RVL notebook

By Bruce Johnson Staff writer

PhillyBurbs.com

Now that the RVL playoffs are history, and the 114th consecutive summer of adult men’s baseball is over, it’s time to empty out our notebook after watching 17 playoff games in 12 days . . .

If you ever needed proof of the old baseball adage that “pitching is 75 percent” of the game, you had to look no further than the 2013 Rancocas Valley Baseball League playoffs.  Especially the finals.

Vincentown came into the playoffs with a .362 team batting average for the regular season. They smacked 53 doubles and 20 home runs, and averaged over 8 runs per game.  In the four games of the title series, Burlington’s four starting pitchers — Kevin Gunter, Shaun Babula, Carl Taylor and John Harvey — combined for 25 innings, 21 hits, 5 runs allowed, 4 earned runs, 8 walks and 23 strikeouts. Their ERA was 1.12.

For the four-game final, V-town’s sluggers hit a miserly .235, with two lights-aided doubles, no triples and no home runs. (Burlington had three doubles and six homers in the series.)  “They deserved it, there’s not much else you can say about it,” V-town’s Greg Miller said. “The better team won. They shut us down.”

Harvey, who was 10-0 this summer, pitched three complete games in the playoffs, beating Pine Barrens, Willingboro and Vincentown. In 21 innings, he whiffed 24 — including 10 Merchants in the title-clincher — and allowed just one earned run for an 0.33 ERA.  Burlington’s Zach Skidmore was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player, as his four home runs in four successive games in the finals matched his regular-season total. (RVL rookie Mike Kerns had the Mets’ other two dingers.) 

But a case could be made for teammate Pedro (Pete) Perez, who was 7-for-11 in the finals (and 11 of his last 15 at-bats after moving into the 2-hole) and lined out hard to center field three of the other times up.  And without his glove at shortstop, Burlington might not have spent Wednesday night celebrating into the wee hours at the Oneida Boat Club.  Perez made a pair of leaping catches that SportsCenter would show over and over, ad nauseam. But this is the RVL, and there are no replays of great plays. But Perez robbed Pine Barrens’ Ryan Krupa of a possible game-tying hit to end Game 2 of the quarterfinals. That was amazing, only to be matched eight nights later when he took a hit away from V-town’s Johnny Bujanowski.

For the play of the summer, non-winners’ division, we will go with V-town’s Miller in that same game. Matt Jolly hit a slow roller down the third-base line and Miller came in and made a play a la Brooks Robinson, bare-handing it and throwing across his body, a strike to Jesse Pappler to nip the speedy Jolly. (Runner-up would be the diving grab by Cinnaminson’s Geoff Gilbert, in foul territory to rob V-town’s Danny Williams in their decisive Game 3.)

League leaders

According to the www.rvlbaseball.com website, here are the regular season batting and pitching leaders:

Batting: Johnny Bujanowski (Vincentown) .510

Runs: Sam Pepper (Vincentown) 38

Hits: Greg Miller (Vincentown) 48

Doubles: Greg Miller (Vincentown) 13

Triples: Kevin Diamond (Mount Laurel), Bryan Henry (Pine Barrens), Greg Miller (Vincentown) 3

Home runs: Greg Miller (Vincentown) 7

RBIs: Greg Miller (Vincentown) 58

Stolen bases: Kyle Semmel (Burlington) 19

Pitching wins: Joe Argow (Vincentown) and John Harvey (Burlington) 7

Innings: John Harvey (Burlington) 54

Strikeouts: John Harvey (Burlington) 74

ERA: Joe Argow (Vincentown) 0.52

York Tournament

The Burlington Mets will once again be playing in the 49th Tom Kerrigan Memorial Tournament in York, Pa., over Labor Day Weekend.  The Mets will start play in the double-loss tournament on Aug. 31, 9 a.m., against Stoverstown, Pa., which won the tourney last year and also back in 1972.  Delran won the event in 2003.

ALL-RVL

First team

1b Kevin Diamond, Mount Laurel

2b Mike Stumpf, Willingboro

3b Greg Miller, Vincentown

ss Pedro Perez, Burlington

of Johnny Bujanowski, Vincentown

of Sam Pepper, Vincentown

of Frank Sirolli, Cinnaminson

c Mike Kerns, Burlington

dh Zach Skidmore, Burlington

p Joe Argow, Vincentown

p Shaun Babula, Burlington

p John Harvey, Burlington

p Jason Ronca, Delran

ut Ron Krankowski, Pine Barrens

ut Bryan Henry, Pine Barrens

Second team

1b J.T. Triantos, Pine Barrens

2b Greg Gilbert, Cinnaminson

3b Mike Tobia, Mount Laurel

ss Ryan Williams, Vincentown

of Vinny James, Burlington

of Ryan McFadden, Delran

of Rich Powelson, Pine Barrens

c Mike Gulli, Willingboro

dh Jack Bujanowski, Vincentown

p Eric Gertie, Delran

p Trevor Sotell, Mount Laurel

p Dave Stieg, Vincentown

p Matt Szukics, Mount Laurel

ut Josh Sabol, Riverside

ut Kevin Carty, Vincentown

Player of the year: Greg Miller, Vincentown

Pitcher of the year: John Harvey, Burlington

Manager of the year: Mike Stumpf, Willingboro

August 14, 2013

Burlington Mets 2
Vincentown Merchants 0

The Mets defeated Vincentown 2-0 in the fourth game of this series to claim their second RVL Championship in four years. Runs were at a premium as starting pitchers John Harvey and Joe Argow kept their opponent off the scoreboard inning after inning. Burlington finally broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the sixth inning on Zach Skidmore's solo home run. Skidmore would later be named the series MVP. The Mets added another run that same inning on Mike Kearns' RBI single. John Harvey pitched a complete game shutout to pick up the win for Burlington. Joe Argow took the tough loss for Vincentown. The championship was Burlington's third overall in team history. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online www.tricountysportsonline.com

By Kevin Kolodziej Staff Writer PhillyBurbs.com; Scott Anderson Photographer

August 13, 2013

Burlington Mets 12
Vincentown Merchants 2

Burlington went up 2-1 in this series with a convincing 12-2 win over the Merchants. With the score tied 2-2, the Mets erupted for six runs in the third inning, including a two-run single by Paul Guerrieri and a three-run home run by Mike Kearns. Burlington added two more in the fourth inning and two final runs in the seventh on Zach Skidmore's two-run home run. Vinny James had a pair of sacrifice flies for Burlington. Garrett Mull knocked in three runs with a pair of RBI singles. Greg Miller and John Bujanowski Jr. knocked in Vincentown's runs. Carl Taylor pitched a complete game to pick up the win for the Mets. Zeke Boren took the loss for Vincentown. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online www.tricountysportsonline.com

By Pete Innaurato Correspondent PhillyBurbs.com; Paige Ozaroski BCT Photos

August 12, 2013

Vincentown Merchants 6
Burlington Mets 4

The Mets held a 2-1 lead when an injury forced starter Shaun Babula to leave the game after the fourth inning. Emergency relievers Pedro Perez and Sean McNeil didn't fare as well as they combined to give up four runs in the fifth inning. Kevin Carty had an RBI bunt base hit and Greg Miller added a sacrifice fly. Sam Pepper scored on a passed ball and Kevin Carty scored from second on an errant pickoff throw to first base. The Merchants added one more in the seventh on Troy Foster's sacrifice fly. Mike Kearns and Zach Skidmore both hit solo home runs for Burlington. Sam Pepper picked up the win for Vincentown. Greg Miller recorded the final three outs. Pedro Perez took the loss for Burlington. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online www.tricoumtysportsonline.com

By Kevin Kolodziej Staff Writer Burlington County Times

Photographer Dan Creighton

PhillyBurbs.com

SOUTHAMPTON — After two games of Rancocas Valley League championship play, it’s suddenly a brand new series.  Because when the Vincentown Merchants took down the Burlington Mets 6-4 on Monday night at Harry W. Thompson Field, it evened the series at one win apiece.  Now, instead of a best-of-five series to determine this year’s RVL champion, it comes down to a best-of-three to determine who will take home the trophy.

