. From left to right -- freshman Jake, senior Mike and junior Sammy. The Quakers lost, 7-2, and the brothers combined to go 2-for-8. Mike led off and went 1-for-2 with a single, walk and two runs scored. Sammy hit third and went 0-for-3. Jake hit seventh and went 1-for-3 with a single.
**Yesterday, Sammy clobbered a grand slam vs. SCH Academy . . . and his two brothers were on base. Mike was on second. Frosh Jake, as a courtesy runner for pitcher Will Samuel, was on first. Aaron Maione was on third. . . . (And this happened just one day after an all-timer: In a Catholic League semi vs. O'Hara, Carroll's Tyler Kehoe reached first on a fielder's choice, then scored on three consecutive balks! Tyler's dad, R.C., was a hoops starter at Roman and now coaches Holy Family University. RC's dad, Tom, was a starter at the ol' Bishop Kenrick and later guided that program. Tyler is the grand nephew of Phil Martelli, the long-time coach at Saint Joseph's University; he also coached Kenrick).

MAY 24, Evening
TEDBIT
As mentioned about two weeks ago, Penn Charter next spring is scheduled to debut its new baseball field (turf, across School House Lane). The final Inter-Ac League game on Ralph Palaia Field was played on that date and the Quakers fell to Malvern Prep, the already-crowned champ, by a 3-2 score in eight innings. Today, the Quakers hosted SCH Academy, also an Inter-Ac member, for THE FINAL GAME in a PAISAA Tournament quarterfinal and claimed a 12-5 victory. The far-and-away highlight: A grand slam by junior RF Sammy Siani and the fact that two of the three baserunners were his brothers, senior Mike and freshman Jake, a courtesy runner for winning pitcher Will Samuel (complete game). Below are PC's starting lineup and assorted overall lasts on RPF.

PC's Overall Lasts on Palaia Field BATTING Vs. SCH Academy on 5/24/18 In Sixth Inning . . . Out -- Mike Siani (flyout) Hit/RBI -- Aaron Maione (on a single) SB -- Demetrius de Ramus Double -- Trajan "Trey" Womack (to left) Pinch-hitter -- Trajan "Trey" Womack (for Gavin Zavorski) Reached on error -- Demetrius de Ramus Strikeout -- Tommy Snipes Walk -- Sammy Siani In Fifth Inning . . . Groundout -- Dean Bergmann Homer/Grand Slam/Multiple RBI -- Sammy Siani, to right field (the baserunners were Aaron Maione at 3rd, Mike Siani at 2nd and Jake Siani at 1st . . . Jake was a courtesy runner for Will Samuel. Mike/Jake are Sammy's brothers) Groundout -- Dean Bergmann Bunt Single -- Will Samuel In Third Inning . . . Sacrifice bunt -- Will Samuel In Second Inning . . . Caught stealing -- Aaron Maione Vs. Germantown Friends on 5/23/18 Sacrifice fly -- Tommy Snipes Hit by pitch -- Will Samuel Vs. Haverford School on 5/18/16 In Second Inning . . . Triple -- Mike Siani (for three RBI)	PC's Starting Lineup vs. SCH Academy, 5/24/18 Mike Siani CF Will Samuel P Sammy Siani RF Dean Bergmann 3B Luke Mattice 1B Tommy Snipes 2B Demetrius de Ramus LF Gavin Zavorski C Aaron Maione SS
	PC's Inter-Ac Lasts on Palaia Field PITCHING Vs. SCH Academy on 5/24/18 In Seventh Inning . . . Win -- Will Samuel Complete Game -- Will Samuel Strikeout (swinging, to end game) Groundout -- to shortstop Aaron Maione In Sixth Inning . . . Hit -- Will Samuel (single, one out) In Fifth Inning . . . Walk -- Will Samuel (leadoff batter) Vs. Malvern Prep on 5/11/18 Loss -- Colin Lewandowski Intentional walk -- Colin Lewandowski HBP -- Danny Will Vs. Haverford School on 5/9/18 Save -- Jake Siani-- Vs. Germantown Academy on 5/18/17 Perfect game -- Joey Lancellotti (4 innings)

MAY 24
TEDBIT
Yesterday, for just the second time in history, the winners in the Catholic League semifinals scored at least 10 runs. The other time -- in 2009, La Salle beat Wood, 15-9, and Neumann-Goretti edged SJ Prep, 10-9. The list below shows all times when both winners scored at least eight runs. They're presented in chronological order, going back from yesterday.

Year	Highest Score	Runs	Other Score	Runs	Totals
2018	La Salle	11	Carroll	10	21
	Judge	4	O'Hara	5
2016	SJ Prep	14	Neumann-Goretti	9	23
	O'Hara	9	Bonner-Prendie	3
2012	La Salle	10	Neumann-Goretti	8	18
	Carroll	0	Bonner	7
2010	Ryan	9	Bonner	9	18
	Wood	8	Neumann-Goretti	5
2009	La Salle	15	Neumann-Goretti	10	25
	Wood	9	SJ Prep	9
2004	Ryan	10	Carroll	9	19
	O'Hara	3	Conwell-Egan	8
2003	O'Hara	10	La Salle	9	19
	Conwell-Egan	9	Carroll	1
1986	Neumann	20	North Catholic	9	29
	O'Hara	9	Ryan	1
1981	O'Hara	9	North Catholic	9	18
	Carroll	6	Dougherty	6

MAY 23
TEDBIT
Quarterfinals have been part of the Catholic League playoff landscape since 2008 -- well, except for the double-elimination era in 2013-14 -- and four teams have earned wins in walkoff fashion. We've had balance. One game apiece in years two and three, then ditto for these last two years. Seven teams have been involved. Wood got things started with a win, then suffered a loss two days ago. Recaps for all four games are below.

WALKOFF WINNERS IN CL QUARTERFINALS, 2008-18
2009
Wood 14, Roman 13 (9 inn.)
In the highest scoring one-run playoff in CL history, the Vikings rallied from deficits of 6-0 and 13-8 and won it in the home ninth on a no-out, bases-loaded hit by pitch (drawn by Kyle McCrossen). The teams halved 28 hits. Roman created an 8-8 tie with one out in the seventh on Steve Herbetko's solo homer. John Hildebrand (double) and Herbetko (another homer) slammed hits worth two runs apiece in a five-run eighth. Wood battled back on two-run doubles by McCrossen and Mike Kerns and Sean Duckworth's chopped RBI single over a drawn-in infield. Jeff Courter pitched one uneventful inning to win it. He was the only one of seven pitchers to yield no runs. Matt McAllister led Wood with four RBI. McCrossen and Kerns had three apiece. Hildebrand and Herbetko managed four apiece for Roman while A.J. Vagliani was the game's only player with four hits.
2010
Ryan 8, La Salle 7
Steve Markle's right-side infield dribbler scored Eric Frain, who'd doubled, to win it with one out in the home seventh. Frain went 4-for-4 with three RBI. John "Milk" Rizzo two hits, two RBI. Kevin Mack worked one-third of an inning to get the win. AJ Rodriguez' two-run single and Mike Piscopo's single drove in the final three runs in La Salle's four-run seventh. Joe Forcellini bagged three hits and scored thrice, as well.
2017
Neumann-Goretti 3, Judge 2 (9 inn.)
The Saints avoided elimination with two in the home seventh, then won it in the ninth on Aidan Baur's bomb of a walkoff single. That hit followed Adam Jaep's single and a hit/error combo off George Mascuilli's bunt. The RBI in the seventh went to Phil Sanborn (double) and Colin Eiser (sac fly). Sanborn permitted five hits over 6.1 innings. Joe Messina (2.0) and Mascuilli (2.2) were stingy in relief.
2018
O'Hara 3, Wood 2
The Lions won in walkoff fashion and Luke Sprague played a role in all three runs. Earlier, he bagged RBI on a sacrifice fly and groundout. Facing an 0-2 count with two away in the seventh, he drew a walk and yielded to a pinch-runner -- his brother, Cole. Dan Hopkins (three hits) moved Cole to third with a single to right and Jim White brought him home with a groundball single through the third-short hole. Liam Nihill went the distance, allowing five hits and two walks while fanning six. Bobby Hennessey and John "JR" Gifford posted Wood's ribbies.

MAY 22
TEDBIT
Tomorrow's Catholic League semifinals are going to look a little different. Neumann-Goretti won't be involved. Neither will Archbishop Wood. Combined, those schools appeared in 13 of the last 16 "regular" semis and N-G was involved eight straight times. "Regular" does not include the 2013 and '14 seasons, when the playoffs featured a double-elimination format. Thankfully, that exhausting process was ditched. Below are the semis results for N-G and Wood for 2008-12 and 2015-17. The schools' head-to-head championship battles have been split -- Wood in 2015, N-G last year.

