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Wayne State baseball sweeps Upper Iowa at Metrodome
February 18, 2010 Wayne State College swept Upper Iowa in a pair of non-conference baseball games played Thursday evening at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. The Wildcats won the first game 6-1 and completed the sweep with a 3-1 win over the Peacocks in the nightcap. WSC is now 2-2 on the young season while Upper Iowa is 0-2.

In the first game, sophomore Austen Wisroth pitched two-hit ball over six innings with seven strikeouts to lead the Wildcats in the 6-1 win. Junior righthander Josh Nelsen worked the seventh inning to preserve the win for WSC. Offensively, John Plasha was 3 for 3 with a double and two RBI's while Sioux City East freshman Jerad Barth added a two-run triple.

Plasha's double to right center sparked the Wildcat's offense in the second inning. Plasha would advance to third on a throwing error that also allowed Jared Kraus to reach first base. Barth was up next and belted a triple down the left field line that scored Plasha and Kraus.

In the third inning Wayne State added to their lead as the inning started with Joe Wendte getting hit by a pitch and Nick Bidroski earning a walk. Treye Hacker then advanced the two on a sacrifice bunt. Plasha was up and with Wendte and Bidroski in scoring position Plasha laced a two run single to give WSC a 4-0 lead.

WSC continued to add to their lead in the fourth inning as once again the inning started with a Wayne State batter being hit as Brandon Polk was hit by the pitch. Wendte was up next and tripled to right center field scoring Polk. Bidroski then hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Wendte and expanded the Wildcats lead to 6-0.

Upper Iowa managed to score a run in the top of the sixth inning as Nick Bergeman reached on a throwing error and advanced to third on the error, then scored after an error thrown by right fielder Mike Bisenius. But Wayne State would shut down the Peacocks from their as Nelsen pitched a perfect seventh inning.

The second game saw three different WSC pitchers hold Upper Iowa scoreless until the seventh inning while striking out a combined nine batters as the Wildcats completed the sweep with a 3-1 win. Treye Hacker belted a solo homer in the first inning while Fremont freshman Justin Beranek added an RBI single to highlight Wayne State's five hits in the game.

Wayne State started the scoring in the top of the first inning as Treye Hacker hit his and the Wildcats first homerun of the season to right center field. The solo homerun gave Wayne State a 1-0 lead that lasted until the fourth inning when WSC expanded their lead. Plasha once again sparked the offense ripping a single into center field. Freshman Justin Beranek followed Plasha up with an RBI double to left center field that scored Plasha. Taylor Welk advanced Beranek on a sacrifice fly to centerfield. Beranek would score on a wild pitch that would give Wayne State a 3-0 lead.

Upper Iowa fought back in the bottom of the seventh as Mikey Henrichs reached first base on a walk and would later advance to third base after an error. Rory Kolo's RBI single cut the Wildcats lead to 3-1, but Wayne State pitcher Eric Dye shut the door to earn his first save of the season.

On the mound, sophomore Tom Doran recorded the win with 4 1/3 innings of work, allowing five hits and no runs with three strikeouts. Redshirt freshman lefthander Tadd Johansen of Elkhorn pitched the next 1 2/3 innings, striking out three. Junior Eric Dye worked the seventh inning, allowing one run with three strikeouts to earn the save.

Wayne State is now 2-2 on the season and the Wildcats are next scheduled to play Winona State in a four-game series at the Metrodome in Minneapolis with doubleheaders set for Friday, February 26th at 12:30 p.m. and Saturday, February 27th at 7:30 a.m.

Baseball Scores Two Routs Against No. 13 Farmingdale State
March 2, 2010 Widener could not have played better in a doubleheader against No. 13 Farmingdale State, notching a 10-5 victory in the opener before a 19-9 laugher in the nightcap in Orlando, FL.

Down 5-0 after the first inning of game one, the Pride (3-2) scored three runs in the second and six in the fifth for a 9-5 lead. The sixth featured freshman Dennis Hocker (Coral Springs, FL) smacking his first career homer, junior Alex Oliver (Lebanon, NJ) getting a two-run single, junior Tom Mahoney (Norristown, PA) lining an RBI single, Sean Saverio (Horsham, PA) lacing a run-scoring triple and fellow sophomore Dan Sieracki (Cherry Hill, NJ) adding an RBI single.

Brookhaven, PA junior Kevin Culbert (1-0) shook off a rough first inning to retire 11 straight batters from the first through fifth frames. He struck out six, yielding five runs and seven hits with one walk. Culbert permitted only two hits over the first inning.

Mahoney closed with four hits and two RBI with Saverio adding a double and two RBI. Sieracki rapped three hits with Hocker, senior Tom Connelly (Media, PA), and freshmen Jordan Shenk (New Park, PA) and Max McCarthy (Deptford, NJ) adding two apiece.

The Pride in game two scored seven times in the first inning, keyed by a three-run triple from McCarthy. The squad tacked on 10 more in the fourth for an 18-2 cushion thanks to a three-run double from sophomore Bill Hollingsworth (Drexel Hill, PA).

Saverio reached base all five times, ending with two singles, a double and an RBI. Freshman Matt Hone (Newtown, PA) went 3-for-3 with two RBI and junior Jason Brooke (Collegeville, PA) had two hits and three RBI.

Brooke (1-0) got the win, striking out three over five innings.

Farmingdale State fell to 4-7.

Widener on Wednesday battles Rose-Hulman at 10:00 am.

SAINTS BASEBALL LOSES TO NEWBERRY
February 17, 2010 NEWBERRY, S.C.— The Limestone College baseball team lost to Newberry College 11-7 on Wednesday afternoon. Limestone falls to 2-3 with the loss and Newberry climbs to 5-3 on the season. The game was tied going to the bottom of the fifth inning when Newberry put up 5 runs and went on to the eventual win. Both teams played errorless baseball and Newberry outhit the Saints 18-16.

Limestone was led at the plate by Joe Maloney (Aston, Pa.) as he went 3-5 with 3 home runs and 5 runs batted in. Tim Welsh(Kalamazoo, Mich.) went 2-5 with 2 runs scored. AJ Lewis (Boiling Springs, S.C.) also had 2 hits for Limestone. Casey Seay (Rock Hill, S.C.) (Rock Hill, S.C.) took the loss for the Saints as he allowed 4 runs in 0.1 innings.

The scarlet and gray used eight pitchers to earn the win. Evan Brown (1-0; Columbia, S.C.) earned the victory, throwing a scoreless fifth inning. Gary Hersey (Key West, Fla.) also allowed no runs in the eighth inning.

Newberry took the lead in the bottom of the first inning, as Pierce Labrador (Lexington, S.C.) and Sanchez Gartman (Newberry, S.C.) each recorded singles. The pair executed a great first-and-third base play, allowing Labrador to scamper home and give Newberry a 1-0 lead. Limestone took a 2-1 lead in the top of the second on a two-run homer by Maloney.

Newberry reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the third on an Andy Vogel (Marietta, Ga.) RBI double and a Gartman RBI single to take a 3-2 lead. Vogel's double would be Newberry's only extra-base hit of the night. Limestone tied the game in the top of the fourth on a solo shot just over the edge of the left field fence by Maloney.

The scarlet and gray took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth inning. After Labrador struck out to start the inning, eight straight Newberry batters reached base. Jovan Rohena (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico) hit an RBI single and Roland Haskins (Alexandria, Va.) and Jose Rosa (Keystone Heights, Fla.) each hit two-run singles up the middle to take an 8-3 lead.

Limestone cut into the lead on a sacrifice fly by Michael Hughey (Gaffney, S.C.) in the sixth, but Newberry put up three runs in the bottom of the inning. Rohena and Scott Horvath (Apopka, Fla.) each hit RBI singles and executed a double-steal from first and third to give Newberry an 11-4 lead.

The Saints picked up two runs in the seventh on a two-run homer from Maloney and a ninth inning RBI single by Josh Troutman (North Augusta, S.C.), but could get no closer as Newberry won its third straight game.

Six Newberry players earned multiple hits in the game, led by Gartman and Rohena, who each went 4-for-5 in the game. Labrador earned three hits, while Vogel, Horvath and Rosa each hit twice.

Limestone heads to Due West, S.C., for a three-game series against Conference Carolinas rival Erskine College on Friday and Saturday. Friday’s game will start at 2 p.m. with Saturday’s doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.

2009 Delco League Playoffs
#1 Wayne - BYE
#2 Aston Valley - BYE

Quarterfinals: #3 Collingdale Wins Best-of-3 Series (2-1) vs #6 Media
7/26 Collingdale 3 Media 2
7/26 Media 4 Collingdale 2
7/27 Collingdale 9 Media 4

Quarterfinals: #4 Upper Darby Wins Best-of-3 Series (2-1) vs #5 Narberth
7/26 Upper Darby 9 Narberth 8
7/26 Narberth 13 Upper Darby 8
7/27 Upper Darby 9 Narberth 0

Semifinals: #1 Wayne Sweeps Best-of-5 Series (3-0) vs #4 Upper Darby
7/30 Wayne 3 Upper Darby 1
8/1 Wayne 7 Upper Darby 2
8/3 Wayne 4 Upper Darby 3

Semifinals: #2 Aston Valley Wins Best-of-5 Series (3-2) vs #3 Collingdale
8/1 Aston Valley 5 Collingdale 4
8/1 Collingdale 5 Aston Valley 2
8/3 Aston Valley 8 Collingdale 0
8/4 Collingdale 3 Aston Valley 1
8/5 Aston Valley 6 Collingdale 2

Championship: #1 Wayne Wins Best-of-5 Series (3-1) vs #2 Aston Valley
8/7 Wayne 9 Aston Valley 1
8/8 Wayne 7 Aston Valley 2
8/10 Aston Valley 5 Wayne 1
8/12 Wayne 5 Aston Valley 4

Delco League Finals: Moyer watched Aston Valley battle to finish
August 13, 2009 Daily Times

By MATT SMITH
matt8421@aol.com

RADNOR — Dan Moyer had nothing but positive things to say about his first year managing Aston Valley.

The Sun Devils packed their belongings and headed home following Wednesday’s 5-4 loss to Wayne in Game 4 of the Delco League championship series.

It all happened so fast.

“I’m upset that we lost, but I’m happy our guys went out the way they did,” Moyer said. “It’s always difficult picking up a suspended game. I wish things could have been a little different, but we went down kicking and screaming.”

Wayne and Aston Valley resumed the game after darkness halted play through seven innings Tuesday at Neumann University’s Bruder Field. As a result of the postponement, the Sun Devils had to travel to Radnor High School — Wayne’s home field — to finish what was Aston Valley’s home game.

Wayne wasted no time scoring the go-ahead run and the Sun Devils found themselves in familiar territory.

Throughout the regular season, Aston Valley was the underdog. The team rallied to make the postseason. Injuries to key players prevented the Sun Devils from maximizing their potential.

At full strength, Aston Valley proved to be one of Delco League’s elite teams. The Sun Devils earned everything they got by taking Collingdale to five games in the semifinals.

When Wayne won the first two games of the championship series last weekend, Moyer’s crew never lost hope.

“We’re used to fighting back in games and we’re a persistent team,” Moyer said. “We’ve been doing it all year. We had to win every single game the last two weeks of the (regular) season just to have any shot at making the playoffs. When we get behind, we’re at our best.”

With three outs to go in the season, the Sun Devils gave it their best shot. Chris Hafich and Sam Greenhalgh worked one-out walks against Wayne ace Todd Rizzo, the former big-leaguer who was called upon after Leon Stimpson struck out facing Jimmer Kennedy.