The series continues Tuesday night with Game 3 starting at 7 p.m. Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday with Game 5, if necessary, slated for Thursday. All games are at Thompson Field.  “This is a huge rivalry and this is a huge win for us because if we lost we would’ve been down two games to none,” Vincentown starting pitcher Sam Pepper said. “Next game, we’re going to have to hit because we’re a hitting team and when we don’t hit we don’t win — it’s as simple as that.” 

Pepper threw six strong innings and allowed six hits, striking out two and walking one.  “I was only on three days’ rest so we were questioning whether I was going to start or not,” Pepper said. “I felt good warming up and I actually felt better than I did three days ago.”

The Merchants’ offensive charge was sparked by a four-run fifth inning. Pepper went 0-for-2, but scored twice following two walks. Kevin Carty, Greg Miller and Troy Foster each had an RBI for Vincentown (30-7).  “We’re a hitting team and we lead the league in every offensive category,” Pepper said. “We can’t rely on the long ball. We need to hit gap-to-gap, hit singles and we have to play small ball a lot better than we are right now.”

After Burlington led off the bottom of the final inning with back-to-back singles, Pepper was moved from the mound to center field, as third baseman Greg Miller was handed the ball to attempt to close the game out.  Miller faced the top of the Mets’ lineup with no outs and runners on first and second. He struck out the first two batters, walked the next two to give Burlington its fourth run and induced the final batter to pop out to shortstop Ryan Williams to seal the victory.  “It’s fun to be out there and I was just trying to close the door for Pepper,” Miller said. “He pitched a great game and gave us the opportunity to win. This is a huge for our morale because now it’s a three-game series and we’ll see who the best team is.”

For Burlington (28-7-2), it may have been a worst-case scenario.  The Mets were up 2-0 with ace lefty Shaun Babula on the mound in the fourth inning. But midway through the frame, Babula reinjured the hamstring that has bothered him in recent weeks.  Babula did not return to the game following the fourth, but said the injury will not prevent him from playing later this week and finishing out the series.  “It’s pretty frustrating because we had a two-run lead and I was cruising, but I’ll be back,” Babula said. ”They had a big inning and we fought back. We’ve got a team full of guys with a lot of pride. We’ll be fine.”

August 11, 2013

Burlington Mets 8
Vincentown Merchants 2

Burlington took the first game of the RVL finals with an 8-2 win over Vincentown. The Mets got the scoring started in the first inning when Shaun Babula scored on Vinny James' fielder's choice. Burlington exploded for six runs in the second inning including an RBI single by Mike Kearns, a two-run double by Pedro Perez, and a three-run home run by Zach Skidmore. The Mets added one final run in the sixth on Shaun Babula's RBI single. John Bujanowski Sr. knocked in both Vincentown runs with an RBI single in the fifth inning and another RBI single in the seventh. Kevin Gunter went the distance to pick up the win for Burlington. David Stieg took the loss for the Merchants. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online www.tricountysports.com

Connor Hughes Correspondent

PhillyBurbs.com

SOUTHAMPTON — Kevin Gunter just wasn’t feeling it.

Prior to the first game of the Rancocas Valley Baseball League championship series, the scheduled starting pitcher for the Burlington Mets was contemplating pushing his start date back a day.  “I just felt like crap,” Gunter said. “I made a call to (manager) Keith Babula telling him he may wanna push me back.  “Luckily, when I got out here and warmed up, I ended up feeling pretty good.”

“Pretty good” may be a pretty big understatement.  Gunter went the distance Sunday, striking out four and allowing just two earned runs in Burlington’s 8-2 victory over the Vincentown Merchants at Harry W. Thompson Field.  “It’s a good win anytime you can beat Vincentown,” Babula said. “They know how to swing the bats, now we just need to keep playing.”  Gunter — who had pitched just 7.1 innings all year — kept a Merchants' offense that had scored 31 runs in their last five games in check.  “I was just trying to throw strikes, get strike one,” the righty said. “It helped a lot that we came out and scored a couple runs early to set the tone.”

Playing the top scoring team in the RVL, Burlington displayed its own offensive prowess, recording more runs on the Merchants than any team had since July 29.  The Mets brought one run across in the first when Vinny James scored on a fielder's choice, then six in the second highlighted by Pedro Perez’s two-run double and Zach Skidmore’s three-run home run.  Burlington added its last run in the sixth off Shaun Babula’s RBI single.  “When we were able to score those runs early, it set the tone,” Gunter said. “Then when we had our success on the mound, and that set the tone for the rest of the day.”

John Bujanowski's two RBI singles — one in the fifth and one in the seventh — marked Vincentown’s lowest run total since suffering a 5-1 defeat to Cinnaminson on Aug. 4, the Merchants' first loss of the 2013 playoffs.  Manager Harry Thompson blamed the team's struggles to having faced Gunter for only one inning in the regular season.  “This is the first real time we’ve faced this kid,” Thompson said. “You wish you’d faced him before, you wished you batted against him but we’re not crying, we’ll be all right.”

Thompson said if his team is to get back to its winning ways, it’ll have to do what got it here in the first place.  “We need to play ball the way we’ve played all year. We’ve scored in double figures in 12 to 15 games this year,” Thompson said. “We’ve been hitting the ball, we didn’t do that today.  “We’re all right, we’ll come back, I promise that.”

Game two of the RVL finals will be played Monday at Harry W. Thompson Field in Southampton, with the first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m.

By Bruce Johnson Staff writer PhillyBurbs.com

August 9, 2013

Burlington Mets 5
Willingboro 2

Burlington took this semifinal series against Willingboro by winning the third and final game by the score of 5-2. The Mets got the scoring started in the third inning on RBI singles by Zach Skidmore and Matt Fischer. Burlington scored three more in the fourth on an RBI single by Pedro Perez, an RBI ground out by Zach Skidmore, and a steal of home plate by Pedro Perez. Matt Speckmann accounted for both Willingboro runs with an RBI single in the fourh inning and a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning. John Harvey went the distance to pick up the win for the Mets. Connor McFarlane took the loss for Willingboro. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online www.tricountysportsonline.com

August 8, 2013

Burlington Mets 7
Willingboro 0

Burlington tied this series at one game apiece with a 7-0 win over Willingboro. Shaun Babula received all the run support he needed in the first inning when the Mets scored three runs. Vinny James hit a two-run double and Garrett Mull followed with an RBI single that scored James. The Mets added three more in the sixth inning on a two-run single by Kyle Semmel and an RBI double by Pedro Perez, and one more insurance run in the seventh on an RBI single by Paul Guerrieri. Shaun Babula pitched a complete game shutout to pick up the win for Burlington. Devon Hedgepeth took the loss for Willingboro. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online www.tricountysportsonline.com

By Kevin Kolodziej Staff Writer Burlington County Times

PhillyBurbs.com

SOUTHAMPTON — Burlington did it again.  For the second straight series, the Mets found themselves one game from elimination. And for the second straight series, they won Game 2 to keep their championship hopes alive.  Thursday night, Burlington blanked Willingboro 7-0 to even their best-of-three Rancocas Valley Baseball League semifinal series at one win apiece.  “We didn’t play defense yesterday and we had great defense today,” winning pitcher Shaun Babula said. “Our defense was awesome tonight and that was the difference. This is what we came here to do; now we’ve got to play tomorrow.”