Recent Results in CL Semis for N-G & Wood
Year	Neumann-Goretti	Wood
2008	Ryan, L, 5-1	--
2009	SJ Prep, W, 10-9	La Salle, L, 15-9
2010	Bonner, L, 9-5	Ryan, L, 9-8
2011	La Salle, W, 18-13	Bonner, L, 5-4
2012	Bonner, W, 8-7	--
2015	SJ Prep, W, 12-2	La Salle, W, 4-3
2016	B-P, W, 9-3	--
2017	Ryan, W, 4-0	SJ Prep, W, 7-0

MAY 21
TEDBIT
All time, Catholic League baseball teams have been involved in 17 postseason games with 1-0 scores. The latest took place yesterday, in the first round of the CL playoffs, and Roman was the winner over Conwell-Egan. The really strange nugget? Those schools met six days earlier in a regular season contest and the score was . . . 1-0! With the same winner. In 1978, Roman won the CL championship with a 1-0, eight-inning win over what was then Bishop Egan. When I most recently posted this Tedbit in 2016 -- after Neumann-Goretti beat North Penn Mansfield in a Class AA state quarterfinal -- the thought was to go with the usual list/table form, but I decided to present all of the recaps. Ditto this time. The order is: CL playoffs (all rounds before finals, then finals), City Titles and state playoffs. Four have required extra innings. The longest was the 1968 CT (11 innings).

CATHOLIC LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
(Does Not Include Championship Games)
1974
SEMIFINAL
Part of Doubleheader at Temple's Erny Field
Bonner 1, Neumann 0
John Jones allowed two hits and fanned seven. Dave Beanon had an RBI single in the fourth.
1983
SEMIFINAL
Part of Doubleheader at Temple's Erny Field
O'Hara 1, St. James 0 (8 inn.)
In the home eighth, Joe Romano drew a one-out walk and stole second. As Chris McCall grounded out, Romano ran to third and drew a throw from the first baseman that bounced off the third baseman's glove and allowed Romano to score. Norm Hanratty pitched a four-hitter to outduel Tim McCarthy, who allowed four hits and fanned 10 in his 7 1/3 innings.
1991
SEMIFINAL
Part of Doubleheader at La Salle University
Carroll 1, Bonner 0
Keith Conway (five innings) and Sean Dalton combined on a four-hitter to outduel Mike Staehle (five-hitter). The run scored in the visiting first on Sean McGarvey's walk, Mike Halpin's single and Conway's RBI single.
1999
SEMIFINAL
Part of Doubleheader at La Salle University
SJ Prep 1, Ryan 0
Righthander Matt Altomare, who began the season on the junior varsity and was cut from the freshman team in '98, pitched a six-hitter with five strikeouts while becoming just the second soph to pitch a playoff shutout in 27 years. It was just the fifth 1-0 game in that span. Ryan's John Price pitched a three-hitter with eight K's, but uncorked a third-inning wild pitch to score Ed Turner.
2008
QUARTERFINAL
At Neumann-Goretti
Neumann-Goretti 1, La Salle 0
Lefty Mark Donato, the first soph MVP in league history, pitched a three-hitter to outduel junior lefty Shawn O'Neill (also three hits allowed). In the home sixth, Aggie Osano reached first on a bad-hop single, pinch-runner Anthony Pfettcher got to second on a caught stealing/dropped ball combo and, after Joey Armata was issued an intentional walk, soph Mike Riverso slashed an RBI single to center. This was N-G/Neumann's first playoff visit since '97 while the 1-0 score was the first in a CL playoff since 1999 (and eighth total).
2010
QUARTERFINAL
At Wood
Wood 1, Kennedy-Kenrick 0
Matt McAllister pitched a three-hitter with eight strikeouts, and Mike Spahits scored in the third as Jeff Courter drew a bases-loaded walk. For K-K, which advanced just one guy as far as third base in its final CL game, Joe Harvey allowed five hits. Steve Zbyszinski singled twice.
2014
LOSERS BRACKET FIRST ROUND
At Bonner-Prendergast
Bonner-Prendergast 1, Carroll 0
Danny Goggin’s two-out single drove in Jesse Basden with the walkoff run in the home seventh. Nick Bralczyk needed 83 pitches to go seven innings. He allowed two hits and struck out six.
2014
LOSERS BRACKET THIRD ROUND
At Neumann-Goretti
Neumann-Goretti 1, La Salle 0
In a battle of lefties, Charlie Jerla outdueled John Scheffey by allowing four hits. He received the necessary run support in the second when Justin Curtin's single scored courtesy runner Joe Lolio.
2018
FIRST ROUND
At Judge
Roman 1, Conwell-Egan 0
Thanks to a run in the home sixth, the Cahillites edged this same opponent by the same score for the second time in seven days. Marquise Wood led off with a double off the fence down the leftfield line, stole third as a second consecutive batter was striking out and scored when Jason Kelly directed a groundball single between the third baseman and shortstop. Soph righthander Jeff Rosenblum (73 pitches, five strikeouts) and C-E's Ryan Crowell (seven Ks) did all of the pitching. Each allowed two hits. No one reached third for the Eagles. The game required just 85 minutes.

CATHOLIC LEAGUE FINALS
1951
At Temple's Erny Field
La Salle 1, South 0
Larry Brownsey allowed just one hit and the run scored in the sixth on back-to-back doubles by Don O'Connor and John Granozio. South's Bud Fahey pitched a six-hitter.
1978
At Temple's Erny Field
Roman 1, Egan 0 (8 inn.)
Curveballer Craig Houck spun a five-hitter and escaped a two-on, no-out jam in the visiting eighth by retiring the 3-4-5 hitters. Egan's Joe Lynch (four-hitter) hit John Stoffere to start the home half and Stoffere eventually scored from second base in the aftermath of an infield throwing error.
1990
At Penn's Bower Field
Wood 1, Carroll 0
Wood's Dan Kusters (11 strikeouts) and Carroll's Frank Rauscher traded two-hitters, none for extra bases, and the only run was covered in controversy. In the visiting first, Kusters drew a two-out walk and yielded to courtesy runner Mike Daulerio. With Daulerio running, Frank Fisher hammered an easy ground ball to second baseman Mike Halpin for what would surely would have been the third out. Instead, plate ump Jim Cronin called catcher Glenn McClelland for interference -- there was heated debate; even Fisher didn't know whether the call was correct -- and Jon Reimel followed with an RBI single. Kusters became the third pitcher in CL history to record two playoff shutouts in the same season.

CITY TITLES
1945
At Shibe Park
North Catholic 1, Southern 0
Don Geehring (2-for-3) smashed a single to drive home Bill Shields in the second inning and pitched a three-hitter with eight strikeouts. With one out and a man on third in the fourth, Geehring registered a strikeout and groundout.
1968
At Connie Mack Stadium
Egan 1, Southern 0 (11 inn.)
A pair of lefties, Egan's Dennis Yesenosky and Southern's Willie Jones, were masterful in this marathon. Yesenosky allowed two hits and three walks and set strikeout records for seven innings (12), nine innings (17) and overall (20). Jones allowed eight hits and fanned 16. In the home 11th, singles by Tony Varacallo, Dan Connors and Jim Colella loaded the bases. Jim Carpenter sent a sinking liner to right and Vince DeMeis made the catch. With all three runners moving a doubleplay was possible, but DeMeis's throw to first was off-line. Jones then walked Paul Scalzone on four pitches to end it. In the sixth, Southern had runners thrown out at second and the plate.

STATE PLAYOFFS
2009
AAA QUARTERFINAL
At Spring-Ford
Neumann-Goretti 1, Twin Valley 0
Under gray skies and occasional rain, Mark Donato spun a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts and allowed no one beyond second base. The Saints scored in the third on a double steal as Reno Regalbuto thieved second and Marty Venafro ran home. As did some N-G parents, Regalbuto acknowledged afterward that he'd probably been tagged out (that call would have ended the inning). TV's players and coach convinced the second base ump to confer with his partner at first; the call stood.
2014
CLASS AA
QUARTERFINAL
At Parkland High, in Allentown
Neumann-Goretti 1, Bloomsburg 0
Ethan "E" Pritchett spun a two-hitter with nine punchouts as the Saints won by shutout for the fifth time in 10 postseason contests; the MLB record is four by the Giants in 1905, 2010 and '12 and the Yankees in '98. The run scored in the third thanks to singles by Brian Verratti and Vinny Vaccone, a passed ball and a wild pitch.
2016
CLASS AA
QUARTERFINAL
At Pottsville High
Neumann-Goretti 1, North Penn-Mansfield 0 (9 inn.)
Ethan "E" Pritchett (seven innings, 10 Ks) and Jared Healey (two, two) divided the pitching. In the home ninth, Joe LaFiora led off with a single and yielded to pinch-runner Steve Pizza. He advanced to second as RJ McGettigan's bunt was misplayed and to third on Pritchett's bunt single. Brian Verratti then created a wild celebration by scorching a liner over the third baseman's head for a game-ending single.

MAY 20
TEDBIT
This is season No. 19 for high school baseball in this century and Malvern can now claim it has produced 14 Inter-Ac League MVPs, including solos and shareds. Sr. RHP Billy Corcoran is the latest guy to join the club. Tom Grandieri is now the coach at O'Hara. Tim Cooney, a lefty, advanced to the majors.