But Aston Valley, for the first time in a long time, couldn’t find the magic touch to force a Game 5. After Steve Maloney reached on a single, Fred Hilliard bounced into a force out and Ryan Lindstadt struck out to end the game.

“They had to bring in their Game 5 pitcher to get us out,” Moyer said. “That was their ace. We gave them everything we had.”

Quitting was never an option for the 2009 Aston Valley Sun Devils.

“The team showed a lot of fight and a lot character this year,” Maloney said. “It gets me looking forward to next season. We’ll be a better team.”

Delco League Finals: Greenhalgh gives Aston Valley a boost
August 12, 2009 Daily Times

By HARRY CHAYKUN
hchaykun@delcotimes.com

ASTON — It was the last day of Sam Greenhalgh’s vacation in St. Thomas.

Before it was over, his baseball season with the Aston Valley Sun Devils almost came to end. Greenhalgh injured his foot and spent five weeks waiting for it to heal.

“He’s been telling me he was ready to come back,” Sun Devils manager Dan Moyer said Tuesday night after Greenhalgh had a run-scoring single and walked in three trips to the plate in Aston Valley’s Delco League finals game with Wayne that was halted after seven innings with the score tied, 4-4.

Greenhalgh’s hit came in the second inning.

“There were two outs and we had a runner (Sam Farnell) on third,” Greenhalgh, who was the designated hitter and batted No. 9 in the Aston Valley order, said. “It was my first at-bat in five weeks. It’s been hard not being able to play. I was just glad to do something to help the team.”

Aston Valley scored in the first as Brian Bradford grounded out with Fred Hilliard, who had singled and moved up on an error and passed ball, on third. Greenhalgh got the Sun Devils a run in the second, then John Plasha (third) and Steve Maloney (fourth) hit sacrifice flies.

“I needed that after my first two at-bats,” Maloney, who struck out in the first and second innings, said. “They were keeping the ball away from me.”

Maloney and Hilliard have been Greenhalgh’s teammates for a number of years.

“It’s great to have Sammy back,” Maloney said. “He has a way of keeping people in the game, even when he’s not playing. He just keeps things up on this team. Having him around is what this team has needed.”

Hilliard was hit by a pitch leading off the third inning, moved to third when Bradford singled, then came in as Plasha flew out to center field.

“The thing about Sammy is that he’ll get his bat on the ball,” Hilliard said. “He’s been in this league long enough that he knows how they’ll pitch him and how (the fielders will) play him.

“It’s great that he’s gotten his confidence back and we have him back playing.”

Aston Valley manager Dan Moyer is happy he and his players will be pulling on their uniforms today.

“We’ve been battling,” Moyer said. “There’s no other way to put it. We got contributions from so many people tonight because they all want to keep playing. Everyone on this team has been battling through this whole series.

“(Greenhalgh) has been (trying to convince me) that he was ready. It was good to have him because (Chris Hafich) had to work and couldn’t be here. Sammy’s a guy you know will come through for you when you need him to. He went up there for the first time tonight and got us a run.”

Delco League Finals: Hilliard sparks rally that gives Aston Valley life
August 11, 2009 Daily Times

By MATT SMITH
matt8421@aol.com

ASTON — Aston Valley stranded the bases loaded in three of the first four innings in Game 3 of the Delco League championship series Monday night.

While teammate Phil Cresta was delivering an ace-like performance on the mound, the Sun Devils were frustrated at the plate.

With the bases packed in the second inning, Brian Bradford hit a line drive to Wayne center fielder Kyle George for an out. Steve Maloney stayed put at third base.

In the second, John Plasha led off with a double and Tom Moran coaxed a walk. Wayne starter John Gentile was reeling, but the Sun Devils couldn’t make him pay. Maloney struck out and Ryan Lindstadt grounded out harmlessly to end the inning.

Aston Valley again jammed the bases in the fourth, but failed to capitalize.

The lack of offensive production in the game’s first five frames didn’t damper Aston Valley’s hopes of coming back to make this a series again after Wayne took a commanding two-game lead over the weekend.

The Sun Devils managed to break through in the sixth inning, scoring five runs, and staved off elimination with a 5-1 victory at Neumann University.

Wayne’s loss snapped a 17-game winning streak in playoff action.

Fred Hilliard delivered the decisive blow with the bases juiced. Tom Close relieved Gentile and loaded the bags with a one-out walk to Maloney. Moments later, Hilliard smoked a 3-2 offering to the gap in left-center field and all three runners touched home plate.

The clutch double injected new life into the Aston Valley dugout.

“(Close) was trying to get the pitch inside and they were trying to get me out all night that way,” Hilliard said. “It was the fourth at-bat I had and there was a runner on third. I was just trying to get something I could drive and get that tying run home and anything else would be a bonus. Luckily, I hit a gap and was able to drive them all home.

“I think we were all frustrated when we couldn’t score, but we knew if Phil could keep us close enough, and if we got another opportunity to score, we would come through. That’s what happened.”

Aston Valley manager Dan Moyer was able to exhale. Moyer waited patiently for his bats to heat up and knew it was only a matter of time before the hits would start coming in bunches.

“It was a big moment,” he said. “I was just a matter of ... relaxing. The first three games, including (Monday), we had runners on and runners in scoring position. Everybody was pressing, pressing, pressing. All it takes is for a veteran like Freddie Hilliard to drive the ball and then we just started to calm down and relax. That’s what we needed.”

Cresta was shaky in the opening frame, allowing a pair of singles, but settled down nicely the rest of the way.

Former major leaguer Keith Hughes legged out a one-out triple in the fourth inning, but was tagged out at home on a ground ball to third baseman Sam Farnell.

Wayne broke the scoreless tie in the sixth after Hughes was intentionally walked to put runners on first and second with one out. Chris Cowell hit a shot over shortstop Hilliard’s head and Brian Giacobetti, who started things off with a single, beat the throw at home plate with a wrap-around slide.

Cresta, who struck out five and scattered five hits, limited the damage and kept his offense within striking distance.

“I just wanted to go out and perform as well as I could,” said Cresta, the 2006 Daily Times Male Athlete of the Year out of Sun Valley. “My goal was to get it to the next day. That’s all we can do right now. We have to not think too far ahead. With each game, we have to think the same way. I just definitely wanted to win and help my team.

Cresta overcame the rising heat index and was spectacular in the biggest outing of his Delco League career.

“All you can do is give your best effort and hopefully it’s good enough,” he said. “There’s no reason to really think about any kind of pressure. Whatever happens, happens.”

Aston Valley’s scoring splurge started with a one-out single by Moran, followed by a double off the bat of Leon Stimpson. After Hilliard’s go-ahead two-bagger, Chris Hafich and Bradford collected back-to-back RBI singles to make it 5-1.

Close faced five batters in relief of Gentile and didn’t record an out. He allowed three hits and three runs before J.J. Sims came in to get the final two outs.

Wayne’s six-through-nine batters (Brady Schlack, Jim Fatz, John Cowell and Mike DeSanto) went a combined 0-for-11 with four strikeouts.

Kevin Culbert gets the start in Game 4 for Aston Valley tonight (5:45) at Neumann. Wayne will counter with George.

Aston Valley stays alive with win
August 12, 2009 News of Delaware County

By Paul Vanderveer
CORRESPONDENT

Harry Houdini was a magician who, in the early years of the twentieth century, earned quite a bit of fame by “escaping” from sealed iron crates or from some other perilous predicament. Such was his skill that there were those who believed that he would somehow escape death itself.

Well, there have been no reported sightings of Houdini since his passing in 1926. But if you happened to attend Monday evening’s Delco League baseball playoff game between Wayne and Aston Valley at Neumann University, you have might have felt that starting pitchers John Gentile (Wayne) and Phil Cresta (Aston Valley) resembled that famous individual - in the baseball sense, that is.

With Wayne needing a third win to sweep the best of five championship series, the two hurlers battled through five scoreless innings, somehow managing to strand numerous opposing base runners when it seemed certain that scoring by either team was imminent.

Wayne finally broke through for a run in the top of the sixth, but in the end it was Aston that played the final trick by scoring five in the bottom of the frame to come away with a 5-1 victory. The win enabled the Sun Devils to not only “escape” elimination, but also snapped a 14 game Wayne playoff winning streak extending back to 2007.

“We kept letting Wayne off the hook, but Phil kept us close and we were finally able to knock in some runs,” said Aston shortstop Fred Hilliard.

It was Hilliard who ended Aston’s game long frustration with a three run double in his team’s marathon, ten-batter merry-go-round. The game winning blow followed a couple other similar occasions when the results weren’t so good.

“They had been pitching me inside all game,” Hilliard related. “It was a full count, I got a fastball to hit, and fortunately found a gap in left center field.”

“Sometimes people watching a game will wonder why hitters can’t come through more often in those situations,” he added. “But they don’t realize how tough it can be when you’re facing good pitching.”

Hilliard’s hit suddenly started an avalanche rolling against normally superlative Wayne reliever Tom Close. Before the inning came to a close, designated hitter Chris Hafich and first baseman Brian Bradford had added run scoring singles.

“We did have some runners on base in the first two games of the series, but only scored four total runs,” Aston coach Dan Moyer remarked. “Tonight, I think guys were pressing when we had chances to score early, but Fred’s hit seemed to relieve the pressure.”

Speaking of pressure, you probably wouldn’t have wanted to be in Cresta’s shoes in the top of the first inning. Your team is down two games to none, the bases are loaded with no outs (thanks in part to a couple infield miscues), and former major leaguer and Delco veteran Keith Hughes was stepping into the batter’s box.

“Not a situation I wanted to be in,” Cresta laughingly agreed. “But sometimes you have to forget the situation, enjoy the fact that you’re playing baseball, give your best effort, and see what happens.”

Cresta was able to induce Hughes to lift a fly ball to shallow right field, where speedy Leon Stimpson made a running catch. Wayne catcher Chris Cowell followed with a rocket to third base, but Aston third sacker Sam Farnell combined with second baseman Ryan Lindstadt to turn a nifty double play. Suddenly, Aston had life.

Cresta managed to work around a Hughes triple in the fourth stanza, and meanwhile, his teammates were doing a lot of things right at the plate. They worked deep counts, drew walks, and executed sacrifice bunts as they loaded the bases three times in the first four innings. The only problem was that none of those players crossed home plate.

“Gentile did a good job of keeping us off balance when we had runners on base,” Hilliard observed.

But after Cowell’s single plated Brian Giacobetti with Wayne’s run, it seemed as though Gentile’s pitch count finally became a factor on the hot summer evening. With one out in the bottom of the sixth, left fielder Tom Moran singled, and Stimpson followed with a double to set up the Devils’ scoring burst.

Given a comfortable working margin, Cresta finished with a flourish, striking out the last two batters to go the distance.

“Phil’s been doing this kind of job for us all season,” Moyer pointed out.

Cowell and Aston backstop John Plasha both performed admirably in blocking low pitches, and Wayne third baseman Brady Schlack’s glove work played a major role in thwarting a couple of Aston’s scoring opportunities. Meanwhile, Aston center fielder and leadoff batter Steve Maloney reached base three times via a single to center, a perfect bunt single, and a walk.

Prior to the game, someone walking behind the backstop couldn’t help but notice the league’s championship trophy sitting on the ground. Its presence may have been necessitated by Wayne’s commanding lead in the series, but the Devils made certain that it had to be put away for at least one more night.

They’re still down 2-1, but if Aston can somehow win two more games, why, that’s an escape of which Houdini himself would be proud.

Mother Nature pushes Game 3 back to today
August 10, 2009 Daily Times

Dear Daily Times Mystery Writer,

Two teams are competing for the 2009 Delco League Championship! When you write an article like this one, please post your name so we can address you properly.