The deciding game is scheduled for Friday at Harry W. Thompson Field.

Babula was essentially flawless. In fact, in six of the seven innings, he was perfect. When all was said and done, he finished his complete game with five strikeouts and one walk — while allowing just one hit, to Willingboro pinch hitter Jamie Schwantes in the sixth.  “I felt very good out there tonight,” Babula said. “I wasn’t frustrated when they got the hit on me because Jamie’s owned me for years. I kind of laughed when they put him up the plate and he got me. But what are you gonna do?”

The Mets (26-6-2) got on the board early after a two-run double from left fielder Vinnie James in the top of the first. The ensuing batter, second baseman Garrett Mull, then sent James home with a single to put Burlington up 3-0.  Burlington’s bats remained quiet for the most part until the sixth inning, when the squad was able to tack on three more runs. Centerfielder Kyle Semmel cracked a single that scored two, and two batters later, Pedro Perez sent Semmel home with an RBI double. The Mets added a run in the seventh.

Perez had his best game hitting-wise of the playoffs thus far. Despite going 0-for-2 in Game 1 while batting ninth, the Mets showed a lot of confidence in their young shortstop and put him second in the lineup Thursday.  After all, he’s been making contact this postseason; the ball just hadn’t found the gap. Thursday night, it couldn’t have worked out any better.  Perez finished 3-for-3 with an RBI and scored after being hit by a pitch in the first inning.  “I wasn’t hitting the ball as hard as I did yesterday, but they were dropping tonight and that’s just how baseball is sometimes,” Perez said. “It’s pretty good to come out with the win. Tomorrow, we just need to come out here and play the same baseball we’ve been playing.”

Willingboro (18-14) knows it’s the underdog but embraces that role.  Third-seeded ‘Boro took down second-seeded Burlington in Game 1, halting an eight-game losing streak to the Mets dating to 2011. And there’s no way this group of guys is giving up now.  “Shaun’s the best pitcher they’ve got and it’s always tough when you’re going up against him because you know he’s going to throw strikes and you know he’s going to come at you,” Willingboro catcher Mike Gulli said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get many to drop today, but any time you can put nine guys out on the field to make a play, you’ve got a chance. If we hit the ball next game, we’ll be OK.”

August 7, 2013

Willingboro 4
Burlington Mets 2

Willingboro took the first game of this series with a 4-2 win over the Mets. After the teams traded runs in the first inning, Willingboro took the lead for good with two runs in the fourth inning. Jared Turner scored on a misplayed ball off the bat of Connor McFarlane and Mark Stumpf walked with the bases loaded to force in the second run. Burlington trimmed the lead to 3-2 in the fifth inning on an RBI ground out by Matt Jolly. But, Willingboro tacked that run back on the following inning when Connor McFarlane scored on a passed ball. Tyler Bayley pitched a complete game to pick up the win for Willingboro. Carl Taylor took the loss for the Mets. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online www.tricountysportsonline.com

By Kevin Kolodziej Staff Writer Kevin Kolodziej: 609-871-8076; email, kkolodziej@phillyBurbs.com; Twitter, @KoloBCT

SOUTHAMPTON — Willingboro has had quite the turnaround season this summer.  After opening the year with seven straight losses, the squad now finds itself one win from the Rancocas Valley Baseball League championship series after beating Burlington 4-2 on Wednesday night at Harry W. Thompson Field.  The win marks the first time since 2011 that ‘Boro has defeated Burlington, with the Mets having walked away victorious from the last eight meetings.

“It was rough in the beginning of the year because we gave up a lot of close games in the sixth and seventh innings; we would be up in the beginning, then choke late,” Willingboro winning pitcher Tyler Bayley said. “After the first seven games, I think we figured out how to finish games out and that’s what’s helped us recently. “This is the first time we’ve had a win past the first round ever so it means a lot to all of us here. We weren’t expected to do much this season at all and to be here is great.”  Bayley had himself a stellar performance from the mound, as well. He threw all seven innings, allowed three hits, struck out one and walked one. He had a no-hitter going through the first three innings and one of the Burlington runs was unearned.  “This was the first time I’ve gone seven in a while because I’m more of a relief pitcher but I felt strong by the end of the game and kept throwing my fastball,” Bayley said. “I was just trying to do my job, get ground balls and spread the ball through the infield. It was real intense and it feels great.”

Willingboro (18-13) struck first in the top of the first inning on a Jon Wetzel sacrifice grounder that scored John Walls from third.  In the fifth inning, ‘Boro was able to capitalize on two Burlington errors and brought across two runs for a 3-1 lead. Right fielder Connor MacFarlane then scored on a passed ball in the sixth inning to put the game out of reach.

Designated hitter Jared Turner was the lone Willingboro batter with more than one hit, going 2-for-3 with a run scored after reaching base on an error.  “With these games, it often comes down to who makes less mistakes,” Turner said. “Tonight, the defense made the plays we had to make and we scored when we could. We have more of a friendly rivalry with Burlington because they’re all good guys, but it was really nice to be on the winning side of one.”

Zach Skidmore doubled twice, while Vinny James and Matt Jolly each had a sacrifice RBI for Burlington (25-6-2). Mets starter Carl Taylor went five innings with five strikeouts, three hits, three walks and zero earned runs.  “It’s not that frustrating because I know we’re better than that and I know my team’s behind me,” Taylor said. “We just have to hit the ball and I know we’re going to come out and win the next two games.”

Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday, 6:45 p.m. If necessary, Game 3 would be Friday. All RVL playoff games are played at Harry W. Thompson Field.

By Bruce Johnson Staff writer Burlington County Times

After 10 games last weekend, four teams were eliminated from the Rancocas Valley Baseball League playoffs. The four teams left — Vincentown, Burlington, Willingboro and Mount Laurel — were the 1-2-3-4 teams during the regular season. But they reached Wednesday’s semifinals — Willingboro vs. Burlington at 6:45 p.m., Mount Laurel vs. Vincentown to follow — in surprisingly different ways. The 3-4 teams swept their quarterfinals, while the 1-2 teams were extended to a third game before triumphing Monday night.

Here’s a look at the matchups:

Willingboro vs. Burlington

Burlington has won eight straight over the ‘Boro boys, the last loss coming in the 2011 season opener by a 15-4 count. Two very hot teams, with the Mets having gone 18-2-2 in the last 22 games and ‘Boro 17-5. Burlington (25-5-2 overall) was extended to three games by Pine Barrens, and was three outs from elimination in Sunday’s Game 2 before rallying to win. An eight-run fourth inning broke open Game 3. Willingboro (17-13) swept Delran in a pair of tight games, 3-2 and 2-0, behind lefties Connor MacFarlane and Craig Ricks. Two deep pitching staffs, although the Mets have the bigger names. But ‘Boro’s guys keep them in the game.