Malvern's Inter-Ac MVPs, 2000-2018
Year	Name	Pos.
2001	Derek Duclos	P
2002	Stephen Burns	P-INF
	Paul Keldsen	P
2006	Tom Grandieri	P-OF
2007	Tim Cooney	P
2008	John Gentile	P-INF
2011	Nick Bateman	OF
	Chris O'Brien	1B
2012	Joe Ravert	P-1B
2013	Joe Poduslenko	INF
2014	Gardner Nutter	P
2015	Chris Butera	P-OF
2016	Shane "Moose" Muntz	C
2018	Billy Corcoran	P

MAY 19
TEDBIT
Over the last 70 seasons, six coaches have won at least three Inter-Ac baseball championhips (shareds included). The chart below provides details and lists them in this order, by percentage of titles produced. Penn Charter's Ralph Palaia is No. 1 at .823 and Malvern's Freddy Hilliard is coming after him with passion (smile). If he wins the next three crowns, his percentage will soar to .833. Mike Hickey is now the coach at Episcopal. Craig Conlin is the basketball boss at that same school.

Inter-Ac Coaches With at Least Three Crowns, 1949-2018
Name	School	Span	Years	Titles	Pct.
Ralph Palaia	Penn Charter	1949-65	17	14	.823
Freddy Hilliard	Malvern	2010-18	9	7	.778
Allan Brown	Penn Charter	1968-78	11	5	.455
Mike Hickey	Malvern	1999-09	11	5	.455
Rick Mellor	Penn Charter	1979-11	33	11	.333
Craig Conlin	Gtn. Academy	1999-07	9	3	.333

MAY 18
TEDBIT
The Coaches' All-Catholic Team was selected Wednesday night and, for the third time in six years, two African-American players earned first team honors. Those guys were first baseman Brandon Sanders of St. Joseph's Prep and outfielder Marquise Wood of Roman. Prior to 2013, that feat had been accomplished one time, in 1987, going back to 1976 -- by outfielders Scott Thompson (West Catholic) and Warren McIntire (St. James). WC no longer plays baseball and SJ closed in 1993. Thompson, a three-time first teamer, was also a standout wide receiver. He played only football during his time at Villanova. Josh Ockimey (Neumann-Goretti) thrice earned first team All-City honors, even in a year when he wasn't a first team All-Catholic honoree. He's currently playing for the Portland Sea Dogs, the Boston Red Sox' team in the Class AA Eastern League. He's trying to become the third African-American to reach the majors. The two so far: Harold "Pat Kelly (Gratz), 15-year career from 1967-81; Jeff Leonard (Overbrook), 14-year career from 1977-90. Kelly's brother, Leroy (also Gratz), played in the NFL for 10 years and was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1994. He was an All-Public third baseman for Gratz in '59. Marquise Wood was also a first-teamer in 2016. His performance in 2017 was hampered by the lingering effects of off-season knee surgery. Anthony Valucci, now the coach at SJ Prep, coached Marquise through the 2017 season. He says about him, "Phenomenal kid, player and leader. There is no kid who works or prepares harder. I am extremely proud of him." Marquise is headed to Goldey-Beacom College, in Delaware. Brandon is headed to Bucknell, for football. Best of luck, guys!

African-American First Team Coaches' All-Catholic Honorees, 1976-2018
Year	Player	School	Pos.
2018	Brandon Sanders	SJ Prep	1B
2018	Marquise Wood	Roman	OF
2017	Isaiah Hammond	O'Hara	OF
2016	Marquise Wood	Roman	OF
2014	Jawan McAllister	SJ Prep	OF
2014	*Josh Ockimey	Neumann-Goretti	1B
2013	*Jawan McAllister	SJ Prep	OF
2013	*Josh Ockimey	Neumann-Goretti	1B
2007	Matt Howard	La Salle	OF
2006	Jared Carter	La Salle	DH
1989	Brian Warren	St. James	P
1987	*Scott Thompson	West Catholic	OF
1987	Warren McIntire	St. James	OF
1986	Scott Thompson	West Catholic	OF
1985	Scott Thompson	West Catholic	OF
1977	Kim Burwell	Neumann	OF
*-First team Daily News All-City
#-First team Daily News All-City
Note: Ockimey was also first team DN All-City in 2012 (listed as the DH in '12-'13; as 1B in '14)

MAY 17
TEDBIT
In this century, with some shareds mixed in, 39 players have received MVP honors from Catholic League baseball coaches. Twenty-two were players for teams that finished first in the standings, whether in divisions or all one league. Seventeen were not and they're listed below. Three guys, all in the division era, starred for teams that finished seventh. Pretty amazing. Pitcher-first baseman Chuck Kelley was last night's honoree and his team, Father Judge, finished in a tie for fifth. Neumann-Goretti's Mark Donato twice earned MVP honors for a second-place team. This is year No. 4 for the all-one-league setup.

CL MVPs in 2000s for Teams That Did Not Finish First
Year	Player	School	Pos.	Place
'03	Chris Lubanski	K-K	OF	7th
'06	Albert DiDomenico	N-G	P-OF	7th
'10	Ryan Etsell	North	P-INF	7th
'18	Chuck Kelley	Judge	P-1B	T-5th
'07	*Ryan Kreider	Judge	P-1B	4th
'07	Dave Deodato	Roman	OF	T-4th
'00	John Price	Ryan	P	3rd
'01	Kenny Grant	O'Hara	P	3rd
'05	Matt Compton	Judge	P-INF	3rd
'09	#Christian "Ya-Ya" Walker	K-K	INF	3rd
'01	*Lou DeTitto	Ryan	P-1B	2nd
'04	Brian Rorick	Carroll	P-INF	2nd
'08	Conor Kerins	Bonner	P	2nd
'08	Mark Donato	N-G	P-1B	2nd
'10	Mark Donato	N-G	P-1B	2nd
'11	*Joe Forcellini	La Salle	1B	T-2nd
'13	Tom Mullin	SJ Prep	P	2nd
*-shared MVP honors
T-tied for that spot in standings
#-advanced to major leagues

MAY 16
TEDBIT
While looking at the final Catholic League standings, a specific thought came to mind. "Hmm, how often has THIS happened?" As in, how often have two CL teams from Delco combined to finish with a winning percentage of almost .800? The answer, over a 41-season span, is below. Carroll, coached by alumnus/former MLBer Mike Costanzo, finished second at 10-2 and O'Hara, coached by Tom Grandieri, was right behind in third at 9-3. Of course, there have been multiple setups through the years -- divisions by geography, then enrollment and the all-one-league approach in recent seasons. The early to mid-2000s were golden. The top two efforts were posted in '04 and '05, respectively, and 2003-2002 offered Nos. 5 and 6. St. James, in Chester, closed in 1993.

Best Percentages Posted by Top Two Delco CL Teams, 1978-2018
Year	W-L	Pct.	Top Team	W-L	Next Team	W-L
2004	31-5	.861	O'Hara	16-2	*Carroll	15-3
2005	23-5	.821	O'Hara	12-2	Bonner	11-3
2018	19-5	.792	Carroll	10-2	O'Hara	9-3
2013	19-5	.792	Bonner-Prendie	12-0	Carroll	7-5
2003	28-8	.778	*O'Hara	15-3	Carroll	13-5
2002	28-8	.778	*Carroll	14-4	O'Hara	14-4
1999	28-8	.778	*Carroll	15-3	O'Hara	13-5
1998	28-8	.778	Bonner	17-1	Carroll	11-7
1991	21-7	.750	Bonner	11-3	*Carroll	10-4
1983	21-7	.750	*O'Hara	12-2	St. James	9-5
2012	16-6	.727	Carroll	8-2	Bonner-Prendie	8-4
1990	20-8	.714	Carroll	11-3	O'Hara	9-5
1989	20-8	.714	*Bonner	11-3	O'Hara	9-5
1981	20-8	.714	O'Hara	11-3	Carroll	9-5
1980	20-8	.714	Carroll	11-3	O'Hara	9-5
* - won championship

MAY 15
TEDBIT
On the last full day of the Catholic League regular season (SJ Prep hosts Lansdale Catholic today), 2018 finally joined the 1-0 Club. Roman topped Conwell-Egan as starter Marquise Wood (three innings, no hits) and winner Alex Singer (four, three) divided the pitching. The run scored in the first inning as Wood led off with a triple and scored five batters later as Sean Flanagan drew a bases-loaded walk. Thanks to coach Bobby Hill for the details. C-E had not suffered a 1-0 setback in a league game since 2004 and Roman had not won by that score since 2003 . . . Interesting nuggets: Conwell-Egan's Brian Herman posted two in 2006 and TWO games took place on the same day (April 5) in 2005. Both went extra innings. Those were the games started by Ryan Geiss and Brian Rorick. There were no 1-0 games from 2011 through 2013.