Thank you,

Aston Valley Sun Devils

Leave it to Mother Nature to make Wayne wait one more day to wrap up its 12th Delco Baseball League title.

Rain and poor field conditions forced the postponement of Sunday’s Game 3 of the Delco League championship series between Wayne and Aston Valley.

Wayne leads the best-of-five series, 2-0. A 12th title would enable Wayne to tie Tinicum for the most Delco League crowns in the 102-year history of the league.

Game 3 has been rescheduled for 5:45 this evening at Neumann University. Today was originally scheduled to be an off day.

If Aston Valley wins, Game 4 will be Tuesday evening (5:45) at Neumann with Game 5, if necessary, slated for Wednesday evening at Radnor High School.

Delco League Finals: Wayne moves a step closer to three-peat
August 9, 2009 Daily Times

By JOHN KOPP
johnkopp11@gmail.com

RADNOR – If there was any lingering doubt whether Wayne held a lead large enough to capture Game 2 of the Delco League Finals Saturday, it was extinguished shortly after Eric Soring stepped into the batter’s box in the sixth inning.

The outfielder promptly slapped a two-run single, the highlight of a five-run inning that blew open a one-run game and virtually assured Wayne a victory over Aston Valley at Radnor High School.

Reliever Tom Close allowed a run in the seventh but secured the 7-2 win, handing Wayne a 2-0 series lead. Wayne can clinch the league title today with a win in Game 3, slated for 2:30 p.m. at Neumann University.

Having captured the last two Delco championships, this isn’t unfamiliar territory for Wayne, which owns a 17-game postseason winning streak.

“It feels good, but we still have a lot of work to do,” Soring said. “We can’t take anyone for granted. They still have their number one and two pitchers in their bullpen. And they’re fresh.”

One of those pitchers Soring alluded to, Phil Cresta, takes the mound for Aston today against Wayne’s John Gentile.

The left-handed Cresta creates a difficult matchup for Wayne, which has three left-handed batters in the top four spots of its lineup.

“That just makes it tougher on those guys,” Wayne player/manager Jim Fatz said. “He throws really hard, great control, controls the running game because he’s left-handed. He’s an athlete out there, so you’re not going to bunt on him.”

Aston Valley manager Dan Moyer said that his team, despite having its back against the wall, is confident it can lengthen the series, especially with Cresta on the hill.

“There’s no reason we can’t come back,” Moyer said. “We’re at home. We had runners on (Saturday). The hits are going to start falling our way.”

The hits certainly fell in favor of Wayne Saturday, especially during the sixth, when Wayne scattered six singles while sending 11 batters to the plate.

Chris Cowell and Fatz opened the inning with back-to-back singles. A balk moved the runners to second and third and with nobody out, pitcher Andrew Kirk elected to intentionally walk Brady Schlack to set up a force at home.

With the infield in, Mike DeSanto squirted a run-scoring single past diving shortstop Fred Hilliard. Brian Giacobetti followed with a bloop single to center, plating another run.

Then Soring laced his two-run single, turning a 4-1 lead into a 6-1 advantage and, more or less, clinching the game for Wayne.

“At that point, you’re just trying to get runs in anyway,” Soring said. “Just a ball in the outfield, even an infield hit. The object is just to get a run in. I was able to see a good pitch, get my bat on it.”

Two batters later, Keith Hughes blooped a run-scoring single to center and Wayne led, 7-1.

The inning doomed Aston Valley, which had just closed its deficit to 2-1 in the top of the inning on a sacrifice fly by John Plasha.

“We had them; we had them right there in our reach,” Moyer said. “It just got away from us a little bit. I think we made some good pitches and they hit the ball where we weren’t. That’s kind of the way it goes in baseball sometimes.”

Had it held Wayne at bay, Aston had its bats lined up nicely for a final-inning comeback. The speedy Leon Stimpson was due to lead off, with the top of the order following.

“With a one-run lead going into that inning, we would have been real nervous,” Fatz said. “So getting five runs there was huge, just gigantic. It gave us a big cushion.”

Though Wayne knocked 10 hits off Kirk, it struggled at times to figure out the hard-throwing righty.

Entering the sixth, Kirk had breezed through most of the game, only encountering trouble in the fourth, when four straight hitters reached base.

The last batter in that string, Fatz, shot a grounder in the hole between the first and second basemen, scoring the game’s first two runs.

“He got ahead of me 0-2 and at that point, I was just like, ‘man, don’t strike out, just put it in play,’” Fatz said. “I fought back after 0-2 to get to a full count. With the bases loaded, I was pretty positive he had to come in with a fastball. I put a nice stroke on it. I hit it hard and it found a hole.”

Kirk settled down, stranding the bases loaded. He retired the side in order in the fifth, but wore down in the sixth.

“He was still making good pitches,” Moyer said. “They just were hitting the ball.”

Aston, however, is not hitting.

After getting a meager three hits off Wayne ace Todd Rizzo in Game 1, Aston managed four hits Saturday. Jimmer Kennedy pitched four scoreless innings for Wayne, striking out seven. He walked four.

That’s given Wayne a firm grip on the series.

“This is where you want to be after two games,” Fatz said. “It’s nice. You can take a deep breath a little bit and just go out and play. You don’t have to take anything as seriously as they do now.

“They’re do-or-die now. They’ve got to make decisions a little more critically than we do. We can maybe play for Games 3, 4 and 5 while they’ve got to play for (Game) 3.”

Wayne wastes little time taking control in Game 1
August 8, 2009 Daily Times

By ANTHONY J. SANFILIPPO
anthonysan37@gmail.com

RADNOR — Wayne manager Jim Fatz didn’t need to post the preview of the Delco League finals in the Daily Times on the dugout wall.

That’s because the bulletin-board material made its way in front of pitcher Todd Rizzo much earlier Friday.

In the story, Aston Valley players highlighted their season series win over Wayne and the fact that they beat Rizzo in each of those victories.

The 38-year-old former major leaguer didn’t take too kindly to that assertion, no matter how true, and took the mound with a bit of a nasty edge.

He came out firing, retiring the first eight batters he faced and was supported by a patient Wayne offense that worked 11 walks and had some timely hits to waltz to a 9-1 win in Game 1 of the best-of-5 finals.

Game 2 is set for today at 2 p.m. at Radnor High School with Jimmer Kennedy pitching for Wayne and Andrew Kirk hurling for Aston Valley.

Rizzo finished with eight strikeouts in Game 1, yielding three hits and just one unearned run, but no matter how dominant his performance was, it was overshadowed by several heated exchanges between himself and Aston Valley management.

The game was stopped on three occasions as Rizzo found himself in a spitting match, first with Sun Devils G.M. Billy Wright and later with manager Dan Moyer.

“Anybody who knows me or has played against me knows I’m a fiery competitor,” Rizzo said. “Part of the thing is, that’s what got me 15 years in pro ball. I always stepped up to the challenge. But when guys say little things in the newspapers … you should keep your mouth shut.

“There’s a reason I got as far as I did, not because I can’t handle pressure. Then I read them say, ‘oh, we handled them for three games.’ Last time I saw Billy I told him, ‘you may have won the battle, but you are going to lose the war.’ It upsets me. I get upset. I always have. That’s the way I am. To a point, it’s a little bit of a downfall of my character, but that’s how I am.”

He backed up his bravado with a fine pitching performance, but after the first inning he was able to pitch with a comfortable lead and never had to look back.

Wayne wasted no time jumping all over Sun Devils’ starter Joe Sessa.

Infected with an unusual case of wildness, Sessa walked three batters in the opening stanza and allowed an RBI single to Brad Strauss as well as a three-run bomb to Chris Cowell, making the score 4-0 before the late arriving Wayne faithful even had a chance to sit down.

Sessa’s problems continued into the third inning when he was lifted after walking eight through just 21/3 innings.

A two-run double by Eric Soring and a two-run single by Strauss off reliever Kyle McGrath put the game out of reach.

“He earned that start,” Moyer said. “He waited patiently and did everything I asked. There were some other guys who just stopped showing up so he’s deserved it. He wasn’t on top of his game, but I still have confidence in him.”

With the game a blowout, it allowed the boiling pot that had the ingredients of Rizzo, Wright and Moyer to spill over.

Home plate umpire Alley Steven had to issue warnings to Wright and Rizzo when their back-and-forth went a little overboard.

Later, Moyer got into it with Rizzo after an inning in which Rizzo was assessed a balk, and finally, Wright asked for a different ball to be used while Rizzo was pitching, prompting Rizzo to lob the new ball in the direction of Wright on the Aston Valley bench.

“I don’t know where the whole thing came from that I was talking crap in the paper,” Moyer said. “I gave Wayne nothing but respect. It’s beyond me.”

But, it wasn’t beyond Rizzo, who went on and on about it after the game.

“The thing is, they are young kids and they want to talk,” Rizzo said. “Well, if you want to talk, then if it goes the other way and you have to be able to respond that way, too. They didn’t. That’s what has me a little upset.

“Don’t get me wrong, they’re a very good baseball team, but if you want to get into a war of words, I’m going to beat you. I’ve been around a little longer. I’m ‘bad’ that way, so don’t get upset.”

Rizzo throws everything he has at Aston ValleyBy JEN REARDON
sports@delcotimes.com

RADNOR — In his fourth meeting against Aston Valley this season, Wayne starter Todd Rizzo finally beat the Sun Devils by throwing a complete-game, three-hitter for a 9-1 win in Game 1 of the Delco League championship.

“It’s always important to win that Game 1,” Rizzo said. “The biggest thing I knew coming in was that the last few times we played them, we didn’t play great defense, and I was getting hurt a little bit early in the count where I walked some guys.

“I got myself into bad positions. I made some errors. We made errors behind us. They’re very pesky hitters. They really battle you to the end. Even the last guy, I wanted to finish that game with a strikeout, and he kept fouling me off and fouling me off.”

Rizzo struck out center fielder Leon Stimpson to end the game, surrendering only two walks to his eight strikeouts. He said he mixed in two breaking pitches — a curveball and a slider — to complement his fastball.

“Sometimes I get fastball happy,” Rizzo said. “The last guy in the third inning, Johnny Plasha, we went curveball for a strike and then slider, slider to get out of that jam. I worked ahead in the count. When I do that, I’m real tough to beat because then I can get people out on their front foot and make people wave at stuff since they can’t sit and wait for the fastball.”

After retiring the first two batters in that third inning, left fielder Anthony Fenza had what Wayne coach Jim Fatz called the best at-bat of the game for Aston Valley. Down in the count 0-2, Fenza fought back to a full count and singled for the Sun Devils’ first hit of the game. Aston Valley coach Dan Moyer promptly sent Stimpson in as a pinch-runner and he reached second base on a fielder’s choice. After a balk, an error by third baseman Brady Schlack and an unearned run, Rizzo struck out Plasha to end the threat.

“They’re a very fast team, and they can raise havoc on the bases, and I don’t have the greatest move,” Rizzo said. “Leon runs really well. Obviously, that’s something you always think about as a pitcher because I don’t want them to get to the next base. Then I ended up costing myself a run because I worried a little too much about it. I twitched my leg a little bit.”

Wayne’s four-run first inning offered Rizzo some breathing room in that lone inning he found himself in a jam.

“I said to the guys, ‘I’m going to go out there, and I’m going to get those first three guys out and let you guys go to work,’” Rizzo said. “Chris Cowell’s home run, that was a monster shot, and to be able to put ourselves up four runs and a game against a young team is big.”

If the best-of-five series reaches a deciding fifth game, Aston Valley will once again see Rizzo out on the mound.