Mount Laurel vs. Vincentown

After a 17-0 start, Vincentown has “cooled off” to 10-6 (a .625 win percentage). Mount Laurel has won six of its last eight, both losses being by a 6-5 score, to Riverside and Vincentown. Vincentown won all three regular-season meetings, a 15-1 romp early, followed by 5-2 and 6-5 games. V-town got a win from Joe Argow and a loss by Dave Stieg, forcing Zeke Boren to come through in Game 3 vs. Cinnaminson, which he did. With some help from Kevin Carty and Greg Miller. Mount Laurel (17-12) used Justin Ely and Trevor Sotell to eliminate Riverside. Matt Szukics and Mike Cooper could be ready to go.

What you missed

If you missed the quarterfinals, here’s some of the defensive gems you missed:

• Burlington’s Pete Perez drilled a blue dart seemingly headed to right field, but Pine Barrens’ J.T. Triantos made the play.
• Riverside’s Tyler Freeman made a great stop on ML’s Mike Tobia’s hard grounder to short and turned it into a forceout.
• Perez turned a potential tie game into a win as the Mets’ shortstop made a leaping, running grab of PB’s Ryan Krupa’s line drive to left-center and flipped to Garrett Mull for a Game 2-ending twinkilling.
• Riverside’s Josh Sabol made a great stop and Jake Reeder made a backhanded grab of his throw to get ML’s Paul Meagher.
• A Brandon Barnes-Tobia-Rich Ledbeater relay nailed Riverside’s Tyler Wolf at home. Cole Pewor ended that inning for ML with a nice play to rob Joe Gutowski.
• Delran’s Ryan McFadden threw out MacFarlane with a nice tag by Mark DeJesse, who himself was cut down by a MacFarlane-Mark Stumpf-Dan Hill relay at third.
• Vincentown’s Game 2 rally in the seventh was ended when Cinnaminson’s Greg Gilbert made a spectacular backhanded grab of Mike Osborne’s throw from the hole.
• Eric Sellito was robbed of a possible triple when the PB slugger’s long drive to center field in Game 3 was caught — a la Willie Mays in the 1954 World Series — by the Mets’ Shaun Babula.
• V-town’s Ryan Williams and Miller robbed Cinnaminson with several diving stops in Game 3.
• If Babula’s grab wasn’t the play of the year, then it was Geoff Gilbert’s diving catch into foul territory against Danny Williams in Game 3.

August 5, 2013

Burlington Mets 13
Pine Barrens Phantoms 2

Burlington took the final game of this three game series with a convincing 13-2 win over Pine Barrens. An eight-run fourth inning by the Mets broke open a 1-1 tie. Shaun Babula had the big hit in that inning with a two-run double. Kyle Semmel and Pedro Perez both added RBI singles. The Mets tacked on four more runs in the fifth inning on a three-run double by Vinny James and an RBI single by Paul Guerrieri. Ryan Krupa and Mike Kondrath both had RBI singles for the Phantoms. Jonathan Wilkins pitched a complete game in picking up the win for Burlington. Nick Henderson took the loss for Pine Barrens. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online www.tricountysportsonline.com

 By Kevin Kolodziej Staff Writer Burlington County Times

Pete Picknally/BCT Staff Photographer

PhillyBurbs.com

SOUTHAMPTON — In their most important game of the year, the Burlington Mets showed the utmost confidence in one of their youngest players.  The Mets sent rookie pitcher Jon Wilkins to the mound in the final game of a best-of-three series during the opening round of the Rancocas Valley Baseball League playoffs against Pine Barrens.  The result: a complete game, six strikeouts, two walks, one earned run and a 13-2 victory. 

“I don’t usually get nervous when I pitch, so it was just another game for me,” said Wilkins, a recent graduate of Life Center Academy who’s headed for West Chester (Pa.) University.  “I felt good out there. I had to come out grinding and I did,” Wilkins said. “My teammates got hot at the plate, too. Now we just need to come out strong next round and see what happens.”  The Mets will meet Willingboro in the semifinals, a best-of-three series scheduled to begin Wednesday. All RVL playoff games are played at Southampton Memorial Park.

The game was tight early on, with the score 1-1 through 3½ innings. But in the bottom of the fourth, No. 2 seed Burlington made it known that it has one goal in mind this year, and that’s to take home the trophy at the end of the year.  The Mets rallied for eight runs on seven hits in the home half of the fourth and added four in the fifth to put the contest out of reach.  “You can’t take anything away from (Pine Barrens), they played a great series,” Burlington second baseman Garrett Mull said. “We started out shaky tonight, but then we started hitting the ball. When you hit the ball, good things happen and it’s good to get out of the first round.”

It’s an especially tough loss for Pine Barrens. The seventh-seeded Phantoms took the series opener Saturday and were up two runs heading into the seventh inning in Game 2 before Burlington rallied for the win Sunday.  “Burlington has been a great team all year and we knew it was going to be a tough series,” Pine Barrens’ Ryan Krupa said. “We came out with high intensity the first two games but tonight it kind of got away from us. But that happens sometimes — that’s baseball.”

As Burlington moves one step closer to its ultimate goal, memories from last summer’s postseason are clearly in the back of each of the Mets’ minds.  A year ago, Burlington was the RVL’s best team for the majority of the year before being upset by Vincentown in the semifinals. Vincentown went on to win the title, then posted the league’s best record this (regular) season. The Merchants edged Cinnaminson 2-1 in Monday’s second game to win that series.  “Every team in the league works and we all love baseball — this is why we come out here and play, because we all want to win,” Burlington center fielder Shaun Babula said. “When Vincentown beat us last year, Game 1 in 13 innings was a fluke, them scoring 17 against us the next day was an absolute fluke and they think they’re better than they actually are. This year, we want to be the best.”

August 4, 2013

Burlington Mets 7
Pine Barrens Phantoms 5

Trailing 5-3 and facing elimination in this best-of-three series, the Mets rallied for four runs in the top of the seventh inning to defeat Pine Barrens 7-5. Pedro Perez scored the first run of the inning when he came home following a misplayed ball off the bat of Zach Skidmore. Vinny James added an RBI single and Garrett Mull added a sacrifice fly. James also contributed a sacrifice fly earlier in the first inning and Mull added a solo home run in the second inning. John Harvey went the distance to pick up the win for Burlington. Mike Kondrath pitched into the seventh inning in taking the loss for Pine Barrens. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online www.tricountysportsonline.com

 By Kevin Kolodziej Staff writer Burlington County Times

PhillyBurbs.com

VINCENTOWN — The Burlington Mets weren’t ready for their season to be over.  Down two runs and three outs from elimination in the Rancocas Valley League playoffs, the Mets rallied with four scores in the top half of the seventh inning and held Pine Barrens scoreless in the bottom to win 8-5. The win evens the best-of-three quarterfinal series at one win apiece, with the third and final game taking place Monday evening.  “No matter what the score, what inning it is or how many outs there are, we don’t quit,” Burlington shortstop Pedro Perez said. “We always fight to the end.” 

Perez came up with a spectacular game-ending defensive play at shortstop. Pine Barrens had the bases loaded with one out when Ryan Krupa came up to the plate. He drilled a high line-drive to shortstop, which was immediately swallowed up by a leaping Perez.  He then flipped the ball to second baseman Garrett Mull, who caught it bare-handed on the bag before the Pine Barrens runner could tag. If the ball had gotten through, it had enough power that it could have potentially tied the game.  “I was just trying to catch it and I actually snow-coned it — I thought it was going to come out,” Perez said. “Once I squeezed it and realized I had it, I threw it to ‘G’ at second base.”

