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Storm Hornets will be a very tough opponent to derail in Perky playoffs
By MATT SPERLING
Special to The Times Herald
The hornet’s sting is painful to humans, but the toxicity varies by species. Some species deliver an ordinary insect sting, while others are among the most venomous insects in the world. Without immediate treatment, reactions can be fatal.
So just how deadly is the Storm Hornet species you ask?
The answer is simple – they are the deadliest predators of the Perkiomen Valley Twilight League.
After dwelling in the cellar of the Perky League standings for what has seemed like an eternity, the once anemic offense of the Harleysville Storm Hornets finally found their sting during the 2009 season. Led by the James Quigley, Mike Villari and Tom Mahoney, the Hornets (the team has officially dropped the “Storm” from its moniker) offense has been potent en route to a 20-plus win season. And as for their pitching staff, well, they have been equally as venomous. Michael Caron has put together perhaps the most prolific season in Perky League history (7-0, 0.53 ERA) which was highlighted by an epic 11-inning, complete-game performance against Norristown. Following Caron in the rotation, things don’t get much better for opposing Perky League hitters as left-handers Brandon Bruno and Jeff Rugg have combined to win 10 games.
So, who out there in the Perky League is ready to extinguish the dream season of the Hornets? A few are laying in wait, so let’s break down the matchups…
Round 1:
Harleysville (1) Bye
Collegeville (2) Bye
Note: Like every other team in the Perky League, both Ambler and Plymouth qualified for the playoffs once their league registration check cleared. That said, and in protest of the current 8-team playoff system, Harleysville and Collegeville are being awarded first-round byes via 3-0 series sweeps in this preview.
Lansdale (3) vs. Trooper (6)
Despite winning 18 games, it was a bit of a down year for the Tigers. The loss of Andrew Miller and arm injuries within the starting rotation have left manager Christian Militello with holes to fill. Jason Ferrie has anchored the pitching staff quite admirably in his first season, but the Tigers offense will determine just how far the Tigers will go. Regaining his stroke from years past, speed-demon Jon McGlone sets the table for the powerful bats of Zach Hess and Phil Cavalcante.
Out in Trooper, it’s the same story, but a different year for the Trashmen. Joe Conaway, Greg Moyer and Victor Evangelist have some pop at the plate, but the absence of Zeb Engle has left the pitching cupboard bare.
Prediction: Lansdale wins series (3-0)
Norristown (4) vs. Nor Gwyn (5)
Talk about two teams going in different directions. The Norristown Agents boast MVPs of six of the prior seven seasons in Matt Altieri, Matt Sperling and Harry Ley, but have been inconsistent for most of the year. On the bright side however, the Agents have won 10 of their last 14 and enter the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the league.
The Packers were blazing out of the gates early thanks to Matt Blazynski, but have lost five in a row (pending the result of their double-header against Plymouth). Despite a formidable starting staff in Mike Zwanch, Dan Mulholland and Joe Harris, they will need to be razor sharp to make up for a Packers offense which has been erratic for most of the year.
Prediction: Norristown wins series (3-1)
Round 2:
Harleysville (1) vs. Norristown (2)
Can the Hornets really carry their regular-season pitching performance into the playoffs? Or will a Norristown offense which has recently shown signs of life unleash fury upon them?
In the end, the Harleysville offense and running game will exploit the pitching of a Norristown team which lacks a true shutdown ace.
Prediction: Harleysville wins series (3-2)
Lansdale (2) vs. Collegeville (3)
Collegeville bolstered their roster in the off-season by adding two of the youngest, brightest stars of the Perky League in Zeb Engle and Andrew Miller. Engle leads an impressive staff which includes prophylactic-armed Derek Major, as well as two members of the no-hitter club (Adam Hartzell and Mike Cope). The catalyst of the offense is the aforementioned Miller, and Temple standout Lenny Del Grippo.
At series end, the left-handed wings of the Black Sox will keep McGlone and company off the basepaths en route to a series victory.
Prediction: Collegeville wins series (3-1)
Finals:
Harleysville (1) vs. Collegeville (3)
In what should be a tightly contested, well-played series, it will all come down to crunch-time execution. And who better to perform during crunch-time than the coolest cat of the Perky League? Amidst the dust and smoke, Freddy Faison will once again arise safely at home with the coveted Perky League chalice awaiting his arms.
Prediction: Collegeville wins series (3-1)
New kids on Perky block
By DENNIS C. WAY
Times Herald Staff
It began as a pipe dream, like, what if we hit the lottery? Or, wouldn’t it be cool if we built our own house?
Andrew Beshenich had a two-year fling playing pro baseball in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. But, when he refused back surgery at the age of 20, the former Norristown High star was released.
Not quite ready to hang up his spikes, Beshenich turned to the Perkiomen Valley Twilight League.
“I’d always been a fan of the league,” he said, “and I wanted to go to the Perky to keep playing ball. I figured all my friends and I could play together.”
But what Beshenich found out was that the league had been reduced to seven teams when financial considerations forced league champion Plymouth out of the league.
“With seven teams, I knew it was really going to be difficult to find a team to play for,” Beshenich said.
But fate intervened.
Working at the Plymouth Center, site of the former Plymouth Pirates ballpark, Beshenich began asking questions.