1-0 Games in the Catholic League Regular Season, 2000-16
Year	Winner	Loser	Starter for Winner	@Hits Allowed	@Innings Pitched
2018	Roman	Conwell-Egan	Marquise Wood	0	=3
2017	Ryan	Carroll	Jason Keen	8	6.2
	Carroll	Bonner-Prendie	James Kelly	2	7
	SJ Prep	Judge	Colin Scanlon	?	&4.2
2016	Bonner-Prendie	Ryan	Eli Chase	1	6
2015	Ryan	Carroll	Shane McGrody	2	7
2014	La Salle	Judge	Dominic Cuoci	3	8
2010	North Catholic	O'Hara	Ryan Etsell	3	7
2009	Kennedy-Kenrick	Carroll	Jimmy Volpe	1	7
	Bonner	O'Hara	Ryan Haley	2	7
2006	Conwell-Egan	La Salle	Brian Herman	3	7
	Conwell-Egan	Judge	Brian Herman	1	7
2005	Dougherty	North Catholic	Kevin McGovern	3	7
	Conwell-Egan	La Salle	Ryan Geiss	0	*7
	Carroll	SJ Prep	Brian Rorick	1	#5
2004	Ryan	Conwell-Egan	Mike Szelagowski	6	7
	Dougherty	Wood	Mike McCann	2	7
	Judge	Dougherty	Shane Erb	1	8
2003	Roman	SJ Prep	Matt Daley	3	7
	SJ Prep	Kennedy-Kenrick	Joe McElwee	5	7
	O'Hara	Roman	Kevin Paul	4	+5
	Carroll	Conwell-Egan	Brandon Gribbin	3	7
2002	McDevitt	Judge	Bob Mitros	6	7
2001	North Catholic	McDevitt	Dan Szychulski	5	7
@-by starter
=-Winner Alex Singer pitched the final four innings and allowed three hits
&-game went 8 innings; Pat Woltemate pitched 3 1/3 innings to get the win
*-game went 9 innings; Matt Burns pitched the 8th and 9th
#-game went 8 innings; Brian Puliti pitched 2 2/3 and Dan Ritter pitched 1/3 to get the win
+-game went 7 innings; Josh Rickards finished up (2 hits over two innings)

MAY 14
TRACK TEDBIT
As a freshman, Miles Green ran the anchor leg as St. Joseph's Prep won the 4x400 relay in the Catholic League championship meet. He was just getting started, folks, but it's doubtful he knew how much more glory was coming his way. As in . . . nine more golds! Yes, Green now owns 10, two more than anyone else in CL history. Over these last three years, he has again anchored championship relays while adding individual firsts in the 400 and intermediate hurdles. He set records in those individual events last year and this year's quartet came within 1.12 seconds of tying the record (3:19.15) set by McDevitt in 1992. That Mickey D crew featured two All-City football players -- defensive back Terence Wiggins (first team) and receiver Carl Norris (second team). The Hawks' first three runners in this year's relay were Calvin Willie, Salim Epps and Bobby Dupell. Miles is headed for Virginia Tech. And here's believing more medals will be coming his way. Thanks to coach Curt Cockenburg, who has been coaching the Prep since 1975, for providing the names of the relay guys. Meanwhile, here's what Curt said two years ago to Daily News reporter Aaron "Ace" Carter about Miles. "He's a shark in the sense that he goes after people and he's not afraid of anybody."

Miles Green's 10 Wins in Catholic League Champs
	400	Int. Hurdles	4x400 relay
2015			3:20.52
2016	48.25	38.44	3:23.10
2017	*47.56	*38.08	3:26.25
2018	47.68	38.92	3:20.03
*-Catholic League record

MAY 13
CHUCKBIT
This nugget comes courtey of Chuck Langerman, noted South Jersey sports historian.
Ten years ago this month, on May 23, 2008, in a South Jersey Group IV quarterfinal baseball game, 13th-seeded Cherry Hill East upset 5th-seeded Millville, 11-5, by intentionally walking Millville junior outfielder and future Major League Baseball prodigy Mike Trout three times, including once with the bases loaded. Once the game began, Trout, leading off as usual, was intentionally walked. Next at-bat with a runner on first, he was intentionally walked again. On his third at-bat with the bases loaded, in a show of utmost respect, he was intentionally walked, allowing a run to score. On Trout's final at-bat, Cherry Hill East had a good lead and with the game looking safe, East coach Erik Radbill let his pitcher throw to Trout, enabling the host of professional scouts in attendance see what they came to see. Trout rocketed a line drive through the box, almost decapitating the Cherry Hill East pitcher. In modern Major League Baseball history, only two players have been intentionally walked with the bases loaded. In 1998, the Arizona Diamondbacks intentionally walked Barry Bonds with the bases loaded, and in 2008 with the bases loaded, the Tampa Bay Rays intentionally walked Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers.

MAY 12
TEDBIT

IDs of PC Players, L to R -- Will Samuel, Shane McCafferty, Tommy Snipes, Luke Mattice, Josh Felter, Jordan Wilson,
Jake Siani, Danny Will, Jameson Ford, Demetrius de Ramus, Sammy Siani, Mike Siani, Dean Bergmann, Aaron Maione,
Gavin Zavorski, Colin Lewandowski, TJ McLaughlin, Jacob Bradley, Trajan Womack

Penn Charter next spring is scheduled to debut its new baseball field (turf, across School House Lane). The final Inter-Ac League game on Ralph Palaia Field was played yesterday and the Quakers fell to Malvern Prep, the already-crowned champ, by a 3-2 score in eight innings. Recap is here: Malvern 3, Penn Charter 2 (8 inn.): In their final I-A game on Ralph Palaia Field, the Quakers were edged on Lonnie White's sacrifice fly. White also had an RBI double to make it 2-2 in the sixth. Billy Corcoran went the distance, allowing six hits and one earned run while recording nine strikeouts. PC's runs were driven in by Aaron Maione in the second (fielder's choice to score Luke Mattice) and Mike Siani in the fifth (double to score Maione). Below are PC's starting lineup and assorted lasts on RPF in Inter-Ac games. Pic set, courtesy of Ed Foley, PC's assistant athletic director, is here.

PC's Inter-Ac Lasts on Palaia Field BATTING Vs. Malvern on 5/11/18 In Eighth Inning . . . Strikeout looking -- Gavin Zavorski (to end game) Single -- Demetrius de Ramus (to center) Pinch-hitter -- Shane McCafferty (for Tommy Snipes, flyout to CF) In Seventh Inning . . . Steal -- Sammy Siani (second base) Intentional walk -- Sammy Siani Groundout -- Will Samuel (to shortstop) Sacrifice bunt -- Mike Siani Reach base on error -- Aaron Maione (by shortstop) In Sixth Inning . . . Advance on wild pitch -- Tommy Snipes Strikeout swinging -- Demetrius de Ramus In Fifth Inning . . . Run Scored -- Aaron Maione Double and RBI -- Mike Siani Fielder's choice -- Aaron Maione (on bunt) In Second Inning . . . Hit by pitch -- Demetrius de Ramus Advance on balk -- Sammy Siani Vs. Haverford School on 5/9/18 In Sixth Inning . . . Multiple RBI (two) -- Trajan Womack (on single) In Fifth Inning . . . Caught stealing -- Tommy Snipes (at home) In Fourth Inning . . . Sacrifice fly -- Will Samuel Vs. Episcopal on 4/7/17 In Third Inning . . . Homer -- Joey Lancellotti (solo to right-center) Vs. Haverford School on 5/18/16 In Second Inning . . . Triple -- Mike Siani (for three RBI)	PC's Starting Lineup Mike Siani CF Will Samuel 3B Sammy Siani RF Dean Bergmann 2B Luke Mattice 1B Tommy Snipes P Demetrius de Ramus LF Gavin Zavorski C Aaron Maione SS
	PC's Inter-Ac Lasts on Palaia Field PITCHING Vs. Malvern on 5/11/18 In Eighth Inning . . . Loss -- Colin Lewandowski Lineout -- Colin Lewandowski (started a doubleplay) Sacrifice fly -- Colin Lewandowski (sac fly to Mike Siani) Intentional walk -- Colin Lewandowski Hit -- Colin Lewandowski (on bunt) In Seventh Inning . . . Groundout -- Colin Lewandowski (to shortatop Aaron Maione) Reliever -- Colin Lewandowski In Fifth Inning . . . Hit by pitch -- Danny Will In Fourth Inning . . . Strikeout, looking -- Tommy Snipes In Second Inning . . . Strikeout, swinging -- Tommy Snipes Vs. Haverford School on 5/9/18 Save -- Jake Siani Win -- Danny Will (in relief) Vs. Germantown Academy on 5/18/17 Perfect game -- Joey Lancellotti (4 innings)
	Thanks to Ed Foley, PC's assistant athletic director, for the pic above and to baseball coach Justin Hanley for details.

MAY 11
TEDBIT
Over the last four decades, four father-son duos have served as head coaches in Catholic League baseball. The son is still in charge in three of 'em. Bonner-Prendie's Steve DeBarberie joined the club this season and dad is still around as the boss of the Friars' freshman team. The DiGuiseppes, Jim Sr. and Jr., have guided Wood for 24 consecutive seasons. As for the Galantes . . . they're cousins. Bill coached Dougherty for 16 season (1970-85) and Mike coached McDevitt for three (1979-81). We also have Cousin Club activity this season -- Ryan's Nick Chichilitti and McDevitt's Paul Fricker. Please speak up if I missed something.