Perez has made a reputation for his stellar defensive play over the years. With the season-saving play to end a playoff game, that reputation may have gotten a bit stronger.  Mull had himself a solid afternoon, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs, including a second-inning solo home run over the fence in left field. It was the only homer of the game.  “I got a middle-in fastball, put the barrel on it and sent it,” Mull said. “We came out flat today, put two runs on the board early and were just sitting on it. You can’t sit on a lead against a team like them. They put the ball into play and fought back.”

If not for the 12 total errors that took place, there’s no telling how the game would have turned out. Each team committed six errors.  “We made a lot of errors early to give them some runs and they made some late to help us out — we only had one hit and one walk in that last inning,” said Burlington center fielder Shaun Babula. “I feel like we could’ve had more than (eight) runs today, but (eight) was enough.”  Winning pitcher John Harvey threw a complete game with nine strikeouts, four walks and zero earned runs. 

“We looked great all day, played an awesome game and we had it going into the seventh; the wheels just kind of fell off at the end,” Pine Barrens’ Chris Dellemonache said. “We’re going to have to bounce back and put together a full game tomorrow — not just six innings like we did today.”

By Joe Tansey Corerspondent www.phillyburbs.com

PhillyBurbs.com

SOUTHAMPTON — Ron Krankowski turned the Rancocas Valley League playoffs upside down on Saturday morning.  The Pine Barrens Phantoms came into their quarterfinal series with the Burlington Mets as decided underdogs. After all, Pine Barrens was 10-19-1 during the regular season, while Burlington was 23-4-2.

Krankowski drove in the game’s only run while twirling a dominating three-hit, complete-game shutout. The Phantoms won Game 1 of the best-of-3 series at Harry W. Thompson Field.  Krankowski took the mound confident he could reverse the results of two close regular-season losses to the Mets.  “I knew we had a good shot (at winning) today,” Krankowski said. “We had a good lineup and I had a good group of fielders behind me.”

The three hits came early on as Krankowski was still finding his rhythm in the on-again, off-again Saturday morning drizzle.  In the second inning, Matt Fischer stroked a single to center but Krankowski forced a 6-4-3 double play by the next batter, Mike Kerns.  “When we are firing on all cylinders, we’re able to make some good plays in the field,” Krankowski said.

The Mets got another hit in third third inning when Jon Reiner’s blast to left fell just short of the wall. Reiner had to avoid a tag by shortstop Brandon Triantos to make it into second base safely.  Once again, Krankowski found his way out of the jam as both Pedro Perez and Shaun Babula grounded back to the mound.

The final hit was Vinny James single to center with one out in the fourth inning that went right between Krankowski’s wickets. But the veteran righty then picked James off, with first baseman J.T. Triantos throwing to Ryan Krupa for the out.  “It’s all about getting ahead of guys (in the count),” Krankowski said. “I wasn’t doing that much my last few starts, but I did do that today.”

Krankowski delivered the Phantoms’ only run of the game in the third inning.  Rich Powelson singled with one out, then stole second. One out later, Krankowski came up against Babula, the Mets ace lefty. Krankowski stroked an RBI single to right.  There was a long way to go but that run took on an ever-larger importance as the game progressed.  “I guess you can say that the hit (made the win more special),” Krankowski said. “I just put my hands out there and tried to take it to right field.”

Krankowski faced one final jam in the fifth, after one-out walks to Garrett Mull and Matt Jolly. But he got Reiner to pop up to short, then got a nice play by first baseman Triantos, who made an eye-opening stop on a hard-hit ball by the dangerous Perez.  Krankowski retired all six batters that he faced in the final two innings. 

Decided underdogs or not, the Phantoms can close out the Mets in Game 2 on Sunday.  “You have to enjoy this win for a few hours but I feel confident we can get the job done tomorrow,” Krankowski said.

Notes

In the 2009 playoffs, Krankowski — then pitching for Pemberton — upset Delran and Max Newill in the Saturday opener. After Delran got even on Sunday, Krankowski came back on two days’ rest and lost 2-1 to Jason Ronca. . . . Babula only allowed four hits, two in the first and two in the third. . . . Despite two of the league’s top strikeout pitchers throwing, there were only six strikeouts, four by Babula, who retired the last 12 in a row.

Bruce Johnson Staff Writer Burlington County Times

“August in V-town” has arrived, and when it’s all over in a couple of weeks, the champion of the 67th Rancocas Valley Baseball League season will have been crowned.

Based on the regular season, it would seem that a Vincentown-Burlington final is the most likely scenario. The Merchants (24-5) and Mets (23-4-1) were by far the best teams during the regular season.  But this being baseball, anything can happen. And this being the RVL, anything probably will happen.

Saturday and Sunday will feature eight games in a two-day, back-to-back-to-back-to-back four-games-each-day extravaganza at Vincentown’s Harry Thompson Field.  Play starts Saturday at 10 a.m. with Pine Barrens taking on Burlington. That will be followed at 1 p.m. with Riverside facing Mount Laurel and Delran meeting Willingboro at 4 p.m. The day’s final game pits Cinnaminson against Vincentown at 7 p.m. The same teams play in the same order Sunday, with starting times at noon, 2:30, 5 and 7:30.

Play will continue through the next two weeks, with weeknight games at either 6:30 and 9 (if doubleheaders), or at 7 (single games).  The quarterfinals and semifinals are best of three, with the finals being a best of five.

Here’s a look at each of the teams.

No. 1 Vincentown (25-5)

Hitting: Jack Bujanowski, Sam Pepper, Ryan Williams, Greg Miller, John Bujanowski, Jesse Pappler, Mike Ferraro, Troy Foster and Dan Williams form the league’s most feared lineup, a modern-day murderer’s row. And don’t forget Kevin Carty and Vern Powell.

 Pitching: Joe Argow, Dave Stieg, Zeke Boren and Jon Morrow are a combined 21-4.

 Playoff history: Defending champions and 13-time RVL champs.

No. 2 Burlington (23-4-2)

Hitting: Shaun Babula and Kyle Semmel create mayhem, Vinny James, Matt Fischer, Paul Guerrieri, Zach Skidmore and Mike Kerns are RBI guys, while Garrett Mull, Jon Reiner, Pedro Perez and Matt Jolly are clutch.

 Pitching: Babula and John Harvey are the co-aces of a staff that includes Carl Taylor, Mark McCouch, Perez, Sean McNeil, Jonathan Wilkins and Kevin Gunter.

 Playoff history: Won it all in 2010; only other RVL title was the Burlington Niagara Firemen in 1951.

No. 3 Willingboro (15-13)

Hitting: 2b Mark Stumpf is one of the league’s elite players. Rich Stronski, Jon Wetzel, Dan Hill, Mike Gulli, Jared Turner, Eddie Kaminski, Matt Speckmann, Justin Binder, John Walls and Jamie Schwantes are solid.

 Pitching: No stars, but Craig Ricks, Devon Hedgepeth, Tyler Bayley, Kevin Faber, Brian Camp, Tom Ditro, Connor Macfarlane and Mike Juckett provide lots of quality innings.

 Playoff history: Won RVL regular-season title in 2002 with a 23-7-1 record.

No. 4 Mount Laurel (15-12)

Hitting: Kevin Diamond, Connor Hall, Brian Black, Matt Szukics, Brandon Barnes, Paul Meagher, Cole Pewor, Mike Tobia, Kurtis Burnett, Rich Ledbeater and Niko Celia are a solid unit.

 Pitching: Trevor Sotelle, Szukics, Justin Ely, Mike Cooper and Ryan Derry figure to get the most innings, while Tobia is a solid finisher.