“Riz is Riz,” Fatz said. “You throw him out there, and he’s going to stay out there. He’s got a rubber arm, so he doesn’t lose a lot from the first inning to the seventh inning. He knows how to pitch. I just put him in the lineup and he does his thing.”

Wayne is wary as it eyes three in a row
August 7, 2009 Daily Times

By JOHN KOPP johnkopp11@gmail.com

Eric Soring sat on the first-base bleachers at Neumann University Wednesday night, watching Aston Valley and Collingdale determine which team would face Soring’s Wayne squad in the Delco League finals.

That’s the luxury granted to a team that takes care of its business quickly, as Wayne did by sweeping Upper Darby in its semifinal series.

During the last three postseasons, Wayne has eliminated its opponents in the fewest number of games possible, winning 15 straight playoff games.

Tonight, Wayne begins its quest of winning its third title in as many years when it faces Aston Valley in Game 1 of the finals.

“We haven’t been thinking about it,” Soring said. “We’ve just been taking it game-for-game. The league is different. Aston is the strongest I’ve seen them in just the three years I’ve been in the league. The past is the past.”

Wayne might not be thinking about its playoff streak, but Aston Valley is aware of it.

“Wayne, they’re the top, the class of the Delco League,” Sun Devils manager Dan Moyer said. “It’s good we get a shot to go at them. It will be fun. They’re good. We’re going to have to play our best to beat them, but we’re going to give it all we got and let the chips fall as they may.”

During the last several weeks, those chips have fallen in favor of Aston Valley more often than not. The Sun Devils were mired in fifth place with two weeks remaining in the regular season, but rallied to claim second place and a first-round bye. It took them until the last day of the regular season to do so, but they earned it.

Wayne took notice.

“Their pitching is really sharp this year, that sticks out,” Soring said. “They’ve got a lot of young pitchers. They hit the ball, too. They’ve got a few new kids from local colleges around here that really just put the lineup together. They’re really looking strong. It will be a great fight.”

Aston Valley won the regular season series, 3-1, taking advantage of a few rare errors by Wayne. The Sun Devils also beat Wayne ace Todd Rizzo three times, too. That’s no small feat, as Rizzo appeared in 12 games with the Chicago White Sox in the late 90s.

“Rizzo threw all the games, but we’ve done a pretty good job of hiding the other pitchers,” Soring said. “It’s going to be a battle. It’s going to be great.”

Rizzo is expected to take the hill tonight, with Jimmer Kennedy and John Gentile going in Games 2 and 3. Wayne also has Rocky Walker and Tom Close at its disposal.

Wayne’s ability to hand its pitchers an early lead has bolstered the team through its run to the finals. Wayne did need a comeback, however, in its clinching game against Upper Darby.

Chris Cowell and Brad Strauss powered Wayne into the finals, with Cowell hitting a game-tying, two-run homer in the seventh inning of Wayne’s Game 3 semifinal. Strauss drove home the winning run with an eighth-inning single.

Thus, Wayne’s postseason win streak continued, despite a scare.

“Everyone never gives up,” Soring said. “People really want to win on the team. I think the main thing is everyone sticks together. It’s no individual stat, it’s us as a team.”

Still, Wayne manager Jim Fatz said, of all the Delco League teams, Aston Valley matches up best because of its speed. The Sun Devils used that speed to exploit a few Wayne errors in the regular season.

“I think they’re the quickest team in the Delco League and they use that to their advantage,” Fatz said. “I think that’s the number one thing they have over us.”

Despite taking advantage of some Wayne errors, the Sun Devils know those miscues are uncommon.

“They fail to make mistakes and if you make mistakes against them, they capitalize,” Sun Devils first baseman Brian Bradford said. “You’re playing a team that you really have to go out there and hit the ball and limit your errors.”

Bradford said the Sun Devils solidified their defense during the last 10 games, as the Sun Devils found their groove down the stretch, finally configuring a steady lineup after being stricken by injuries earlier in the year.

Moyer noted Bradford’s leadership and Ryan Lindstadt’s hitting as vital cogs in getting Aston rolling.

“When the veterans were out and the guys were hurt, (Bradford) was always here, working with the younger guys, talking with the younger guys, keeping everybody excited,” Moyer said. “He’s been the leader throughout the whole year.”

Lindstadt, who solidified the middle of Aston’s lineup, again powered Aston against Collingdale Wednesday, knocking in three runs on two hits to lift the Sun Devils into the finals.

Lindstadt said the lineup’s patience has led to its success.

“I think waiting for your pitch to hit, working the deep count, seeing pitches and really picking one out that you like,” Lindstadt said.

Patience might just be the key to the series, as Lindstadt said the winner will be the team that gets into its opponent’s bullpen the soonest.

“They’re going to put the ball in play,” Lindstadt said. “Our pitchers are going to throw strikes. As long as we can make the plays behind them, we have a good chance to win.”

Aggressive approach puts Aston Valley into the finals
August 6, 2009 Daily Times

Kevin Culbert (Left) is congratulated on the mound by teammate and Game 4 starting pitcher, Anthony Fenza. The Sun Devils beat Collingdale in Game 5 of the Semifinals by a score of 6-2, which has propelled them into the Championship Series vs Wayne. Culbert struck out 7 and allowed 2 runs on 7 hits while earning the complete game victory. The 2009 Delco League Championship Series is set to begin this Friday night (8/7/09) with Game 1 at Radnor HS, start time is 5:45

By MATT SMITH
matt8421@aol.com

ASTON — To keep its season alive, Aston Valley had to solve Collingdale pitcher Matt Wilcox.

In Game 2 of the Delco League semifinal series, Wilcox pitched a complete game two-hitter. The Sun Devils’ approach in Wednesday’s deciding Game 5 was to avoid falling behind in counts.

“We wanted to be aggressive,” second baseman Ryan Lindstadt said. “He’s a great pitcher and he threw great the last time. He might have been a little tired, but he’s a tough competitor. We wanted to get to him.”

Aston Valley struck for three first-inning runs off Wilcox en route to a 6-2 victory. The Sun Devils travel to Radnor High School to play Wayne in Game 1 of the championship round Friday.

Lindstadt delivered the big blow in the opening frame. He smoked a first-pitch fastball to the outfield, knocking in Steve Maloney and Fred Hilliard.

“In every one of these games, it’s huge to get out on top early and we were able to do that,” said Lindstadt, who finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs. “The team that gets on top first is putting pressure on the other team. It’s been like that the whole series.”

While the Sun Devils were having success at the plate, they benefited from a couple of costly errors. In the first, Ed Padua made an errant throw at second base, resulting in Aston Valley’s third run.

With one out in the fourth, center fielder John Scanlan misplayed a deep fly ball off the bat of fleet-footed nine-hole hitter Leon Stimpson, who made it all the way to third base. The Sun Devils followed with three straight hits by Maloney (single), Hilliard (double) and Lindstadt (single). Wilcox exited after only 31/3 innings.

“I couldn’t find it from the start,” said Wilcox, who surrendered four earned runs on five hits. “I don’t blame anything on anyone else but myself. I didn’t have my regular form. No excuses. I just didn’t have my best stuff. They hopped out ready to go and we couldn’t catch up.

“I wasn’t getting ahead of anyone and they were in position to hit fastballs and I was in a position to put them right over the plate. Hand in hand, that doesn’t work well for the pitcher. They had the right mindset coming in.

“They’ve seen me enough over the years that they know what’s coming. They know what I bring out there. It came down to heart and they wanted it a little more. They came out aggressive and stuck with it. Give them credit.”

Meanwhile, Aston Valley hurler Kevin Culbert was dealing. The Cardinal O’Hara graduate was disappointed in his Game 1 start when he issued four walks and plunked two batters in one inning.

“I faced these guys three times and the first two times they got the best of me,” said Culbert, who fanned seven and pitched the distance. “This time, I knew I had to concentrate with every single pitch and keep the walks to a minimum. Let them beat me. It’s so much easier pitching with the lead.”

Brian Gougler’s RBI single put the Colts ahead, 1-0, in the first. The Colts threatened in the second when Randy Milia and Norm Donkin hit back-to-back singles. Ed Padua tried bunting the runners over, but catcher John Plasha made a highlight-reel snag in front of the plate and fired to second base to nail a retreating Milia.

Whatever momentum the Colts were building was gone in a flash.

“Our defense was great,” Culbert said. “Johnny made a great play that really saved me there.”

The Sun Devils’ first three batters (Maloney, Hilliard and Lindstadt) produced five of the team’s six hits.

Jim Hooven relieved Wilcox in the fourth inning and yielded a run on a wild pitch. Hooven retired the side in order in the fifth and sixth innings.

Esteban Meletiche had two hits and a pair of runs scored for Collingdale.

Aston Valley gets lift from Cresta
August 4, 2009 Daily Times
By MATT SMITH
matt8421@aol.com

COLLINGDALE — Phil Cresta believes he let his Aston Valley teammates down in Game 1 of the Delco League semifinals last Thursday.

While he admittedly didn’t have his best stuff, Cresta kept the Sun Devils in the game and preserved a one-run lead before play was suspended due to darkness.

Cresta, the 2006 Daily Times Male Athlete of the Year, gave up four earned runs and seven hits over six innings. Aston Valley held on to win Game 1 before Collingdale tied the series over the weekend.

“The last time we won against them, our hitting carried us and I didn’t throw as well as I should have,” he said. “To be honest, I didn’t have my curveball working in that game until the fourth or fifth inning, so I probably didn’t prepare myself as well as I should have.”

Cresta was summoned to start Monday night at Collingdale Community Center, and the Sun Valley product delivered a gem.

Cresta hurled a two-hit shutout as Aston Valley regained the series lead with an 8-0 rout of the Colts.

“When I found out when I had my next start, I wanted to make sure I’d go out and work on the things I wasn’t doing well in the last game,” Cresta said. “All three of my pitches (fastball, curve and changeup) were working.”

Cresta kept a fastball-hitting Colts lineup guessing by throwing his offspeed pitches early in counts. Although he recorded only one strikeout, Cresta controlled the pace of the game by consistently working ahead in counts.

“I was using all three of my pitches effectively, which is probably why I was successful,” Cresta said.

The Sun Devils backed their ace at the plate. Tom Moran was a triple shy of the cycle, finishing 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Ryan Lindstadt supplied three singles, knocked in two runs and scored once. Chris Hafich and Brian Bradford each drove in runs with singles.

“I don’t ever worry about our offense,” said Cresta, who pitches at Mulhenberg. “I just wanted to go out there and throw well. It was great to see everybody hit the ball well. It’s a scary thing when everyone is on like that.”

Steve Maloney reached base four times, singling and walking twice, and scored three runs. The leadoff hitter hasn’t been too happy with his effort at the dish. For the Sun Devils to advance to the Delco League championship round, Maloney has to act as the offensive sparkplug.

“If I get on base, we can make things happen,” Maloney said. “It helps when we can establish the momentum with our bats. We were able to do that (Monday).”

Leading 2-0 in the fifth inning, Aston Valley broke through for three runs off Collingdale starter Randy Milia. Maloney coaxed a one-out walk and came around to score on an RBI single by Lindstadt, who stole second base and crossed the plate on a run-scoring hit by Bradford. An error by third baseman Brian Gougler gave the Sun Devils a 5-0 advantage.

Moran punctuated the win by smashing a solo home run over the left-field fence in the sixth.

Aston Valley will look to clinch the series tonight at Collingdale Community Center. Game time is 5:45 p.m.

“It’s great playing these guys in the second round,” Maloney said. “It’s a great rivalry. It’s nice to be able to know that, even if we lose Game 4, we’ll go back home for Game 5.”

