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