 Playoff history: Reached the RVL finals in 2006 and ‘07.

No. 5 Riverside (13-16-1)

Hitting: Twins Brett and Joe Knazek, Eric Oliver, Jason and Josh Sabol, Jake Reeder, Tyler Wolf, Brian Bessinger, Kodi Doyle and Gabe Mastrangelo provide most of the offense.

 Pitching: Kevin Joo, Jesse Fante and Jake Still are the starters; Bessinger, Frank Cerammi and Matt Leith provide relief.

 Playoff history: The Riverside Bombers won the 1961 and 1963 RVL championships, and the Riverside Pirates Inn won in 2001.

No. 6 Delran (12-14-2)

Hitting: Mark Wickersham, Ryan McFadden, Rex Workman, Kyle Ballay and Matt Ulmer are all solid veterans. Dan George, Justin McFadden, Mark DeJesse and TJ Maioriano have injected youth into the lineup.

 Pitching: Eric Gertie, Max Newill and Jason Ronca are all grizzled veterans. Sean McChesney, Ballay and Wickersham are available if needed.

 Playoff history: Won back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008 and reached finals in 2010 and 2012; eight-time RVL champions.

No. 7 Pine Barrens (10-19-1)

Hitting: J.T. Triantos, Ron Krankowski, Bryan Henry and Eric Sellito are a rugged middle of the lineup. They’ll need help from Rich Powelson, Dylan Johannink, Brandon Triantos, Frank Canuso, Ryan Krupa, Spencer Bard, Rob Antonowicz and Mike Lamola.

 Pitching: If the pitching — Mike Kondrath, Krankowski, Jim Caughlin, Sellito, Nick Henderson — is on, they are a dangerous opponent. Johannink is a game-saver.

 Playoff history: The Pemberton Huskers won the 1959 RVL championship.

No. 8 Cinnaminson (11-15)

Hitting: Greg Gilbert and Mike Osborne are solid DP combo, but they’ll need help from brothers Geoff Gilbert, Bobby Osborne, Frank and Joe Sirolli, and Mike and Tim Wasco, Greg Santuro, Matt Janulis and Chris McManus. (And maybe Ryan Mingin, if he’s healthy.)

 Pitching: Ryan Varga is still the ace of the staff. Veterans Cory Mingin, John Meadus, Nick Melchiorre and Brett Miller, and newcomers Craig Carroll, Santuro and Clinton Hart could all see action.

 Playoff history: Won in 2009 and 2011; 17-time RVL champs.

Joe Tansey Correspondent Burlington County Times

FLORENCE — With the Rancocas Valley Baseball League playoffs on the horizon, the Burlington Mets began to tighten the screws on Monday night to ensure a long playoff run.

In a 7-4 win over Cinnaminson, it was the Mets offense that took control of the game. Vinnie James, who had narrowly missed a home run the first time up, put Burlington ahead for good with a two-run homer in the third inning. “(Cinnaminson pitcher Clinton) Hart throws a fast knuckle curve, I got ahead 2-0 and he left his fastball over the plate, I got into a good count and got a good pitch to hit,” James said.

Hart entered the game in the first inning after Corey Mingin started for Cinnaminson to become playoff eligible.

The Burlington bats attacked Hart once more in the sixth inning as they added three insurance runs. “We want to get our sticks going as we enter the playoffs,” James said.

In the sixth inning, Zach Skidmore and Matt Fischer contributed RBI singles in an inning that in hindsight was needed for the Mets’ victory.

Down by five runs heading into the seventh inning, Cinnaminson had one more shot to prevent going into the playoff play-in game on Wednesday against the Burlington Pirates. Against Mets reliever Pedro Perez, who replaced starter Jon Wilkins in the seventh, Cinnaminson received RBI singles from both Joe Sirolli and Greg Gilbert.  However, their comeback ended after Perez caught Matt Janulis looking for the final out.

Both teams scored two runs early on in the game and while Hart continued to battle against the Mets lineup, Wilkins settled down and held Cinnaminson hitless after the first inning.  “After the first inning, I settled in and it was all uphill from there,” Wilkins said.

Wilkins conceded two RBI singles in the first inning before hunkering down and throwing five scoreless innings before he made way for Perez.  “We trust our pitching staff. Jon has done good all year for us,” James said.

To advance to Saturday’s quadruple-header of playoff games, Cinnaminson will have to defeat the Burlington Township Pirates to earn a chance to play No. 1 seed Vincentown in the best-of-three quarterfinal round.

The Mets already have their spot in the playoffs reserved as they will open as the No. 2 seed against the Pine Barrons Phantoms on Saturday. “We’re in good shape right now,” Wilkins said. “We have a lot of guys returning from injuries and we should be strong come Saturday.”

Burlington Mets 7
Cinnaminson Reds 4

Vinny James' two-run home run in the third inning snapped a 2-2 tie and gave the Mets a 4-2 advantage. Burlington added three insurance runs in the sixth inning on RBI base hits by Shaun Babula, Zach Skidmore, and Matt Fischer. A seventh inning rally by Cinnaminson included RBI singles by Joe Sirolli and Greg Gilbert, but the Reds came up three runs short in this game. Jonathan Wilkins pitched six innings to pick up the win for Burlington. Pedro Perez worked the seventh inning. Clinton Hart, pitching in relief of starter Cory Mingin, took the loss for Cinnaminson. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online www.tricountysportsonline.com

Burlington Mets 2
Vincentown Merchants 1

The Mets scored twice in the bottom of the seventh inning to edge Vincentown by the score of 2-1. After six scoreless innings, Vincentown took a 1-0 lead in the top of the seventh when Kevin Carty scored on Sam Pepper's RBI single. But then Burlington tied the score in the bottom of the seventh when Jon Reiner scored on Matt Jolly's fielder's choice. One batter later, Sean McNeil crossed the plate with the winning run when the Merchants failed to turn a double play off the bat of Garrett Mull. Jonathan Wilkins, the fifth of five pitchers used by the Mets, picked up the win. David Stieg pitched a gem but came away with nothing but a complete game loss. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online www.tricountysportsonline.com

By Joe Tansey Correspondent; Bryan E. Woolston Photographer

PhillyBurbs.com

FLORENCE — The Burlington Mets were on the verge of suffering from a case of deja vu Thursday night against the Vincentown Merchants.  Instead of falling to the Merchants on their home field by way of a seventh-inning run again, the Mets rallied back to score twice in the bottom of the seventh to win 2-1.  The loss made V-town 23-4 while Burlington improved to 20-4-1.

After the Merchants manufactured a run off relievers Sean McNeil and Jon Wilkins in the top half of the seventh, the Mets responded with two off Dave Stieg, who had been close to unhittable, in the bottom half of the inning.  Jon Reiner and McNeil started the rally with singles before Stieg sat down Wilkins for the first out.  “(Stieg) was throwing harder during the end of the game,” Mets shortstop Matt Jolly said. “He was also mixing more curveballs toward the end.”

With the top of the order at the plate, the Mets found a way to clinch their 20th win.  Jolly drove in the first run on a fielder’s choice hit to second baseman Jonathon Morrow, who opted to try and throw out Reiner at the plate. “Everyone got up in the dugout once the rally started, it was great,” Jolly said.