Aston Valley on top of weary Collingdale
Daily Times
By MATT SMITH
matt8421@aol.com

ASTON — Collingdale could have used some time off before the start of the Delco League playoffs.

The Colts’ pitching staff was so worn down entering Wednesday’s semifinal opener against Aston Valley, everyday shortstop Esteban Meletiche was called upon to start on the mound.

It wasn’t an ideal situation for a Collingdale squad that, on normal days, has many reliable arms at its disposal.

“We’ve played about 11 games in the past 16 days, I think,” left fielder Randy Milia said. “What we really needed was the bye week. We lost the last regular season game (to Aston Valley), to determine which team had the bye, and we had to play in the first round. We’re struggling with our pitching right now. A lot of our guys are throwing on short rest.”

Collingdale won two of three games against Media in the opening round. By going the distance in the best-of-3 series, the Colts were without southpaw Matt Wilcox, who threw in the Game 1 victory. Josh Rickards pitched six strong innings without allowing an earned run in the deciding Game 3 win over Media.

While the Colts were missing their best arms, Meletiche hung tough and hurled three innings in Wednesday’s best-of-5 semifinal opener, which was suspended due to darkness after six innings with Aston Valley on top, 5-4.

Game 1 will resume Friday night at 6 o’clock before the start of Game 2. Both games will be played at Neumann College.

“All we need to get is three more outs,” said Aston Valley’s Sam Farnell, who was 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. “We have to come back here and do our job.”

Trailing 2-1 in the fourth inning, Collingdale produced three runs on five hits to take a 4-2 advantage. Milia roped an RBI double to bring home the tying run and Vito Valerio’s seeing-eye single up the middle put the Colts ahead, 3-2. Ed Padua supplied the Colts’ third straight hit off Sun Devils starter Phil Cresta, knocking in Milia to expand the lead to two.

“No deficit is ever too big for us,” Aston Valley catcher Tom Moran said. “That’s just the kind of character this team has. We kept battling. Unless it’s really out of hand, we don’t stop coming at you.”

That much is true.

Collingdale trotted out Jim Hooven to take the place of Meletiche after the third inning. Hooven — another tired Collingdale arm — pitched a flawless fourth inning, striking out the side after giving up a leadoff single.

But the Sun Devils got the bats going in the fifth inning. Chris Hafich and Fred Hilliard delivered back-to-back, one-out singles. Following a Ryan Lindstadt flyout to center field, Brian Bradford and Farnell came through in the clutch. Bradford singled home a run and Farnell’s RBI two-bagger knotted the score.

“It is kind of disappointing because we built up a lead and couldn’t hang on,” Milia said.

Aston Valley took the lead in the sixth inning without the benefit of a hit. An error by Meletiche at shortstop opened the door for Aston Valley, which patiently worked the count against Hooven, who struggled with his command. Hooven walked in the go-ahead run as Lindstadt took four straight pitches out of the zone.

Player/manager Mike McCarry relieved Hooven, throwing one pitch to get out of the jam. Between innings, players and coaches convened at home plate and decided it was too dark to continue.

“Whether it’s a best-of-3 or a best-of-5 (series), winning that first game is key,” Milia said. “If you get that first one under your belt, you’re in good shape. If not, you got to bounce back and win that second game.”

In the first inning, Collingdale was first to score when Cresta threw a wild pitch, which allowed Meletiche, who reached base with a double, to cross home plate.

The Sun Devils responded with two runs in the bottom of the first off Meletiche. Bradford and Farnell collected RBI singles.

Meletiche “pitched in maybe one game all year,” according to one Collingdale player. He settled down and pitched a spotless second and third after a shaky first frame.

Kirk unhittable as Aston Valley earns bye
July 26, 2009 Daily Times
By JOHN KOPP
johnkopp11@gmail.com

MIDDLETOWN — Andrew Kirk made a brilliant diving play Saturday to help Aston Valley clinch a first-round bye in the Delco League playoffs, but a mental mistake earlier in the game cost the pitcher greater personal glory.

With one out in the seventh, Kirk laid out for a bunt that Collingdale’s Vince Barbieri popped down the third-base line. After snaring the ball, Kirk quickly rallied himself from the ground and fired a strike to first base to pick off a wayward Edwin Padua to secure a 1-0 victory at Penncrest High School.

“My nerves were just pumping,” Kirk said. “I saw the ball go in the air and there was no way I was letting it drop.”

With the win, Aston Valley (23-11-2) earned the No. 2 seed and one of two byes in the playoffs, which begin today. Wayne, the defending champ, holds the top seed and the other bye.

Collingdale (23-12-1), which dropped into the third seed, plays a doubleheader today against No. 6 Media at Collingdale Community Center. The first game is set for 12:30 p.m. with Game 2 following, at approximately 2:30.

No. 4 Narberth will face fifth-seeded Upper Darby.

Kirk pitched all seven innings, striking out six and walking two. He threw 51/3 innings before surrendering his first and only hit. The hit would not have occurred and Kirk might have completed his no-hitter if it wasn’t for his own mental lapse.

With one out and a runner on first, Collingdale’s Vito Valerio chopped a ball into the dirt a few feet in front of home plate. The ball bounced about 15 feet into the air and fell about 20 feet up the third-base line.

The ball began to roll foul, but just before it crossed the chalk Kirk scooped it up in fair play. He had no chance to throw out Valerio and simply walked back to the mound having surrendered an infield single.

“I realized it was fair,” Kirk said. “As soon as it hit my glove, I knew it was a dumb move.”

Kirk said he got some ribbing from his teammates for goofing up his own no-hit bid, but other than that, there wasn’t much anyone could rip him for.

“He was keeping his fastball in and out,” catcher Tom Moran said. “He opened up on his curveballs.”

Kirk, who induced eight groundouts, only allowed one ball to leave the infield and retired the first five batters he faced. He whiffed the sixth batter, Mike Kitzinger, but the ball got away from Moran, who threw wildly to first base.

After Kirk struck out Barbieri to end the inning, he set down the next 11 batters before walking Bill Caton in the sixth. That’s when Valerio came up and slapped his fateful hit.

“We knew he was throwing a no-no,” Valerio said. “It’s kind of cheap to get a hit like that, a seeing-eye bunt. But he threw a great game. He deserved to throw a no-hitter.

“He didn’t throw too many pitches in the same location twice in a row. He kept the ball down and threw a lot of strikes. He had a very nice slider, kept it down.”

Kirk’s performance overshadowed a strong outing from his counterpart, Mike McCarry.

McCarry, Collingdale’s player/manager, also went the distance, scattering three hits and three walks in six innings. He surrendered the game’s lone run in the third inning, when Fred Hilliard scored on a throwing error by Brian Gougler.

McCarry pitched out of several early jams, stranding seven runners in the first three innings. He only allowed a bunt single in his final three frames, which went much smoother.

McCarry, who was making just his second start since undergoing reconstructive labrum and rotator cuff surgery last September, said it took him a while to get loose.

“Once I got to the third and fourth innings, I got into a groove where I could throw strikes,” McCarry said. “He took a while to find the mechanics and the arm slots. The fielders were making plays.”

McCarry added that it wasn’t ideal for Collingdale to start him in such an important game, given that he had only pitched against Trainer. But because Collingdale had played on 13 of the last 15 days, the team needed him to take the hill. Also, McCarry said he wanted to start the playoffs with his rotation in order.

McCarry gave Collingdale a chance to win.

“As the game went on, he got stronger,” Valerio said. “The fielders made some tough plays. He kept the ball down, threw strikes and got ground balls.”

The only problem for Collingdale was that Kirk did the same, just slightly better.

Aston Valley, Collingdale still have work to do
July 25, 2009 In his 2nd year in the Delco League, Bishop Shanahan and Shippensburg product Ryan Lindstadt (Above) is having an All-Star season to say the least. Lindstadt's 2009 Regular Season numbers: .432 AVG, 35 Hits, 2 HR, & 26 RBI

By MATT SMITH, Daily Times
matt8421@aol.com

ASTON — Inclement weather washed away Friday night’s Delco League tilt between Aston Valley and Collingdale.

Thunderstorms halted play in the bottom of the third inning with Aston Valley leading, 2-0. By league rule, any game that is halted before completion of 31/2 innings must be replayed in its entirety. The game will be made up today at Penncrest High School with a noon start time. It was originally postponed Thursday due to rain.

The result will have a significant impact on playoff positioning. The winner will receive the No. 2 seed and a bye in the playoffs, which are scheduled to get under way Sunday.

Collingdale pitcher Josh Rickards retired the opposition in order in the first inning. In the second, Aston Valley got on the board when Ryan Lindstadt led off the with a triple and came around to score on an RBI groundout by Brian Bradford.

In the third, Steve Maloney drove in Phil Cresta with a double to give Aston Valley a 2-0 advantage. Shortly thereafter, flashes of lighting above inauspicious skies prompted the umpiring crew to suspend play. After a short delay, the game was called.

Andrew Kirk, the starter for Aston Valley (22-11-2), was dealing before the rain came. He allowed two hits — singles by Vito Valerio and Esteban Meletiche — and balked twice, but looked strong otherwise, striking out three.

Rickards, a graduate of Cardinal O’Hara and a native of the Briarcliffe section of Darby Township, was disappointed his outing got cut short, but is ready and willing to throw a couple innings today if called upon.

“It’s disappointing because we thought we’d be able to squeeze the game in,” said Rickards, who in the spring completed his final season of pitching at Marist College. “I think I might have one or two (innings) left in me. After all, it is kind of like a do-or-die situation, and I’ll do anything to help us win. If we win, we’ll get the bye and if we lose, we don’t. It’ll be nice to get a win and get that first round off, but if it comes down to us not getting that bye, we’re just going to have to man up and keep doing what we’re doing. We’ve had a good (season) at this point.”

With Rickards, John Scanlan, Randy Milia and southpaw Matt Wilcox, who only recently suffered his first loss of the season, Collingdale (23-11-1) has the pitching depth to make noise in the postseason.

“We feel our pitching is pretty solid,” said Valerio, Collingdale’s catcher. “We have good defense behind us and we think our pitching has been pretty good overall. In the playoffs, anything can happen ... I thought Josh pitched well tonight, got some work in. He was hitting his spots well, but (Aston Valley) hit some good pitches and they were able to get those runs.”

Fortunately, those runs do not count against Rickards’ ERA. Technically, the game never happened.

“We’ll have a chance to get back at them (today),” Rickards said.

Plasha changes his luck in win for Aston Valley
July 17, 2009 With a number of vacations and some unfortunate injuries to Sun Devils' catcher Joe Maloney (ankle) and second basemen Sam Greenhalgh (foot), leadership from Veteran's Brian Bradford(1B) (Right) and John Plasha(C) have kept this team rolling in the right direction. Bradford is on track to post another 25+ Hit season and Plasha is currently posting a .441 Batting Avg.

By JEN REARDON sports@delcotimes.com

ASTON — Aston Valley catcher John Plasha struck out in the top of the first inning against Upper Darby.

Lately, when Plasha has looked at his Delco League team’s scorebook, there had been plenty of Ks, but few hits.

That was why Plasha changed his stance in a desperate attempt to find something that would work and produce a positive result.

Thursday, Plasha at last found what he was looking for.

In his final three plate appearances in Aston Valley’s 7-5 victory, Plasha had three singles, two RBIs and a run scored.

Plasha’s first hit knocked in two baserunners who reached via errors and gave the Sun Devils a temporary 2-1 lead.

His second single, two innings later, broke open the game and started a barrage of hits that led to five runs.

“I just tried to focus in on and attack (Dave) Ciccone’s fastballs and lay off anything off-speed,” Plasha said. “I just tried to look for something to drive, especially after we got those two runners on following errors with only one out. He throws pretty hard, so it just took us once or twice through the lineup to adjust.”

