Agents and Sox kiss their sisters

By DENNIS C. WAY

COLLEGEVILLE — It was Collegeville-Norristown.

It was the Perkiomen Valley Twilight League.

But you'd need a sturdy shoehorn to fit it in among the classics these two clubs have jointly produced over the years.

Granted, many of the names from those knee-bucklers of the past are now gone - although many of the players from the recent Norristown dynasty have returned to the wear the blue and white - and Wednesday's meeting of the two Perky stalwarts did have a late-inning comeback as its highlight.

But the 4-4 tie the Agents and Black Sox authored ended up with one error fewer than runs scored, wasted two very pitching performances from Collegeville starter Zeb Engle and Norristown's Matt Davis and didn't really leave anyone feeling nostalgic for the good ol' days when these two clubs ruled the Perky roost.

"It was a sister kisser," said Norristown's Matt Sperling with a grin, "and that might be acceptable a couple hundred miles west of here. But not here.'

The Agents got to Engle, just off a brilliant senior season at Ursinus College, for three first-inning runs. Tony DeLude and Mark Roth spanked RBI doubles, but the visitors also got some help from a dropped fly ball and run-producing throwing error.

Another error followed in the Agents second. And although it didn't lead to a run, Engle had thrown 52 pitches through two innings, allowed just one earned run, but was trailing, 3-1 after two.

That's because the Sox parlayed Andrew Miller's leadoff single in the first, a stolen base and two ground balls into a run of their own off Davis.

"We have a lot of speed at the top of the lineup," said Collegeville manager Bob Letter, "and that's going to help us manufacture some runs.

"Plus, we know Zeb is going to keep us in games, even when we're not helping him out."

The story through the middle innings was Davis, who after the first inning allowed just two more harmless singles through the fifth.

"Matt did a real good job for us," Sperling said. "He deserved better."

BOX SCORE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Norristown A's 3001000 4 7 2
Collegeville White Sox 1000030 4 9 4

Date: May 20, 2009     Time: 6:00pm      Venue: Collegeville   

Norristown A's
Hitters AB R H RBI BB K
Matt Altieri 4 1 1 0 0 1
Harry Ley 3 0 1 0 0 1
Tony Delude 1 1 1 1 3 0
Mark Roth 4 1 1 1 0 3
Matt Sperling 3 0 1 0 1 0
Bob Altieri 3 0 1 0 0 0
Chad Griswold 3 0 1 0 0 1
Frank Panzullo 3 0 0 0 0 0
Sean Meister 2 1 0 0 1 1
Totals 26 4 7 2 5 7
2B: Delude, Roth, Sperling
SB: Altieri
CS: Delude
Collegeville White Sox
Hitters AB R H RBI BB K
Andrew Miller 3 1 2 0 1 0
Rodney Francis 4 0 0 1 0 0
Carlo Petrillo 4 0 0 1 0 1
Jason Connor 4 0 1 0 0 1
Ian Hauze 3 0 1 0 1 0
Mike Cope 4 0 1 0 0 0
Jeff Jaffe 4 1 2 0 0 1
Marc Wagner 2 1 1 0 1 1
Derek Major 2 1 1 1 1 1
Totals 30 4 9 3 4 5
SB: Miller, Jaffe

Norristown A's
Pitchers IP H R ER BB K PT
Matt Davis 5.1 7 4 3 4 4 0
Matt Sperling 1.2 2 0 0 0 1 0
Collegeville White Sox
Pitchers IP H R ER BB K PT
Zeb Engle 7.0 7 4 2 5 7 0

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