CL Father-Son Baseball Coaches Over Last Four Decades
Name	School	Seasons	Total
Joe DeBarberie	Bonner/B-P	2008-17	10
Steve DeBarberie	Bonner-Prendie	2018	1
Jim DiGuiseppe Sr.	Wood	1995-2011	17
Jim DiGuiseppe Jr.	Wood	2012-18	7
Al Lake	Ryan	1987-89	3
Mike Lake	Ryan	1990-2001	12
Mike Zolk Sr.	Neumann-Goretti	2012-13	2
Mike Zolk Jr.	Neumann-Goretti	2017-18	2

MAY 10
TEDBIT
As we head to the finish line in the Catholic League regular season, amazingly, six teams own winning percentages of at least .727. That'll change, of course, because Judge and Neumann-Goretti will be facing each other. Meanwhile, La Salle has NOT clinched first place. If the Explorers fall to Wood and Carroll defeats McDevitt (0-10) and Ryan (2-9), Carroll will own the top spot. Reason: Carroll beat La Salle head to head.

		W-L	Pts	Remaining Games
6A	La Salle	10-1	20	Wood
5A	O'Hara	9-3	18
5A	Carroll	8-2	16	McDevitt, Ryan
5A	Wood	8-3	16	La Salle
6A	Judge	8-3	16	N-G
2A	Neumann-Goretti	8-3	16	Judge

MAY 9
TEDBIT
Yesterday, Malvern defeated SCH Academy, 4-3, in eight innings, to win the outright Inter-Ac League championship with one game remaining. How often has that happened? Well, in this century, 10 champions have been able to relax in their final game (or even last two games). The details are below. Congrats to coach Freddy Hilliard and the Friars!

Inter-Ac "Early Winners" in the 2000s
2018
MAY 8
Malvern 4, SCH Academy 3 (8 inn): The Friars (7-2) clinched the outright title in wacky fashion with one game remaining. They created a 3-3 tie in the home seventh as Lonnie White clubbed a two-run homer to right-center and Grant Burgess scored on Connor Dillon's two-out, two-strike single after reaching base on a strikeout/wild pitch combo. In the eighth, White was hit by a pitch and raced all the way around on two poor throws (pickoff, follow-up attempt to get him at third). Reliever Brady Devereux (two innings) got the win. For SCH, Aidan "Curly" Frye fanned 10 in seven innings and pinch-hitter Zion Spearman spanked a two-run single in a three-run fourth. Patrick Elliott and Jared Sprague-Lott had two hits apiece.
2017
MAY 12
Penn Charter 9, Gtn. Academy 0: Sr. LH Brendan "Chooch" Cellucci scattered four hits and struck out 14 as the Quakers (8-1) clinched the championship with one game remaining. He also smacked an RBI single. James Gabor ripped an RBI double en route to two RBI. Joey Lancellotti and Adam Holland plated runs with sacrifice flies.
2012
MAY 8
Malvern 11, Episcopal 1: This 5-inning win, coupled with GA's loss to Penn Charter, enabled the Friars (8-0) to clinch the championship with 2 games remaining. Joe Ravert pitched 4 innings while adding 3 RBI. Matt Greskoff (2-for-2, double, triple, 1 RBI) and Drew Hayes (2-for-3, 2 runs scored) also starred at bat.
2011
MAY 21
Malvern 2, Chestnut Hill 0: Sean O'Keefe allowed two hits (none through five innings) and the Friars supported him, thus clinching the title with one game remaining (at 8-1), with one run apiece in the fifth and sixth. The RBI went to Nick Bateman (sac fly) and Steve Perpiglia (single, following C.J. Costalas' double).
2009
MAY 18
Penn Charter 10, Malvern 5: Kenny Koplove (6-0 league) pitched four innings (10 Ks) and Brett Slobodinsky finished up as the Quakers (8-1) clinched the title with one game remaining. Mark Rhine went 3-for-4 with a two-run double in a five-run second and a three-run triple in a five-run sixth. Tyler Young, Nick Bateman and Mike Mayock (all solos) homered for Malvern.
2008
MAY 15
Chestnut Hill 4, Gtn. Academy 2: Mike Mattei scattered eight hits, fanned five and went 2-for-2 with a double and three RBI. The result clinched the title for Malvern (8-0, two games left). GA's Tommy Coyle and Colin Kish managed doubles and two hits apiece.
2005
MAY 10
   Penn Charter 10, Gtn. Academy 5: Chris Brock went 3-for-4 with four RBI as PC (8-1) clinched the title with one game remaining. Mark Adzick went the distance. R.J. Hollinshead, Ryan Nanni and Marc Spagnoletti all had hits worth two RBI. GA's Matt Brown homered.
2004
MAY 18
   Gtn. Academy 14, Penn Charter 0: Matt Bruderek pitched a three-hitter as the Patriots (9-0) clinched their second consecutive title. Kevin Gordon, Matt Brown and Bruderek had two-run singles and sub Jason Davila smacked a two-run homer.
2003
MAY 17
   Gtn. Academy 7, Chestnut Hill 0: The Patriots (8-1) clinched their first title since '96 as Joe Matteo pitched a two-hitter and Matt Bruderek clubbed a three-run triple.
2002
MAY 14
Malvern 9, Haverford School 2: Paul Keldsen allowed three hits and fanned 10 in 6.1 innings while Joe Milani went 3-for-5 with a homer and five RBI. Chris Kolmer also homered. The Friars clinched the title at 8-1 (one game left).

---
MAY 5
TEDBIT
Back on April 21, a Tedbit was inspired by the fact that all six Inter-Ac League teams owned 2-2 records. Now all squads have played eight games apiece and we know this: The school that finishes in last place will have at least three wins for only the fifth time since 1978 (41 seasons). Episcopal, Germantown Academy and Haverford School are currently 3-5 and four of that group's final six games will be against each other. The exceptions: EA vs. SCH Academy and HS vs. Penn Charter. We'll see where this goes.

Year/School	W	L
1995
Penn Charter	8	2
Chestnut Hill	7	3
Gtn. Academy	5	5
Malvern	4	6
Episcopal	3	7
Haver. School	3	7
1998
Malvern	9	1
Episcopal	5	5
Haver. School	5	5
Penn Charter	5	5
Chestnut Hill	3	7
Gtn. Academy	3	7
1999
Episcopal	7	3
Malvern	6	4
Gtn. Academy	5	5
Haver. School	4	6
Chestnut Hill	4	6
Penn Charter	4	6
2004
Gtn. Academy	10	0
Penn Charter	6	4
Malvern	5	5
Haver. School	3	7
Chestnut Hill	3	7
Episcopal	3	7

MAY 3
TEDBIT
It took a while, but the Catholic League has again produced a Basically Competitive Explosion Game. What the heck, you're wondering, does that term mean? I just made it up (smile). A BCEG is one that produces at least 25 runs total and at least 10 for the losing team. The good thing about BCEGs: When you finally get to drive home, rush hour is over. The bad thing: You're outrageously hungry. Yesterday, Wood beat visiting St. Joseph's Prep, 16-10. The winners scored runs in three of the seven innings -- four in the second, five in the fifh and seven in the sixth. The Prep managed notable rallies in the third and sixth with four apiece. The recap is right below, as are recaps for some other Catholic League regular season BCEGs dating back to 2014 and 2013. There were three in 2013 and two occurred on consecutive days. Meanwhile, back in 2003, I covered two BCEGs within four days. Ryan beat O'Hara, 20-16, on April 28, then Washington beat Northeast, 24-23, in a Public League game on May 1. Shortly, I'll come back with the highest scoring BCEG playoff game in CL history.
UPDATE: Here's a recap for a 1987 semi; 33 total runs . . . Still checking to see if there has been a "better" BCEG. . . . None that I've found.
Bonner 19, St. James 14
In the highest-scoring playoff game in CL history, the Friars exploded for eight runs in the visiting seventh to erase a 14-11 deficit. The leaders were Pete Klein (2-for-3, triple, four RBI) and Chris Boyle (2-for-5, double, triple, five RBI). Bonner was outhit, 16-8. For St. James, Jim Smith had three RBI while Neal McLaughlin, Len Montano, Dave "Duke" Elison and Mike McBride had three hits apiece.

Recaps for Some Receent BCEGs
May 2 2018
Wood 16, SJ Prep 10: The Prep scored four in the visiting sixth to seize a 10-9 lead. Wood responded with seven. For Wood, Sam Reynolds went 3-for-4 with five RBI, John "JR" Gifford cracked a three-run homer and Kyle McNamee/Mike Ferrara/Ryan DiVergilis thirded six RBI. For Prep, Evan Matthews (two-run homer), Logan Kellerman, Luke Gutos and Declan Evans collected two RBI apiece. Prep won the pitchers used contest, 6-3.
May 5, 2014
Neumann-Goretti 14, Carroll 13 (9 inn): N-G won the ninth inning, 8-7, after Carroll scored five in the home seventh to create a 6-6 tie. Josh Ockimey lined a three-run homer in a four-RBI outing. For Carroll, J.T. Evangelist went 4-for-5 with a double, homer and five RBI. The game ended at 7:28.
April 10, 2014
SJ Prep 14, La Salle 12 (9 inn.): Alex Stewart went 3 for 6 and drove in three runs, including the go-ahead run in the 9th. The Prep trailed, 10-4, entering the seventh. An eight-run outburst was highlighted by Andrew Magiera's three-run double.
April 16, 2013
Lansdale 15, Conwell-Egan 11: Ian Conwell went 4-for-5 with a double.
April 10, 2013
Carroll 20, Lansdale 10: Eric McGough went 3-for-4 with four RBI. Evan Harvey doubled twice en route to four ribbies.
April 9, 2013
Judge 21, Roman 19: Josh Teson got the final two outs to save Chris Thompson's win and Marc Berlanger (3-for-5, six RBI) homered to dead center. Roman roared back after almost being 10-runned. Mike O'Hanlon went 4-for-6 with two doubles and three RBI. Ryan Mackiewicz went 4-for-6 with a double and two RBI. Judge won the hits battle, 25-19. Matt Simon and Connor McKenna halved four doubles for Roman.