Upper Darby’s Ciccone threw his fastball with success for most of the night, with the exceptions coming in the third against Plasha and the fifth, when Aston Valley coach Dan Moyer believes he started to tire.

“He was throwing us all fastballs, and we just couldn’t figure him out until Johnny’s hit in the third and then that fifth inning,” Moyer said. “We were just so used to facing junkball pitchers. Eventually we just kept making him throw pitches and stopped swinging at balls.”

Ciccone tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the fourth inning off Aston Valley starting pitcher Phil Cresta, doubling down the left-field line and scoring on a single by catcher Joe D’Urso.

Plasha calmed down Cresta enough to get the third out, just as he had earlier helped guide his starter through a rough first inning that featured three straight singles to start the game.

“I’ve been working with him for a couple years now, probably since high school, so I know how he pitches,” Plasha said. “I just told him to breathe, throw some strikes, get some groundballs, and he’d be out of it.”

Holding Upper Darby to that one run in the first was huge, Moyer said.

“We had some starters who were late, so holding the fort down until they got here was good.”

Relief pitcher Rick Kazigan held the Sun Devils’ 7-2 lead until a tense top of the seventh inning, when the Blue Sox hit two doubles and a single to close the gap to within 7-5.

“That leadoff error (at first base) always comes back to bite you,” Moyer said. “At that point, you’ve just got to throw strikes and let them hit it, hopefully at somebody. Our center fielder (Leon Stimpson) can go get anything, and he caught two loud outs in that inning.”

With just six games left, the Sun Devils, now 18-10-2, play again Sunday in a doubleheader against Middletown.

Sun Devils burn Blue Sox
July 8, 2009 Sun Devils catcher Joe Maloney (Left) is quietly leading the Devils in multiple categories. Maloney's batting average is .444 with 28 Hits, 4 HR, and 24 RBI. Maloney also just finished his 1st season at Limestome College in South Carolina, where the Freshman catcher had 45 Hits, 8 HR, and 37 RBI.

News of Delaware County
By Paul Vanderveer
CORRESPONDENT

Given the multitude of television viewing options which exist in the present day and age, the contemporary sports fan often engages in a bit of “channel flipping,” as he or she searches for the “best” available game. That particular activity can be a lot of fun, but it can also be rewarding to stick with a single game all the way through to more fully understand how the final result came to pass.

For example, take last Thursday evening’s Delco League baseball game featuring the visiting Upper Darby Blue Sox and the Aston Valley Sun Devils played at Neumann College. The home team was to triumph by a 6-2 score in this clash of the loop’s second and third place teams, but the early innings of the contest yielded little indication that the winning margin would be so decisive, or that Aston would in fact be victorious.

In this pitching match up of still young former Catholic League aces Conor Kerins (Monsignor Bonner, West Chester University) and Kevin Culbert (Cardinal O’Hara, Widener University), it was actually the Blue Sox’ Kerins who appeared to have a slight advantage over the game’s first two and a half frames.

Featuring a lively breaking ball, Kerins whiffed five of the first six batters he faced, while the Sun Devils’ Culbert found himself in bases loaded jams in the first and third frames. While Culbert was able to escape unscathed due in part to being able to retire veteran Lenny Montano in both innings, he was working a bit harder than Kerins to that point, and it seemed as though Upper Darby might eventually break through for some runs.

So if our fictional “viewer” had changed the channel at that point, he would have been rather surprised upon his return to learn that the Sun Devils had grabbed a 4-0 lead by the end of the third stanza, and might have wondered “what happened?”

What in fact had transpired was a combination of “small ball” and the long ball that enabled Aston to post a “crooked number” that would be more than enough to win on this beautiful summer evening.

Catcher John Plasha led off with a single, but Kerins seemed to be in no great danger after retiring the next two batters. But a perfect bunt single by center fielder Steve Maloney placed runners on the corners, and Aston then worked a double steal to plate the game’s first run. Perhaps a bit unsettled, Kerins issued a walk to shortstop Fred Hilliard. That brought right fielder Joe Maloney to the plate, and he quickly delivered the night’s key hit by drilling a fast ball over the left field fence for a three run homer.

“I was looking for a first pitch fast ball after the walk Hilliard, and that’s what I got,” said Maloney. “All the games are important, but seeing Upper Darby ahead of us maybe gave us a little bit more incentive.”

Culbert made sure that the sudden turn of events in his team’s favor would not be squandered. With Hilliard and second baseman Sam Greenhalgh making the plays behind him, Culbert’s two seam, sinking fastball induced three quick ground outs in the top of the fourth, and Aston was well on the way to victory.

The Blue Sox did mount a threat in the top of the fifth, when Dave Jerdon and second baseman Mike Essery walked to start the inning. But Culbert was again able to limit the damage. Montano finally got to him for a run scoring single, but one was all the Sox could get.

“I tried to do too much, and hurt myself with those walks,” Culbert commented. “I had to settle down and let my defense do the work. In high school, sometimes I could just reach back and blow hitters away. But at this level, you will have to deal with runners on base, and you have to pitch more than just throw.”

Aston tallied two insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth, with Hilliard circling the bases for a two run, inside the park round tripper when the Sox were slow in relaying his long blast to left center to the plate. Upper Darby was to add a final run in the seventh on Kyle Carver’s scoring single, but Culbert was able to nail down the complete game win.

“Kevin’s been throwing well all season, and our pitching overall has been good,” Aston Valley coach Dan Moyer remarked afterwards. “But we haven’t always scored runs, and it was good to do so against a team that we’re chasing in the standings.”

Meanwhile, player-coach Jerdon was philosophical about the outcome.

“We’ve been playing good ball lately, but this was one of those nights,” he said. “We made some mental mistakes, but that happens in the course of the season. Kerins was throwing well, but things changed quickly in that one inning.”

Shortstop Rob Benedict contributed three singles and good glove work for the Blue Sox, while left fielder Leon Stimpson covered plenty of ground in making some running catches over the last couple innings for Aston. Additionally, Plasha did a fine job in blocking some low pitches and in hopping out from behind the plate to record an out on a slow tapper.

Regardless of your personal viewing philosophy, if you’re a baseball fan it will pay to stay tuned to the Delco League happenings as the regular season enters its final month.

Plasha Makes Headlines at Wayne State
June 26, 2009 Aston Valley Sun Devil John Plasha is making headlines at his new college this year at Wayne State after transfering from Gloucester County College. John had a stellar first season with the Wildcats, hitting .328 with 10 homers and 49 RBI's while appearing in 58 games with 54 starts at catcher. The junior catcher also led the 14 team league in throwing out runners caught stealing. Plasha finished the season with an 11-game hitting streak, which was a tie for 3rd longest streak of the season. Plasha was tied for 3rd on the team with 15 multiple-RBI games and had 17 multiple-hit games. John Plasha was named to the NSIC All-Tournament Team after leading WSC in hitting with .474 average going 9 for 19 at the plate with five RBI's and seven runs scored. Plasha was then named to the NCAA Central Region All-Tournament Team after hitting .480 (12 for 25) with seven RBI's and seven runs scored. He had back-to-back four hit games at NCAA Central Regional vs. Southwest Minnesota State and Mesa State he was 3 for 3 with two homers and four runs scored in 18-8 win at Northern State on 4-19-09.

Congrats Plash! -- The Aston Valley Sun Devils

Chism Named A-10 Player of the Week; Adds Big 5 Honor
March 2, 2009 PHILDELPHIA - The Atlantic 10 Conference released its weekly honors and La Salle first baseman TJ Chism was named the Player of the Week for Baseball. Philadelphia Big 5 Baseball has also named Chism its Player of the Week.

The junior batted .667 for the week, with a .727 on-base and a 1.444 slugging percentage to lead La Salle to a doubleheader sweep at Morehead State. He had six hits, scored five runs and drove in nine, while belting a pair of home runs.

He singled home the game-winning and insurance runs with a two-out single in the top of the ninth to lift the Explorers to the 6-4 victory in the first game on Saturday.

In the second game, he hit a solo home run in the first inning – going back-to-back with teammate John Malloy for second time this season – then double La Salle’s lead (from 4-0 to 8-0) with a grand slam in the fourth inning in the Explorers’ 21-6 victory.

The six RBI he had in game two was the most since April 14, 2006 (Rich Prall, 6, vs. UMass).

The 21 runs scored by La Salle in game two was the most since April 8, 2001 (at Rhode Island, 21-10 win). The last time the Explorers scored at least 20 runs, had 20 hits and won by at least 15 runs was April 13, 1999 - a 25-5 victory over Georgetown (had 26 hits).

Chism earns his first career A-10 weekly honor and the first Player of the Week for La Salle since John Rickards on February 19, 2007.

La Salle currently stands at 3-3 this season - but will have to wait another 10 days until its home opener. The snow in the area has already cancelled Tuesday game with Bucknell.

Sun Devils 2008 Delco League All-Stars
Congratulations to the following players for 2008 All-Star Honors.

Brian Bradford (1B)
Kenny Grant (P)
Chris Hafich (OF)
Freddy Hilliard (SS)
John Plasha (C)

New York Mets select TJ Chism in the 32nd Round of the 2009 MLB Draft
June 11, 2009 Click Here >>> KYW's Matt Leon Interviews TJ Chism
Delco Daily Times -- La Salle’s T.J. Chism was with his father, Tom, when he heard the good news.

“It’s funny,” said the Sun Valley graduate, “Me and my dad looked at each other. It was weird. It all happened at the exact same moment.”

The New York Mets in the 32nd round with the 974th pick selected the junior left-handed pitcher.

“We thought I might go a little higher, but I can’t be any happier,” Chism said. “It’s been a fun day. It’s what I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.”

Chism’s friends and family are diehard Phillies fans.

“I’ve been getting made fun of all day,” he said. “That hasn’t stopped since they made the pick. My friends are telling me that I should force a trade, but of course, they’re only kidding around. They’re all going to be Mets fans now.”

Chism has a year of college eligibility left. He needs to make a decision whether to return to the Explorers for his senior season or sign with the Mets by Aug. 17.

“It’s good that I have a couple of months, but I’m leaning towards going pro,” he said. “We haven’t decided yet, though. It will probably be a joint decision between myself, my family and my coaches at La Salle.”

Chism struck out 34 batters in 30 innings of work for the Explorers this season. In three seasons, he is 4-8 with a 6.69 ERA in 35 games, nine of which were starts.

Chism batted .310 with 47 runs, 11 home runs and 50 RBIs in this season en route to earning first-team Philadelphia Big 5 honors.

2008 Delco League Playoffs
#1 Wayne - BYE
#2 Narberth - BYE

Quarterfinals: #6 Upper Darby Sweeps Best-of-3 Series (2-0) vs #3 Chester
7/28 - Upper Darby 3 Chester 2
7/29 - Upper Darby 7 Chester 4

Quarterfinals: #5 Aston Valley Sweeps Best-of-3 Series (2-0) vs #4 Collingdale
7/28 - Aston Valley 13 Collingdale 2
7/29 - Aston Valley 2 Collingdale 0

Semifinals: # 1 Wayne Sweeps Best-of-5 Series (3-0) vs #6 Upper Darby
7/31 - Wayne 2 Upper Darby 0
8/1 - Wayne 9 Upper Darby 0
8/2 - Wayne 5 Upper Darby 1

Semifinals: #2 Narberth Wins Best-of-5 Series (3-1) vs #5 Aston Valley
7/31 - Narberth 3 Aston Valley 2
8/1 - Narberth 11 Aston Valley 3
8/2 - Aston Valley 4 Narberth 3
8/3 - Narberth 7 Aston Valley 3

Championship: #1 Wayne Sweeps Best-of-5 Series (3-0) vs #2 Narberth
8/6 - Wayne 2 Narberth 1
8/7 - Wayne 6 Narberth 1
8/8 - Wayne 5 Narberth 2

Streaking Narberth reaches Delco League title series
August 4, 2008 Daily Times -- By: Harry Chaykun

Aston Valley’s T.J. Chism (Left) falls to the ground after being tagged out by Narberth catcher John Swarr Sunday during Narberth’s 7-3 win in the Delco League semifinals.