Garrett Mull was next to step up to the plate and he also hit into a fielder’s choice. But, Mull’s fielder’s choice was a bit more dramatic than Jolly’s. Mull hit a slow-rolling ground ball to shortstop Ryan Williams, who fed the ball to Jolly for the out at second but by the time Morrow’s throw reached first base, Mull had beaten the throw. And McNeil had scored the winning run.  “I didn’t actually a hit a laser,” Mull said. “They made a good play. I just barely beat it out.”

As Mull crossed over the first base bag and McNeil crossed the plate, the Mets avenged their 3-2 loss — to Vincentown, to Stieg’s complete game and to Sam Pepper, who drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning both times — from June 14. 

The work on the mound was a bit unconventional as well with the Mets using five hurlers on the bump.  Kevin Gunter started and threw 1⅓ innings before Mark McCouch took over for 2⅔ shutout innings.  After Brandon Elliott and McNeil threw an inning each, Wilkins became the pitcher of decision after he relieved McNeil with one on and none out in the seventh inning.

For the Merchants, Stieg’s strong performance was wasted. He scattered six hits while striking out four.  “They’re a good baseball team,” Mull said of the 2012 RVL champions. “It’s always gonna be a battle between us.”  “It’s definitely a momentum builder for us,” Jolly said.

By Joe Tansey Correspondent Burlington County Times

Pete Picknally BCT Staff Photographer

PhillyBurbs.com

FLORENCE — The Burlington Mets finally got a chance to evade the rain and play a Rancocas Valley Baseball League game Monday night.  After having five of their previous seven games postponed by rain, they used another strong performance by starting pitcher John Harvey to post a 4-1 victory over Mount Laurel at Life Center Academy.

The unbeaten Harvey, winning his league-best fifth game, threw six strong innings and scattered five hits.  “Every time he pitches, we can count on him to shut them down,” shortstop Matt Jolly said.  “It seems like the last couple games we've played an inning or two before the skies have opened up on us and we haven’t been able to play,” Harvey said. “I was in a good rhythm all day and I was able to keep the hitters off balance.”

On the offensive side of the ball, the first-place Mets (13-3-1) played a bit of small ball to manufacture their first three runs.  The Mets scored their first run in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Jon Reiner, scoring Vinny James, who reached on an error. That tied the game at 1-all.

The next two runs came in the third inning on successive ground outs to second base by Kyle Semmel and Matt Fischer. Sean McNeil and Shaun Babula reached base to start the inning, and scored on the grounders.  “In those situations, the guys know what they’re supposed to do and they got the job done,” Harvey said.

In the sixth inning, Jolly tacked on an insurance run with a home run to left field off Mount Laurel starter Justin Ely.

“I was just being aggressive," Jolly said. "I saw a fastball down the middle of the plate.”

Third-place Mount Laurel (10-6) took a 1-0 in the second inning. Mike Tobia came home on the throw through to second base on unsuccessful attempt to catch Cole Pewor stealing second base.

Burlington is 6-0-1 in its last seven games. Mount Laurel has lost three of its last four starts.

Burlington Mets 7
Willingboro 4

Burlington jumped out to a 3-0 lead with single runs in each of the first three innings, and then the Mets held off Willingboro to win this game 7-4. Mike Kearns led Burlington with an RBI double and an RBI single. Matt Fischer also had an RBI double for the Mets. Jon Reiner and Kyle Semmel added RBI singles, and Garrett Mull added a sacrifice fly. Jamie Schwantes had an RBI single for Willingboro and Dan Hill hit a solo home run in the seventh inning. John Harvey pitched six innings to pick up the win for Burlington. Shaun Babula worked the seventh inning. Craig Ricks took the loss for Willingboro. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online www.tricountysportsonline.com

Burlington Mets 7
Burlington Township Pirates 0

The Burlington Mets defeated Burlington Township 7-0 in a game shortened to five innings by darkness. The Mets scored a run in the first inning when Shaun Babula crossed the plate on Garrett Mull's RBI ground out. Burlington added five more in the second inning when Paul Guerrieri scored on Matt Jolly's fielder's choice and Vinny James knocked in a run with his ground rule double. A pair of Pirate errors led to three more Burlington runs in the inning. The Mets scored their final run in the fourth on Paul Guerrieri's RBI single. Shaun Babula pitched all five innings to pick up the win for the Mets. Charles Lavin took the loss for the Pirates. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online www.tricountysportsonline.com

Burlington Mets 3
Riverside 3

Burlington and Riverside were tied 3-3 after nine innings when this game was called due to darkness. The Mets overcame a 2-1 deficit and took a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning when Garrett Mull knocked in a run with his fielder's choice and Jon Reiner followed with an RBI single. However, Riverside knotted the score in the seventh inning when Tim Kemmerlee scored on Brian Bessinger's fielder's choice. Neither team could score in the two extra frames. John Harvey pitched all nine innings for the Mets. Kevin Joo started for Riverside with relief help from Brian Bessinger in the sixth inning and Matt Leith in the ninth. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online www.tricountysportsonline.com

Burlington Mets 8
Burlington Township Pirates 5

Mike Kearns and Garrett Mull both launched two-run home runs as the Mets beat Burlington Township 8-5. Jeff Vitale and Paul Guerrieri added RBI singles for Burlington. The Pirates scored a single run in the fourth inning and batted around while scoring four runs in the fifth. Nick Cancellire knocked in a pair of runs with two RBI base hits. Dom Perillo and Brian Eifert added RBI singles for the Pirates. Jonathan Wilkins, in his RVL debut, pitched into the fifth inning to pick up the win for the Mets. Wilkins received help from Sean McNeil and John Harvey, who recorded the final out. Nick Cancellire took the loss for Burlington Township. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online www.tricountysportsonline.com

Vincentown Merchants 3
Burlington Mets 2

Vincentown remained unbeaten with a 3-2 win over the Burlington Mets. Each team scored twice in the first inning and things remained that way until Vincentown pushed across the eventual winning run in the top of the seventh inning. John Bujanowski Sr. reached first base on a fielder's choice, moved up to second on an overthrow, and scored on Sam Pepper's ground rule double. David Stieg went the distance to pick up the win for the Merchants. Shaun Babula took the loss for the Mets. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online www.tricountysportsonline.com

Burlington Mets 6
Burlington Township Pirates 2

A big five-run sixth inning allowed the Mets to overcome a 2-1 deficit and defeat Burlington Township 6-2. Dave Jost scored the first run of the inning when he crossed the plate on Lucas Jones' fielder's choice. Jon Reimer added an RBI single. Then Matt Fischer cleared the bases with his three-run double. The Pirates had taken a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning on Ryan Murtaugh's two-run single. Sean McNeil, pitching in relief of Brandon Elliott, picked up the win for Burlington. John Harvey closed out the seventh inning. Al Antuzzi, pitching in relief of TJ Lovenduski, took the loss for Burlington Township. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online www.tricountysportsonline.com

Vincentown Merchants 8
Burlington Mets 2

Vincentown broke this game open with four runs in the bottom of the second inning. The Merchants added a run in the third and three more in the fourth. Stephan Kancylarz smashed a solo home run for Vincentown. Greg Miller added an RBI triple and Mike Ferrara and Ryan Williams both hit RBI doubles. Both of Burlington's runs came in the top of the fifth inning on RBI base hits by Jon Reimer and Garrett Mull. Joe Argow pitched the first six innings to pick up the win for Vincentown. Greg Miller worked the seventh inning. Carl Taylor took the loss for Burlington. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online www.tricountysportsonline.com

Burlington Mets 3
Riverside 1

The Mets scored single runs in the fourth, sixth, and seventh innings to defeat Riverside 3-1. Jon Reimer's RBI single plated Dan Graham in the fourth inning and Dave Jost scored on a throwing error in the sixth inning. Riverside cut the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth when Frank Cerammi's RBI double scored Eric Oliver, but the Mets tacked on one more in the top of the seventh when Paul Guerrieri's single scored Garrett Mull. Shaun Babula went the distance to pick up the win for the Mets. Kevin Lovvit, the first of three Riverside pitchers, took the loss. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online www.tricountysportsonline.com

Burlington Mets 6
Willingboro 5

John Harvey settled down after allowing five runs in the first two innings as the Burlington Mets came back to defeat Willingboro 6-5 in a game shortened to five innings by darkness. Mike Gulli knocked in two runs for Willingboro with a sacrifice fly and an RBI single. Vinny James knocked in a run for the Mets with an RBI double and scored the eventual winning run when he came home following a throwing error. John Harvey pitched the first four innings to pick up the win. Sean McNeil pitched the fifth inning for Burlington. Craig Ricks, pitching in relief of starter Mike Juckett, took the loss for Willingboro. Click here to see the photo gallery. 