MAY 2
TEDBIT
Gotta wonder if any other high school pitcher, ever, anywhere, has accomplished this feat. Especially as a soph and junior, not as a junior and senior. Here we go: In its final Inter-Ac game of the 1954 season, Penn Charter beat Malvern and soph righthander Ollie Powers recorded 18 strikeouts. Those same teams met to start the 1955 I-A campaign and Powers mowed down 19. Thirty-seven Ks, against the same opponent, in a league play closer then opener. Downright amazing. Furthermore, he came within one strike of a perfect game in that second one before Dave Barry singled on a 3-2 count. Stick with us, folks. We're just getting warmed up (smile). Not long ago I did PC baseball research as far back as 1928 and it showed that the Quakers were perfect in back-to-back Inter-Ac seasons just once. In 1954 and 1955. All Ollie Powers did was earn the win in all 20 games! He extended his I-A streak to 21 as PC defeated Germantown Academy, 2-1, in the '56 opener. He twirled a one-hitter and that hit was a homer. The draft did not exist in those days and Powers signed a minor league deal with the Detroit Tigers on June 20, 1956. Stories written at the time said his overall pitching record at PC was 35-2. According to www.baseball-reference.com, Powers pitched for two seasons in the minors, 1956 and '59. His record was 5-7. He was also a basketball star at PC, earning first team All-Inter-Ac honors in '55 and '56.

APRIL 30
TEDBIT
Talk about an unexpected, yet wonderful chain of events . . . My hobby these days is to take photos at sporting events involving Eastern Regional High, in South Jersey. Saturday morning, I started off with pics of the girls freshman lacrosse team in a game against Notre Dame. The next stop was going to be the baseball game featuring Eastern vs. Cinnaminson in the first round of the four-team Bill Campbell Classic. Just before I was about to switch venues, AD Jason Hill drove up in a golf cart and we got to talking. (After he handed me an Eastern hat to replace the Phillies cap I've been wearing recently. Thank you, sir!). He mentioned that the other first round game, on the far side of campus, was matching Timber Creek against . . . St. Joe's Prep! Cool! Wasn't even aware of which teams were playing over there. Off to take pics at that tilt I went. THE highlight, by far, was an outrageously long home run by Prep sr. 1B Brandon Sanders. I mean, that ball traveled MILES (ha ha) and I wound posting some individual links to swing/home plate arrival/fist-bump back at the bench. We jump ahead to early Sunday evening. A very nice email arrives from Nicole Sanders. She lets me know: Not only is she Brandon's mom. She's the wife of Omar Sanders. What a great feeling that info provided! Omar (Class of 1989) was a basketball star and top-level student at now-gone William Penn, which was just above Girard Avenue on the east side of Broad Street. I wrote a story about him in the Daily News in the '89 season and it was accompanied by Wayne Faircloth's terrific pic of Omar, in uniform, sitting in a desk/chair combo in a classroom (see below; the grayed out background made it striking). Somehow, Jim Gardner -- yes, THAT Jim Gardner, of Channel 6 anchorman fame -- found out about the story and called me at the Daily News to see if he could help get Omar into Columbia, his alma mater. Jim followed through, Omar impressed everyone with whom he came in contact and, bingo, became a wonderful student-athlete at Columbia. He has long worked in the corporate world. Meanwhile, Brandon is a two-sport star for the Prep. Last fall he had a quality football season as a receiver for the Hawks -- earned first team honors on Ed "Huck" Palmer's All-Catholic team for this website -- and will play that sport at his next stop, Bucknell. In baseball, the lefty swinger (and thrower) has performed well enough to already get four mentions in this site's Catholic League recaps. Best of luck going forward to Brandon, congrats to Nicole/Omar and thanks to Jim Gardner for his wonderful gesture 29 years ago.
Click here for a pic of Brandon with dad/brother and here for a pic of Brandon with dad's basketball coach at William Penn. (Pics provided by mom. Thanks!)
UPDATE: Received an email on May 3 from Kevin Mason. Like Omar Sanders, he was an All-Public basketball honoree for William Penn. Kevin graduated in '86, Omar in '89. Kevin's son, Marques, last fall was an All-Catholic running back for SJ Prep. By the way, Penn was three blocks away from Prep (17th & Girard). Thanks for checking in, Kevin!

APRIL 29
TEDBIT
First-year Penn Charter coach Justin Hanley said the big moment would happen at some point this season, and yesterday he followed through. In a non-league game at Archbishop Carroll, the Siani brothers were stationed in all three outfield positions right from the outset. From left to right -- freshman Jake, senior Mike and junior Sammy. The Quakers lost, 7-2, and the brothers combined to go 2-for-8. Mike, who's receiving heavy attention from MLB scouts, led off and went 1-for-2 with a single, walk and two runs scored. Sammy hit third and went 0-for-3. Jake hit seventh and went 1-for-3 with a single. All three brothers bat and throw lefthanded. When thinking about the Sianis, oldheads can't help but mix in thoughts of the Alou brothers -- Felipe, Matty and Jesus. Natives of the Dominican Republic, they played in the majors for 47 total seasons -- Felipe for 17, Matty and Jesus for 15 apiece. They made their respective debuts in 1958, 1960 and 1963. Jesus was a September call-up in that '63 season and the brothers made their first appearance together in the eighth inning of the San Francisco Giants' game vs. the New York Mets at the Polo Grounds on Sept. 10. (Shea Stadium did not open 'til 1964.) In the eight hole, Jesus pinch-hit and grounded out to shortstop. Matty then pinch-hit and struck out. Felipe, a starter and the leadoff hitter, grounded out to the pitcher, Carlton Willey. According to several reports, the Alous appeared in eight games together that season. And though they did occupy all three outfield spots for a spell in some games, they never STARTED together. Felipe was traded to the Milwaukee Braves for the 1964 season. The brothers never played for the same team again.

APRIL 26
TEDBIT
Well, that didn't take long. In its first chance to make it happen, La Salle beat SJ Prep, 9-4, on Tuesday to assure it would finish Catholic League regular season play with a winning record for the 23rd consecutive season. The game was played on Temple's Ambler Campus (as a Prep home game) and the win lifted the Explorers' record to 7-0. West Catholic no longer has a baseball team so CL teams play 12 games in this all-one-division era. Joe Parisi guided the Explorers for the first 19 years of the stretch. Kyle Werman has been in charge for these last four. Total record: 256-90 for a .740 winning percentage. Tuesday, Joe Miller allowed one run over 5.2 frames while Joe Sortino (three) and Eric Maracheski combined for five RBI.
Last time the other schools did not have a winning record . . .
2017 -- B-P, Roman, Lansdale, C-E, McDevitt.
2016 -- Carroll, Ryan.
2015 -- O'Hara.
2014 -- Judge, SJ Prep.
2012 -- Wood.
2007 -- N-G.

La Salle's 23 Consecutive Years With a Winning Record in CL Regular Season

Year Coach W L Performance in Playoffs

1996 Joe Parisi 10 4 Lost in final

1997 11 7 Lost in second round

1998 14 4 Lost in second round

1999 15 3 Lost in semifinal

2000 14 4 Lost in final

2001 15 3 Lost in semifinal

2002 13 5 Lost in final

2003 13 5 Lost in final

2004 11 7 Lost in second round

2005 12 2 CHAMP!

2006 12 2 Lost in semifinal

2007 15 6 Lost in first round

2008 10 4 Lost in quarterfinal

2009 9 5 Lost in final

2010 8 6 Lost in quarterfinal

2011 8 4 Lost in semifinal

2012 12 0 Lost in final

2013 11 4 CHAMP!

2014 12 3 Lost in third round of losers bracket

2015 Kyle Werman 8 4 Lost in semifinal

2016 8 4 Lost in quarterfinal

2017 8 4 Lost in quarterfinal

2018 7 0

Parisi 225 78

Werman 31 12

Total 256 90

APRIL 24
TEDBIT
Thanks to the pitching by Marquise Wood and Alex Singer, Roman won by shutout over Lansdale Catholic yesterday. How often do the Cahillites wind up completely shutting the door on Catholic League foes? Well, over the last 10 seasons, this blanking was No. 7. Interestingly, two of those shutouts have been posted against one of the CL's top-notch programs, Neumann-Goretti. Recaps are below. The Cahillites' most notable shutout occurred in 1978, when Craig Houck fired (and curveballed) them to a 1-0, eight-inning win over Bishop Egan for the championship.