ASTON - The talk was about winning 20 games. It wasn't one pitcher trying to tell another about his goals for the season.
"We're 17-2 since June 30," said Narberth manager Chris D'Ambrosio after his Mudcats had defeated the Aston Valley Sun Devils, 7-3, at Jim Buggy Memorial Field Sunday to win a Delco Baseball League semifinal playoff series, 3-1.
"We'd like to get to 20 wins."
To do that, Narberth, which finished second in the regular season, will have to get past defending playoff champion Wayne, the 2008 pennant winner which gave up one run in a three-game semifinal sweep of the Upper Darby Blue Sox.
"It will be like the Marlins against the Yankees," D'Ambrosio said, referring to the 2003 World Series, in which Florida knocked off New York.
Sunday afternoon, Toby MacCart, who earned a save in the first game of the series, limited Aston Valley to three hits and struck out four before giving way to Tim Andrel, who picked up the save in Narberth's second-game win, in the bottom of the sixth.
Aston Valley made use of two walks, two errors and a pair of hits - one off MacCart and one off Andrel - to score its three runs in the sixth. The Sun Devils also had a runner thrown out at the plate and trailed by two runs entering the seventh inning.
Narberth made use of three hits that didn't leave the infield and an Aston Valley error to get a pair of unearned runs off Sun Devils reliever Ken Grant in the top of the seventh. The Mudcats sent 10 men to the plate in the second inning scoring five runs - one earned - off Aston Valley starter Tom Moran.
Moran retired the first two batters he faced in the second before Sean Spratt (2-for-3, two runs) singled. John Swarr worked Moran for a full-count walk then Mike Shalon lined the first pitch he saw to right field.
The Sun Devils' Chris Hafich appeared to have a chance to make the play, but the ball sailed past his glove for a two-run double.
"I took my eye off the ball to see where the fence was then looked back and saw nothing but the sun," Hafich said.
After Anthony DiGregorio's grounder was misplayed, Dave Moscow, Bill Goldman and Marco Menna got run-scoring singles.
"Any lead is big," MacCart said. "I was thinking about the game all last night and was excited that I had the chance to throw. Then I get all that run support in the second inning and it was a lot easier to settle in out there."
MacCart, who spent the spring playing for a club team at SUNY-Cortland, retired 14 of the next 15 batters he faced after giving up a single to Brian Bradford and walking T.J. Chism to open the second inning.
Two errors, a hit by Chism and Joe Maloney's bases-loaded walk with one out in the Aston Valley sixth brought D'Ambrosio out of the dugout to replace MacCart with Andrel.
"My changeup had been working and keeping them off stride," MacCart, who threw 86 pitches, said. "This game was like a lot of the ones we've played where we got some clutch hitting and made the plays."
Pinch hitter Gary Canuso greeted Andrel with a hit to knock in one run, but Aston Valley wound up with two runners at third and Chism got caught trying to get home on the play for the second out.
Steve Maloney, who had the big hit in Aston Valley's 4-3 win Saturday, fouled off two full-count pitches before popping up to third-baseman Menna.
In the seventh, Andrel hit Pat Lancianese with a 1-1 pitch with one out, then got Hafich to bounce the ball right over second base, where Mudcats shortstop DiGregorio grabbed the ball, hit the bag and threw to first to complete the double play that ended the series.
"This whole thing has been unbelievable," said Shalon, who at 23 is "the sixth-oldest player on this team.
"I know my head wasn't in it those last two at-bats (Saturday, when he struck out in the sixth and seventh innings). We've been hitting well, but I didn't want the other guys to have to pick me up. I wanted to get a hit the first time I went up there."
Narbeth's victory gives the Mudcats the chance to give the Delaware County Baseball League a champion that is not based in Delaware County for the first time since Roche Post (Philadelphia) beat Fizzano Brothers in the 1965 finals.
"That's hard to believe," said the veteran DiGregorio, who wasn't born until seven or eight years after the '65 season.
"It's just great the way things have gone. And now these young kids have the chance to play in the finals. I told them to enjoy this because you're not guaranteed making it this far every year."

Aston Valley in no mood to be swept
August 2, 2008 Daily Times -- By: Harry Chaykun

ASTON - Pat Lancianese bunted runners up twice and hit a sacrifice fly.
Gary Canuso put down a sacrifice bunt with the game tied and two runners on base in the fourth inning.
Steve Maloney, batting ninth in the Aston Valley lineup, singled with the bases loaded to put his team ahead.
"It's been that way with this team for a long time," Maloney said. "If we do the little things, we win."
Saturday afternoon at Jim Buggy Memorial Field, Aston Valley got past Narberth, 4-3, to stay alive in a Delco Baseball League semifinal playoff series. Before the game began, Narberth got the final three outs it needed to complete an 11-3 decision, its second straight victory in the series, in the game that had been suspended Friday night.
The teams meet again at Buggy Field at 2 p.m. today. A Narberth win would put the Mudcats in the championship series against pennant winner Wayne. An Aston Valley win would send the teams to Narberth Playground for a deciding Game 5 Monday night.
Phil Cresta, who left after giving up three consecutive singles with one out in the top of the sixth inning, was the winning pitcher for the Sun Devils. He struck out five and walked two.
Kenny Grant, who gave up a run-scoring infield single to pinch- hitter Mike Galetta, got the last five outs for the save. Grant pushed a called third strike past Anthony DiGregorio with the tying run in scoring position to end the sixth then retired Dave Moscow and Bill Goldman on line drives to center field and struck out Mike Shalon in the seventh.
"They make the plays behind me," said Grant, who has been the Sun Devils' closer this season and has keep opposing batters from reaching base in almost every appearance.
"Now we have another chance (today) and we want to keep our season going. I'll be ready if they need me."
Aston Valley manager Pete Cooper will hand the ball to Tom Moran, a veteran of several playoff series in his years in the league with the Collingdale Colts.
"We seemed like a different club and played with a lot more confidence out there today," said Cooper, whose team gave up seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning before the game at Narberth was suspended Friday night.
"I hope we can keep doing things like getting that first guy on in each inning (today)."
Aston Valley scored first Saturday. T.J. Chism and Gary Canuso singled with one out in the second, then John Plasha hit a line drive that kept moving away from right fielder Moscow, who made a leaping catch to retire Plasha as Chism tagged up and headed home.
Narberth got even in the top of the third on a hit by Toby MacCart, DiGregorio's sacrifice bunt and a double by Moscow. In the Aston Valley fourth, Brian Bradford led off with a single and Chism was safe when DiGregorio couldn't come up with his grounder near the second-base bag.
After Canuso moved the runners with a bunt and Plasha was given an intentional walk, Maloney lined a hit to put the Sun Devils ahead. Sam Greenhalgh walked with the bases loaded, then Lancianese hit a sacrifice fly to give the home team a 4-1 advantage.
"We were just trying to make sure we forced them to play another game," Maloney said. "This was one of those team efforts that you want to have."
Hits by Matt Nelson, Sean Spratt and Marco Menna off Cresta in the top of the sixth loaded the bases and brought Cooper out of the dugout to make the call to the bullpen. Grant came in an got John Swarr to ground out as a run scored, then Galetta, who was pinch-hitting, came up with an infield hit to drive in a run before Grant struck out DiGregorio.
"I felt real good throwing out there," said Cresta, who reports to Muhlenberg College for football practice Aug 13. "It was the first time I felt that confident in a while. Now we have seven more innings (today), and with (Moran) throwing I know everyone will have confidence in him.
"You've got guys like Freddie Hilliard, Sammy Greenhalgh and Pat Lancianese in the infield who have been in this league for a while and they'll do whatever they can to give us a chance to win."

The Devils are moving on
July 30, 2008 The Sun Devils (Right) have defeated the Collingdale Colts in the 1st round of the quarterfinal playoffs, and will face the #2 seed, the Narberth Mudcats in a 5 Game Semifinal series.

Moran pleads his case
July 30, 2008 John Plasha (Left) blocks the plate holds on to the ball to end the game which sent the Sun Devils into the Semifinals.

Daily Times -- By: Anthony J. SanFilippo

ASTON - Tom Moran begged coach Pete Cooper to pitch Game 2 of Aston Valley's Delco League first-round playoff series against Collingdale.
He was slated as the Game 1 starter, but was washed out by rain. His job kept him from starting the next night, and Cooper was thinking about holding him for a potential series-deciding Game 3, but Moran talked him out of it.
"This game was something special for Tommy, so I gave in to his constant nagging," Cooper said.
Good decision.
Moran threw six strong innings, allowing three hits, then watched from the bench as closer Kenny Grant got out of a seventh inning jam, securing the Sun Devils' 2-0 victory and a sweep of the best-of-three series.
The fifth-seeded Sun Devils advance to take on second-seeded Narberth in the semifinals. Game 1 is Thursday.
Moran wanted to throw against the Colts because that was the team from which he defected last season to join Aston Valley.
"I'm still really good friends with all of those guys," Moran said. "But I was just looking for a change of scenery. I played with some of these Aston Valley guys in fall ball and it seemed like a good group to play with every day. Right now, it's looking like I made the right choice."
Moran didn't have his best stuff, as he had to work through a sore shoulder. However, he was dogged enough to work his pitches inside and outside and kept Collingdale's hitters guessing.
"Our pitchers have been great all summer," said right fielder Chris Hafich, who provided most of the Aston Valley offense with a homer and a double. "We felt bad the last couple of weeks because we didn't come through for them and lost some tough games, but they pitched really well.
"Tommy gave us everything he had and then when he ran into trouble, Kenny was there to close the door as he has all season. We have the utmost confidence in that duo."
Collingdale had a pair of scoring opportunities, loading the bases with one out in the first inning before Moran struck out Brian Gougler and got Billy Caton to fly out.
In the seventh, Moran plunked John Scanlan and gave up a double to pinch-hitter John Papada. With runners at second and third and no outs, Cooper turned to Grant.
Grant struck out Jim Tully for the first out. The next hitter, Mike Kearney, lifted a fly ball to center for the second out. Aston Valley seemed content to let Scanlan score from third, and first baseman Brian Bradford cut the ball off.
Scanlan, however, seemed to be lax with his jog to the plate. Bradford smartly turned and fired a seed to catcher John Plasha.
A slide would have made it almost impossible for Plasha to put the tag on Scanlan. Instead, he decided to lower a shoulder into Plasha. Although Scanlan beat the throw, Plasha had the plate blocked and held onto the ball.
Umpire Stew Soley called Scanlan out, and despite the vehement protests by the Collingdale bench, Aston Valley advanced.
"We have a good history with Collingdale," Hafich said. "They're always tough and they stay in the game no matter what the score is.
"There they were threatening again, but Plasha did what he was supposed to do and we're moving on."
The Sun Devils took an early 1-0 lead when Sam Greenhalgh led off the bottom of the first with a double and scored on a single by T.J. Chism.
Hafich stretched the lead to 2-0 when he smoked a 1-0 pitch from Collingdale starter Louis Alvarado over the right-center-field fence in the bottom of the fourth.
"He's one of the top-three hitters in the league," said Cooper. "Whenever he comes to the plate, you always think he's going to make something happen and he usually does. He makes everyone on the bench feel comfortable when he steps in there."