“My friend (and fellow Norristown grad) Chris Delaney and I were joking around, talking about how we should own our own team,” Beshenich said. “I asked some people where I work how much it would take to put a team in the Perky League, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”
So Beshenich and Delaney took the plunge.
“The tough part was getting the money together,” Beshenich laughed.
But just like in the movies where the gang gets together to put on a show to pay Granny’s back taxes, the Norristown duo were suddenly owners.
And Plymouth is back in the league — as the Plymouth Angels. And just as he wanted to do, Beshenich is playing with all of his friends, who he recruited for the team.
“We have 18 guys, and they’re all fresh faces to the Perky League,” Beshenich said. “But they’re good ballplayers. Most of them are guys I played with or played against. And I’m pretty excited about the whole thing.
“We’re definitely the youngest team in the league — I don’t think there’s a player over 24. And Chris and I have to be the youngest owners in the history of the league.”
Along with Beshinich and Delaney, former Norristown and University of the Sciences pitcher Phil Maher, former Methacton-now Messiah College hurler Eric Spring and Kennedy-Kenrick grad and current Widener pitcher Sal Spera are on the roster.
Joining them are infielder Charlie DiNolfi (Upper Merion/Del-Val) and Nick Ciccone (Kennedy-Kenrick), among others.
“I’m not expecting to win the league,” Beshenich said. “It’s going to be a grind this year. But we have enough pitching to keep us in games.”
As for the teams who figure to be in the hunt for the league title, a good place to start might be Collegeville, perennial contenders and champions just two seasons ago.
The Black Sox came up aces in the off-season, adding one of the league’s best all-around players in Andrew Miller and one of its best pitchers in southpaw Zeb Engle. Outfielders Mike Cope and Dan Overcash and Elizabethtown pitcher Adam Hartzell are among the other talented newcomers.
Add them to a nucleus that already includes reliables Ian Hauze, Derek Major, Scott Young, Stan Haraczka, Lenny DelGrippo and Brian Rorick, and the Sox are certain to be in the mix come playoff time.
Last season’s finalists Lansdale look to be in the championship hunt again, but not necessarily with the same cast that got them there a year ago.
With Miller and Cope elsewhere, staff ace Matt Kelly (8-1, 0.42 ERA) in the armed services and Michael Acosta back in Arizona, Tigers manager Christian Militello went out and got arms (Widener left-hander and Commonwealth Conference Rookie of the Year Jason Ferrie, DeSales’ Travis Hughes, Ursinus’ Rich Guthridge, former Phoenixville ace and Yankees farmhand Steve Shoemaker and former Orioles farmhand Jason Mills) and bats (former Perk Valley standout Rob Slauch, Kennedy-Kenrick/Widener infielder Dennis Morgan and a couple of old Perky hands, Matt Weygand and Jimmy Johns) to take their place.
The result is a team Militello likes.
“We might be better than last year,” the manager said. “Those were some big losses, but we feel we’ve replaced them.”
Speaking of replacements, Norristown was a team looking for depth a year ago. And lo and behold it found it, in the persons of a good chunk of the former A’s dynasty.
Latshaw-McCarthy regulars Matt Altieri (.459. the league’s leading hitter), Mark Roth, Sean Meister, Matt Sperling and Steve Develin will be joined at the old stomping grounds by former Plymouth MVP Harry Ley and holdovers like Tony DeLude and Matt Windt in search of another Norristown championship.
If the rumored departure of left-hander Jordan Nyce is true, the Agents will be missing a key arm.
Arms, however, will a-plenty at Harleysville, where an impressive staff gets a major upgrade with the presence of left-hander Brandon Bruno. The multi-Pitcher of the Year winner joins holdovers Jeff Rugg (2.46 ERA), Michael Caron (3-4, 2.61) and both Greg and Matt Powell.
James Quigley heads a solid offense which shouldn’t need to post a whole lot of crooked numbers to be effective.
“We feel if we score four or five runs a game, we’ll win,” said Storm Hornets skipper Bill McCann.
Still trying to crack the circuit’s upper echelon, Nor-Gwyn upgraded its offense with the addition of Ryan Griffin (.340) and its pitching staff with Ryan Ignas (4-1 in 20 appearances at Penn State).
And with the return of stalwarts Matt Blazynski, Brendan Fanslau, Darryl Clark, Alan Warner and Adam Soley, the Packers could be ready to take that next step.
“I couldn’t tell you whether we’re going to win 10 games or 20 games,” said Packers manager Tony (Pep) DiBricida. “We’re still young and unproven with a lot of work to do. But we’ll always be competitive.”
Trooper suffered more than a couple of key losses in the off-season, including returning league home run champ, Brian Hartsell, who will miss the year after undergoing surgery. But manager Sam Pier is confident that a nucleus that includes Greg Moyer (.438), Bill Warrender (.321) and Joe Miller (.429) and the addition of Lehigh catcher and Germantown Academy grad Joe Conaway will keep the Trashmen in the hunt.
“We had a lot of guys at or near the top of nearly every offensive category last year,” Pier said. “These guys can get it done.”
Each season, Ambler manager Bruce DeBernardis is uncertain of his roster until the very late stages of the preseason. This year is no exception.
But count on the Rebels to be young, enthusiastic and a lot better as the season goes on.
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