2018
April 23
Roman 5, Lansdale 0: Marquise Wood (4.1 innings) and Alex Singer did the pitching. Anthony LoMastro had two hits, two RBI. Erik Grady added two hits, one RBI.
2017
April 3
Roman 15, McDevitt 0: Shane Flaherty, Marquise Wood and Gaetan Grandelli had three RBI apiece in the three-inning game. Joe Pizzo collected the win.
2016
May 5
Roman 2, Neumann-Goretti 0: Aidan Welch struck out seven and Kevin Flaherty posted the game-winning RBI.
April 27
Roman 8, McDevitt 0: The Lancers were held to two hits by Greg Grandelli, who added hits and two RBI of his own. Phil DiWilliams thumped a triple.
2015
May 7
Roman 6, Neumann-Goretti 0 (10 inn.): Sophs Aidan Welch and Santino Nave combined for the shutout. All six runs were scored in the 10th inning. Tre Smith scored the go-ahead run on a suicide squeeze by Werten Bellamy.
2011
May 6
Roman 7, Ryan 0: Erik DeLone allowed just a one-out, second-inning single to John "Milk" Rizzo, then retired the final 17 batters in order. Colin Cooke and Paolo Gambaro collected three hits apiece.
2009
April 30
Roman 9, Bonner 0: Sean Weber spun a one-hitter with no walks, facing just two batters over the minimum, and Jack Foley went 2-for-3 with a two-run triple and three RBI.

APRIL 21
TEDBIT
This is a nutty time to be an Inter-Ac League baseball player. Every kid on every team can brag to friends/family members, "We're in first place right now!" And those folks can shoot back, dryly, "You're also in last place." Reason: All six teams own 2-2 records, thanks to yesterday's wins by Haverford School (over Penn Charter) and Malvern (over SCH Academy). Mixed in with Germantown Academy's Thursday triumph over Episcopal. This development stirs memories of a crazy day in 1969. I was a very deep sub on PC's basketball team and the last day of the season involved a trip to HS. We lost and, bingo, half the league won the championship. PC, HS and GA all finished 7-3. I have baseball standings going back to 1978 and the most balanced year was 1999. EA finished first at 7-3 and the basement squads -- three of 'em -- were just three games behind at 4-6. In the Catholic League, the Southern Division had a five-game gap from top to bottom in 1984 and should have had one in '88. Huh? Well, the Roman-St. James game was canceled. Both teams finished 5-8 and one, of course, would have lost, leaving it five games behind Neumann (10-4). In that same season/division, Neumann placed first despite being slapped with a forfeit when it failed to show up for a game at Carroll. Only in the Cath (smile). The final standings for those three seasons are right below.

Inter-Ac / Catholic Seasons With Smallest Gaps From Top to Bottom, 1978-2018

INTER-AC '99 W L CL SOUTH '88 W L CL SOUTH '84 W L

Episcopal 7 3 Bonner 10 4 Neumann 10 4

Malvern 6 4 O'Hara 8 6 West 8 6

Gtn. Academy 5 5 West 8 6 Bonner 8 6

Haver. School 4 6 Neumann 7 7 SJ Prep 7 7

Chestnut Hill 4 6 Carroll 6 8 Carroll 6 8

Penn Charter 4 6 St. James 6 8 O'Hara 6 8

SJ Prep 6 8 *Roman 5 8

Roman 5 9 *St. James 5 8

*-one game canceled

APRIL 20
TEDBIT
All-City baseball teams were first picked in 1978. In all these years, just one first team All-City pitcher has also earned first team All-City honors at quarterback. That guy was Penn Charter's Mike Samuel. And he did it TWICE (in the '93 and '94 school years). Is it possible someone will soon match Mike's feat? Once, that is. Well, Archbishop Wood junior Jack Colyar has three chances remaining -- baseball twice and football once. So far this spring he's 2-0 with a 2.23 ERA and batters are hitting just .120 against him. In 15.2 innings, he has allowed six hits, 13 walks and five earned runs while striking out 24. Thanks to Wood coach Jim DiGuiseppe Jr. (a k a "Dege") for those stats. Last fall, Colyar did not earn All-City honors while leading Wood to the 5A state championship. His passing wasn't needed too much as the Vikings stormed to five playoff victories. In fact, he logged just 19 attempts in those games. Witness that he earned third team All-City laurels as a soph, he's a talented kid and overall in '17 he passed 75-for-141 (53.2 percent) for 1,169 yards and 11 TDs. As for Samuel, who went on to play QB at Wisconsin . . . in his final two PC seasons he passed 111-for-223 for 2,011 yards and 23 TDs for an offense that also included star rusher Brandon Shepherdson. On the mound as a senior, Mike earned Pitcher of the Year honors after going 8-0 with a 1.91 ERA. In 55 innings, he surrendered 41 hits and mowed down 75. In case you've seen the surname all school year and have been wondering, PC senior Will Samuel is Mike's nephew. He was a third team All-City QB and now he's the Quakers' No. 1 starter. He was also a quality basketball player and I'm guessing he finished on the doorstep of making second team All-Inter-Ac. Two more things: In the '03 and '04 school years, Germantown Academy's Sean Grieve, a lefty, twice earned first team All-City honors as an outfielder (he was also a very competent pitcher; even pitched in the minors). In football, he was a second team All-City QB and then a first team All-City defensive back. In the '79 school year, Archbishop Ryan righthander Ed Hughes was a first team All-City quarterback and a second team All-City pitcher. His noteworthy grid moment: Passing 25-for-55 for 298 yards and two TDs in a loss to Cardinal Dougherty. He threw no picks and suffered no sacks. Those 55 attempts are still the city record. Meanwhile, good luck to Jack Colyar going forward and it'll be interesting to see how this situation plays out.
Check out four pics of Penn Charter's QB/RHP Samuel duo . . . Uncle Mike QB here and RHP here. Nephew QB Will here and RHP here. Thanks to John Burkhart and Zamani Feelings.
--

Nick (L) and Paul. APRIL 11
TEDBIT
Family bragging rights will be up for grabs today when Ryan visits McDevitt for a Catholic League contest. The managers, Ryan's Nick Chichilitti and McDevitt's Paul Fricker, are first cousins. Their remarried moms are sisters -- Renee Mosca for Nick, Betty Ginnetti for Paul; maiden name Lauer -- and I wonder if they'll sit together or apart, assuming they're able to attend. Nick played shortstop for Ryan and was a starter in '84. That squad won the Catholic League championship with an 8-3 win over Bonner. In that game, Nick stole a base and scored a run after going 2-for-3 with one RBI in the 9-6 semifinal win over North Catholic. Paul played at Frankford and was the starting leftfielder in the Pioneers' loss to Washington in a 1988 semifinal. Interestingly, both guys have been heavily involved in umpiring. Paul twice worked the plate in CL championship games (2004, 2009) and routinely handled plate/base assignments in earlier rounds. Also, he spent two decades working college tilts. Nick worked the bases in a 2012 CL semi and also umped games at the NCAA level. Nick has also operated Stampone Umpire Service (it handles semi-pro leagues in the Philly area) for many years and Paul is one of his mainstays. Have fun today, guys.
UPDATE: Ryan won, 22-0.