Aston Valley wins big in quarterfinals
July 29, 2008 Aston Valley (Right) puts up 4 Runs in the 1st Inning and backs Phil Cresta for the victory in the opening game of the Quarterfinals between the Aston Valley Sun Devils and the Collingdale Colts. Fred Hilliard, Steve Maloney, and John Plasha each added a Home Run, as TJ Chism, Brian Bradford, Chris Hafich, and John Plasha all had a multi-hit game. Phil Cresta allowed 1 Earned Run on 2 Hits and Struck out 3 for the Win.

The Aston Valley Sun Devils blew out the Collingdale Colts 13-3 in the first game of the Delco League playoffs
News of Delaware County -- By Dan Mccarty; Correspondent

Hitting and all around defense did it for the Aston Valley Sun Devils when they traveled to take on the Collingdale Colts in round one of the Delco League Playoffs and dominated them, 13-3."Our hitting was on," said Aston Valley head coach Pete Cooper. "We came out and hit the ball. It was probably our best all season long."
"Pitching hurt us," said Collingdale head coach Henry Gaudino. "It's been a downfall all year. When you're down 5-0 after two innings, it's hard to come back. The deficit took the heart out of us."
This victory brought Aston Valley to an 18-14 record while Collingdale slipped to 16-13.
Aston Valley wasted not time in getting on board early in the top of the first inning. Freddie Hilliard hit a two-run homer that drove in T.J. Chism. Chris Hafich and Brian Bradford also scored to take a 4-0 lead right away.
The Sun Devils had a strong second inning as well. Sammy Green Haugh and T.J. Chism singled. Green Haugh made it in to score but Chism was out at second with Hilliard out at first for a double play. Collingdale's Vito Valerio had a lead off walk in the bottom of the second. Brian Gougler popped one to Chsim in left field. John Papada was out at second in an attempted double. John Scanlan struck out.
The 5-0 score did not change in the third inning as both teams were dominant on defense.
The Colts kept the Sun Devils silent in the fourth inning gaining back a little momentum. Billy Caton was out at first in the bottom of the fourth. Valerio walked and scored when Gougler doubled to cut the lead to 5-1.
It certainly did not last long, however, as the fifth inning was the strongest one on offense for Aston Valley. Tommy Ostein replaced Jimmy Hoover on the mound and Hilliard walked, Hafich singled as did Bradford on a bunt to load the bases with no outs. Ryan Linsdat walked to drive in Hilliard and Randy Mallia came to the mound. Pat Lancianese popped one out to left field for one out, but John Plasha was walked and Hafich scored. Then came the big moment when Maloney hit a grand slam to bring home three base runners and Sun Valley took an 11-1 lead! Collingdale was unable to do anything about its deficit during the bottom half of the inning.
Kevin Horning pitched in the sixth inning and was able to make three easy outs despite a walk by Hilliard. Reliever Mike Click replaced winning pitcher Phil Cresta and the Colts managed to get some more hits. Kevin Ward doubled. Caton walked and Valerio was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Gougler singled in Ward but Papada struck out. Aston Valley made a double play getting Scanlan at first and Valerio at second.
The Sun Devils scoring was not over yet. Michael Daciw popped one to center field. Lancianese walked and scored when Plasha homered to make the final score 13-3, as Collingdale could not score any more runs in the bottom of the seventh.
One key moment on the day was the grand slam by Maloney.
Hilliard and Plasha also led the way with two-run homers.
"Hilliard's been clutch," said Cooper. "His homer gave guys confidence. Maloney sat on a strike."
"Our Defense was solid," said Cooper. "The Outfielders tracked everything. They stayed within themselves."
Gougler (single) and Ward paced the offense for the Colts with a double a piece.
"We are always battling at the plate," said Gaudino. "We have decent hitters. We need better effort all the way around."
Collingdale and Aston met again yesterday (Tuesday) for the second round on Aston Valley's home field but the result was unknown as of press time.

Chism leads the way for Aston Valley
July 26, 2008 As the Regular season comes to a close, there is no question that TJ Chism (Left) will be leading the Sun Devils into the Playoffs. In 27 games, Chism has lead the Sun Devils in (3) categories with a .329 AVG, 27 HITS, & 15 RBI.

Hilliard, Aston Valley are still on the move
July 17, 2008 Aston Valley starter Tom Moran (Right) delivers a pitch during the Sun Devils 8-7 win over Wayne. Moran may be the filthiest right hander in the league. Coming into this game, Moran is 4-2, with 32 K's in 33.2 innings, with a 1.25 ERA.

Daily Times -- Jon Campbell

RADNOR - Bouncing between second and third place in the Delco League standings for the past few weeks, Aston Valley had been looking for a surge to lock them into that second-place slot that would assure it a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Facing league-leading Wayne Wednesday at Radnor High School, Sun Devils shortstop Fred Hilliard supplied that late-season surge, one that also happened to be of the late-game variety.
Hilliard drew a walk to lead off the top of the sixth inning and then went for a steal of second base. After a throwing error by Wayne's catcher and then another by the center fielder, Hilliard was hustling home and scoring the run that ultimately gave Aston Valley a wild, 8-7 victory in a game that was called after six innings due to darkness.
The win moves the Sun Devils back into a second-place tie with Collingdale and leaves them six points behind Wayne with less than a week remaining in the regular season. Wednesday's decision was also Aston Valley's second win of the season over Wayne, giving the Sun Devils a regular-season split with the defending champion and plenty of confidence for a possible postseason meeting.
"I figured, leading off the inning, I'll change my approach and just try to get on base," said Hilliard, who reached base all four times he came to the plate and scored three runs. "Then I tried to steal and, fortunately, the ball went into the outfield and the center fielder made a bad throw and I scored.
"I'll take a win any way we can get it. And if I can get on base, I'll try to make things happen. These are always tough games against Wayne. They are the best team in the league for a reason."
Hilliard's final run came after Wayne had rallied from deficits of three and four runs.
The Sun Devils scored three runs in the top of the first inning and led, 7-3, entering the bottom of the fourth. However, like Hilliard said, Wayne is the best team in the league for a reason.
The hosts chased Sun Devils starting pitcher Tom Moran from the game in the fourth and ended the frame trailing by only a run. Eric Soring, who ultimately became the tough-luck loser on the mound, roped a two-run double in the inning, while Jim Vankoski checked in with an RBI single.
In total, Aston Valley sent four pitchers to the mound. Tom VonTanhausen followed Moran and allowed two hits against the only two batters he faced. Then came Mike Click, who ended the fourth inning with a strikeout, but allowed a leadoff walk to begin the bottom of the sixth.
At that point, Sun Devils player-coach Pete Cooper was done messing around. Cooper brought in big Ken Grant, the closer who had faced 28 batters entering the game and retired them all.
Grant immediately got Mike DeSanto to strike out looking and Ben Scott to ground out to first base.
Then came Wayne Robinson, who was hitless for the day, but found an unlikely way to be the first baserunner allowed by Grant all season.
Robinson hit a mile-high popup that carried out in between the left fielder and the shortstop. Both T.J. Chism and Hilliard went for the ball, only to have it fall in and allow Jim Fatz to score and tie the game at seven.
"That's baseball," said Grant, the 2001 Daily Times Player of the Year form Cardinal O'Hara. "Nine out of ten times those guys will make that play."
Grant's streak had been broken, but then he quickly had a new one to protect: No runs allowed.
He made sure that run wouldn't come to a close by striking P.J. Vanni to end the inning and set the stage for Hilliard and his not-so-routine run that gave the Sun Devils the lead right back.
"I've been doing this all year," Grant said. "I come into games with guys on base. I didn't panic."
Grant came back in to start the bottom of the sixth and got the first two batters out by way of strikeout and groundout. Vankoski followed with a hit, as did Dan Williams. Grant still didn't panic.
The big fella with a bruising fastball struck out Fatz to end the game with the tying run on second base.
"That's a good team we beat," Cooper said. "We gave them some runs and you can't do that against Wayne. I'll take a win like that, especially against a team like that."

Lancianese sparks Aston Valley
July 12, 2008 Aston Valley's Pat Lancianese (Right) crosses the plate in a Sun Devils 7-4 victory over Upper Darby. Pat's presence and leadership on the field and in the lineup has given the Sun Devils a lift day in and day out.

Close to perfect
July 11, 2008 Kenny Grant (Left) has given the Sun Devils and the Delco League something to talk about. In 8.2 Innings of relief, Grant hasn't allowed a base runner, facing 26 batters with 18 Strikeouts... Not to mention he's been throwing absolute hair, consistently touching 90 mph.

Sun Devils are getting warmed up
June 25, 2008 Daily Times -- Anthony J. SanFilippo

Aston Valley shortstop Fred Hilliard (Right) gets the force out on Upper Darby’s Dan Brady at second base during a Delco League game Wednesday. Hilliard and the Sun Devils won, 4-0.

ASTON — The old adage in baseball is pitching and defense win championships.
Right now, the Aston Valley Sun Devils have the first two components of that formula down pat and are hoping to add them together to reach the aforementioned sum.
With a bevy of young, live arms in their rotation, the Sun Devils have been hot of late, winners of eight of 10. That included a 4-0 shutout of the Upper Darby Blue Sox at Jim Buggy Memorial Field Wednesday in a Delco League game.
The Devils managed just two hits by Sam Greenhalgh, but took advantage of seven Upper Darby walks and a pair of critical errors, and then turned it over to their pitchers.
In this instance, it was Tom Moran, the Monsignor Bonner graduate who had Upper Darby hitters off-balance all night.
Moran baffled the Blue Sox for six-plus innings, allowing just three hits while striking out six.
Once he got into his first bit of trouble in the seventh, allowing the first two Upper Darby runners to reach base, Aston Valley manager Pete Cooper turned to lights-out closer Ken Grant — the 2001 Daily Times Player of the Year at Cardinal O’Hara.
“That’s what we do,” Cooper said. “I have a young team with a lot of quality pitching and I am starting to sense that they want this. They want it bad.”
With the win, Aston Valley (12-7-1) vaulted Chester into second place in the Delco League and moved to within three points — or one win — of perennial power Wayne, which is mired in a slump right now.
“I can really sense the confidence building on our team,” said Moran, who improved to 3-2 this season and lowered his earned run average to a microscopic 0.83. “We’re really starting to click and do the little things right.”
Which is what they had to do — manufacture runs, because hits were at a premium.
Aston Valley picked up a run in the first on a walk, a sacrifice bunt, and an RBI hit by Greenhalgh. In the second the Sun Devils added a run on a wild pitch by Dan Mulholland and a throwing error by Upper Darby (10-11-0) second baseman Kyle Carver. That was mirrored in the third, only this time with the error coming when a short hop went through Larry Greenwich’s wickets at third base. The final run scored on a sacrifice fly by John Plasha in the fifth.
Meanwhile, Moran was dealing, moving pitches in and out, and confounding hitters with a nasty slider.
“He’s one of the toughest pitchers in the league,” Greenwich said. “He drops down and throws from an angle and then lives on the outside part of the plate with that slider.”
Aston Valley has been getting that production from its entire rotation. Their team ERA for the season is a miniscule 2.08. Nine of the 12 pitchers who have hurled for the Devils this season have an ERA below 3.00.
And heaven forbid if you reach Grant. He has been downright nasty.
In 71/3 relief innings this season, Grant has faced 22 batters and mowed down all 22 of them, 16 via a strikeout.
“That’s what he’s known for,” said Moran. “He’s just awesome.”
And right now, so are the rest of the Sun Devils, and the Delco League better take notice.

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