Schools With All-City First Teamers in the Three Major Sports In the Same School Year, 1977-78 to Present
Year	School	Football	Basketball	Baseball
1979-80	Northeast	Karl Siegle, K	Willie Oliphant, G	Scott Vogel, P
		Steve Poole, DE
1980-81	Frankford	Eric Leak, OL	Anthony Chennault, G	Bruce Konick, P
		Bob Brett, DE
1981-82	Frankford	Brian Ramsey, DE	Rico Washington, C	Rich McKay, P
		George Heineman, DB
	Bonner	Dan Brodeur, OL	Walt Fuller, G	Dan Hirst, INF
		Jim Chupein, K
		Tom Abram, LB
1985-86	Bonner	Pete Ruggieri, DL	Ivan "Pick" Brown, G	Mike Weber, INF
		Joe Gallagher, LB
1987-88	Bonner	Art Serano, DL	Brian Daly, F	Jon Schaffer, OF
		Dan Summers, DL
1990-91	Roman	Marvin Harrison, MP	Bernard Jones, F	Harry Carr, OF
1991-92	Dougherty	Manny Gonzalez, DL	Cuttino "Cat" Mobley, G	Chris Dugan, INF
1992-93	Olney	Kenyatta Carter, Rec.	Jason Lawson, C	Larry Abney, OF
	Roman	Joel Rivers, DL	Marc Jackson, C	Bill Black, INF
1993-94	Penn Charter	Mike Samuel, QB	Steve Goodrich, C	Mike Sposato, OF
		Brandon Shepherdson, RB		Mike Samuel, P
1994-95	Carroll	Andrew Garchinsky, DL	Rafal Bigus, C	Frank DiMaggio, INF
		Greg See, LB
1996-97	Carroll	Sean Scott, DB	Martin Ingelsby, G	Jay Aquilante, INF
				Mike Fuchs, C
1997-98	Judge	Joe Mahoney, OL	Jim Reeves, F	Kris Dufner, INF
		Jim Casey, RB
1998-99	Northeast	Dante Poole, RB	Randy Dukes, G	Pat Brady, INF
2000-01	Roman	Joe McCourt, MP	Tamal Forchion, F-C	Joe McCourt, OF
		Scott Paxson, DL
2001-02	Episcopal	Joe Person, OL	Terrence Mack, F	Adam Murray, INF
2002-03	Penn Charter	Matt Ryan, QB	Sean Singletary, G	Taylor Baum, 1B
		Tony McDevitt, LB
2003-04	SJ Prep	Mike Buscaglia, OL	Chris Clark, G	Mark Noonan, INF
		Matt Parkhurst, DL
		Brian Tracz, LB
		Dan Jones, DB
		Greg Ambrogi, DB
2003-04	Malvern	Andrew Mackrides, K	Brian Grandieri, G	Will Romanowicz, P
		Dan Onorato, LB
2004-05	Central	Cornelius Bunch, DL	Scott Rodgers, G-F	Andrew Reynolds, INF
	Gtn. Academy	Phil Azarik, K	Ryan Ayers, G-F	Tyler Stampone, INF
		Tyler Stampone, DB
2007-08	Ryan	Nick Ferdinand, Rec.	Andrew Rogers, G	Nick Ferdinand, OF
2009-10	Neum.-Goretti	Will Huff, P	Tony Chennault, G	Mark Donato, P
			Tyreek Duren, G
2011-12	La Salle	Ryan Geiger, OL	Eddie Mitchell, G	Joe Forcellini, 1B
		Jamal Abdur-Rahman, RB
		Connor Daly, LB
		Kevin Forster, DB
	Malvern	Michael Mooney, OL	Brendan Kilpatrick, G	Joe Ravert, 1B
		Connor Mahoney, DL		Joe Poduslenko, INF
		Joe Nilan, LB		Nick Bateman, OF
2012-13	SJ Prep	David Tracz, OL	Stephen Vasturia, G	Jawan McAllister, OF
		Paul Johnson, DL		Tom Mullin, P
		Todd Jones, LB
		John Reid, DB
	La Salle	Sean Coleman, Rec.	Amar Stukes, G	Chris Melillo, 1B
		Ryan Winslow, P		Dominic Cuoci, P
		Tom Spiteri, DL
		Zaire Franklin, LB
2013-14	SJ Prep	Jon Daniel Runyan, OL	Chris Clover, G	Jawan McAllister, OF
		Chris Martin, QB
		Jake Strain, DL
		Ryan McNulty, LB
		John Reid, DB
2014-15	SJ Prep	Jon Daniel Runyan, OL	Chris Clover, G	Dino Cattai, OF
		Olamide Zaccheaus, MP		Colin Scanlon, P
		D'Andre Swift, MP
		Jake Strain, DL
		John Reid, DB
2016-17	Wood	Anthony Diodato, OL	Collin Gillespie, G	John "JR" Gifford, DH
		Mark Webb, Rec.
		Raheem Blackshear, MP

La Salle's 23 Consecutive Years With a Winning Record in CL Regular Season
Year	Coach	W	L	Performance in Playoffs
1996	Joe Parisi	10	4	Lost in final
1997		11	7	Lost in second round
1998		14	4	Lost in second round
1999		15	3	Lost in semifinal
2000		14	4	Lost in final
2001		15	3	Lost in semifinal
2002		13	5	Lost in final
2003		13	5	Lost in final
2004		11	7	Lost in second round
2005		12	2	CHAMP!
2006		12	2	Lost in semifinal
2007		15	6	Lost in first round
2008		10	4	Lost in quarterfinal
2009		9	5	Lost in final
2010		8	6	Lost in quarterfinal
2011		8	4	Lost in semifinal
2012		12	0	Lost in final
2013		11	4	CHAMP!
2014		12	3	Lost in third round of losers bracket
2015	Kyle Werman	8	4	Lost in semifinal
2016		8	4	Lost in quarterfinal
2017		8	4	Lost in quarterfinal
2018		7	0
	Parisi	225	78
	Werman	31	12
	Total	256	90

Inter-Ac / Catholic Seasons With Smallest Gaps From Top to Bottom, 1978-2018
INTER-AC '99	W	L	CL SOUTH '88	W	L	CL SOUTH '84	W	L
Episcopal	7	3	Bonner	10	4	Neumann	10	4
Malvern	6	4	O'Hara	8	6	West	8	6
Gtn. Academy	5	5	West	8	6	Bonner	8	6
Haver. School	4	6	Neumann	7	7	SJ Prep	7	7
Chestnut Hill	4	6	Carroll	6	8	Carroll	6	8
Penn Charter	4	6	St. James	6	8	O'Hara	6	8
			SJ Prep	6	8	*Roman	5	8
			Roman	5	9	*St. James	5	8
						*-one game canceled

Rank/Name	School	Year
1. Mountain MacGillivray	Carroll	1991
2. Ambioris Puntier	Frankford	2001
3. Everett Shackelford	Franklin	1984
4. Bob Tausendfreundt	Mastbaum	1979
5. Kidanny Cumba	Frankford	2005
6. Nick Chichilitti	Ryan	1983
7. Reno Regalbuto	Neum.-Gor.	2008
8. Filmon Woldezghi	Bartram	2000
9. Tony Schimony	Central	1993
10. Argiris Niamonitis	Washington	2002

Date	Winner	Loser	Score	Winning Pitcher
April 16, 2016	La Salle	Ryan	8-0	Joe Peluso
	SJ Prep	McDevitt	7-0	Evan Matthews
	Lansdale	Carroll	2-0	Nolan Dougherty
	Judge	Conwell-Egan	16-0	Dan Hammer
April 5, 2018	Carroll	Lansdale	7-0	Jake Kelcher
	O'Hara	Ryan	10-0	Jimmy Beaky
	La Salle	Roman	10-0	Joe Miller
	Neumann-Goretti	Conwell-Egan	3-0	Joe Messina

CL Coaches at Two Schools, 1978-2017
Name	School	Seasons
Frank Allison	Carroll	1988-98 (3)
	O'Hara	2000-02, 2004-07
Fr. Ed Casey	West Catholic	1994-96
	Carroll	2011
Nick Chichilitti	North Catholic	2008-09
	Ryan	2017
Paul Ellis	Wood	1986-92 (1)
	Dougherty	2003-04
Joe Falcone	La Salle	1994
	SJ Prep	2013-17
John Fleming	O'Hara	2003 (1)
	Bonner	2005-07
Fran Murphy	Kennedy-Kenrick	1998
	Carroll	1999-2010 (4)
Jim O'Hara	SJ Prep	1988-90
	North Catholic	1991-93
Rich Papirio	Ryan	1978-86 (2)
	Egan/Con.-Egan	1988-2009 (1)

Inter-Ac League Coaches With Lengthy Stints, 1977-78 Through 2016-17
Yrs.	Name	School	Sport	1st Year
33	Rick Mellor	Penn Charter	base	1979
31	Gamp Pellegrini	Malvern	foot	1978
30	Dan Dougherty	Episcopal	bask	1978
28	Jim Fenerty	Gtn. Academy	bask	1990
25	Bob Castell	Haverford School	base	1993
24	Bill Gallagher	Penn Charter/Episcopal	foot/bask	1981
23	Stan Parker	Chestnut Hill	base	1978
23	Bud Tosti	Malvern	bask	1980
20	Jim Auch Jr.	Episcopal	foot	1977
16	Craig Conlin	Gtn. Acad./Episcopal	base/bask	1999
15	Mike Hickey	Malvern/Episcopal	base	1999
15	Rick Knox	Episcopal/Chestnut Hill	foot	2001

Catholic League Coaches With Lengthy Stints, 1977-78 Through 2016-17
Yrs.	Name	School	Sport	1st Year
33	Pat Manzi	McDevitt	foot	1982
31	Bud Gardler	O'Hara	bask	1978
31	Rich Papirio	Ryan/Egan	base	1978
29	Joe McDermott	Judge	base	1978
28	Joe Parisi	La Salle	base	1986
27	Mark Heimerdinger	Dougherty	bask	1983
26	Bill Fox	Judge	bask	1978
23	Joe Sette	McDevitt/Wood	bask	1981
22	Whitey Sullivan	Judge	foot	1977
22	Bill Dugan	O'Hara	base	1978
22	Dennis Seddon	Roman	bask	1987
21	Joe Colistra	La Salle	foot	1985
20	Speedy Morris	Roman/SJ Prep	bask	1978
20	Bob Vent	Bonner	base	1985
19	Glen Galeone	Ryan	foot	1990
19	Jack Rutter	McDevitt	bask	1996
19	Carl Arrigale	Neum.-Goretti	bask	1999
18	George Stratts	Dougherty/O'Hara	foot	1977
18	Frank Allison	Carroll/O'Hara	base	1988
18	Brian Fluck	West	foot	1999
17	Bill Ludlow	West	bask	1994
17	Jim DiGuiseppe Sr.	Wood	base	1995
16	Tom Stewart	St. James	bask	1978
16	John Mooney	St. James	base	1978
16	Bob DiFlorio	Neumann	bask	1986
16	Mike "Stump" Coyne	Bonner	foot	1988
15	Ed "Bubby" DiCamillo	West/Neumann	foot	1984
15	Marty Jackson	La Salle	bask	1987
15	Joe O'Brien	Roman	base	1987
15	Jim McCaffrey	Dougherty	base	1988
15	Dan Bielli	Carroll/K-K	foot	1995
15	Bernie Rogers	Ryan	bask	2001