Mark Fletcher

Tri-County Sports Online  www.tricountysportsonline.com

RVL NOTEBOOK

Bruce Johnson, Burlington County Times, www.phillyburbs.com

The Rancocas Valley Baseball League kicks off its 67th summer of men’s semipro baseball Monday night — weather permitting — when Delran visits Harry Thompson Field to take on defending champion Vincentown in a rematch of the 2012 playoff finals.

This is also the start of the 116th consecutive summer of baseball in the county, starting with the Burlington County League, which existed from 1898 to 1952.

There are always roster changes in this type of league, and that’s again the case in the RVL this year. Taking over for the retired Rocky Petrone at Delran will be a combination of veteran pitchers Eric Gertie and Jason Ronca.

Two other changes will see former coach John Veterano trade jobs with former manager Gerry Lamola at Pine Barrens, and Mike Hynes and Matt Mann are now in charge of Riverside, in place of Gabe Mastrangelo Sr.

The nine-team league will again play a 32-game regular season, with each team facing the others four times, twice at home and twice on the road.

Following the regular season in early August will be the playoffs to decide the 2013 RVL champion. The eighth- and ninth-place teams will play a play-in game, with the survivor meeting the regular-season champs in a best-of-3 quarterfinal series. The other quarterfinal pairings are second place vs. seventh place, third vs. sixth, and fourth vs. fifth.

The Burlington Mets were regular-season champions in 2012. But they were upset in the semifinals by the Vincentown Merchants, who then swept Delran for their 13th RVL playoff championship.

Here are the 2013 opening-day rosters (in order of 2012 finish):

Burlington Mets

Manager: Keith Babula

Home: Life Center Academy, Burlington

Roster: Keith Babula, Shaun Babula, Vince Corbi, Brandon Elliott, Matt Fischer, Dan Graham, Paul Guerrieri, Kevin Gunter, John Harvey, Vinny James, Lucas Jones, Dave Jost, Mike Kerns, Josh Limon, Mark McCouch, Sean McNeil, Garrett Mull, Anthony Perez, Pedro Perez, Jon Reiner, Kyle Semmel, Carl Taylor, Dan Torres, Jeff Vitale.

Comments: Last year’s regular-season champs (27-3-2) return pitchers Shaun Babula, Harvey, Taylor, Pedro Perez and McNeil, and added Gunter and McCouch. Infielder Dave Jost returns after a year’s absence. Guerrieri hit .487 with 20 RBIs.

Cinnaminson Reds

Manager: Brett Miller

Home: Memorial Field, Cinnaminson

Roster: Cameron Bahr, Craig Carroll, Casey Donahue, Martin Evans, Vince Gares, Geoff Gilbert, Greg Gilbert, Jim Goodwin, Pat Graham, Matty Janulis, Chris McManus, John Meadus, Nick Melchiorre, Brett Miller, Dennis O’Hanlon, Bob Osborne, Mike Osborne, Greg Santora, Frank Sirolli, Joe Sirolli, Ryan Varga, Mike Wasco, Tim Wasco.

Comments: This was an offseason of major changes for Cinnaminson, although the club’s brotherly base — the Osbornes, Gilberts, Sirollis and Wascos — will keep them near the top. Goodwin topped the staff in 2012 with seven wins.

Delran

Manager: Eric Gertie, Jason Ronca

Home: Notre Dame Field, Delran

Roster: Mark Anderson, Kyle Ballay, Mike DeLellis, Mike Forgash, Dan George, Eric Gertie, John Iacovelli, Bobby Isopi, Dave Kittle, TJ Maiorino, Chris Maull, Justin McFadden, Ryan McFadden, Kevin McMenamin, Sean McChesney, Kevin Milley, Max Newill, Rocky Petrone, Jason Ronca, Adam Tussey, Matt Ulmer, Mark Wickersham, Rex Workman.

Comments: Always a team to be feared, with solid veteran pitchers like Ronca, Gertie, Newill, Maull, Wickersham and DeLellis. And CF Ryan McFadden can track ‘em down with the best.

Vincentown Merchants

Manager: Harry Thompson

Home: Thompson Field, Vincentown

Roster: Joe Argow, Zeke Boren, Jack Bujanowski, John Bujanowski, Kevin Carty, Todd Davison, Mike Ferrara, Troy Foster, Andrew Gager, Adam Goldstein, Dan Hayduk, Stefan Kancylarz, Ed Moore, Greg Miller, Jesse Pappler, Sam Pepper, Vern Powell, Bryce Sonberg, Ian Thomas, Billy Thompson, Harry Thompson, Damon Valloreo, Danny Williams, Ryan Williams.

Comments: There hasn’t been a repeat playoff champion since Delran in 2007-08. But the Merchants have a history of making their championships back-to-back — 1953-54, 1967-69, 1972-73, 1997-2000. Pepper is coming off a summer when he hit .416 with 13 extra-base hits.

Mount Laurel

Manager: Dean Johnson

Home: Babe Ruth Field, Delanco

Roster: Brandon Barnes, Brian Black, John Burns, Mike Cooper, Ryan Derry, Kevin Diamond, Mike DiCiurcio, Justin Ely, Ben Fadool, Shane Fox, Connor Hall, Dean Johnson, Jeff McGarry, Paul Meagher, Austin Papp, Cole Pewor, Andrew Schaefer, Trevor Sotelle, Matt Szukics, Mike Tobia.

Comments: If you were looking for a sleeper to break up the RVL’s “Big Four,” Mount Laurel has basically the same team as last summer, plus they added p-1b Ely. Kevin (Meat) Diamond slugged .452 last summer, while Barnes was at .427 and Tobia .379.

Willingboro Baseball Club

Manager: Mike Stumpf

Home: Kennedy Rec Field, Willingboro

Roster: Tyler Bayley, Nick Berarducci, Justin Binder, Frank Caruso, Anthony DiVincenzo, Kevin Faber, Mike Gulli, Devon Hedgepeth, Dan Hill, Mike Juckett, Eddie Kaminski, Cameron Lung, Jose Martinez, Matt Moceri, Craig Ricks, Jamie Schwantes, Dan Sieracki, Rich Stronski, Mark Stumpf, Mike Stumpf, Paul Tessein, Jared Turner, John Walls, Jon Wetzel.

Comments: The WBC had some significant offseason losses, but also added some good players. As always, they will be in the hunt. Hill, who hit .433 last summer with a 4-3 record and 1.24 ERA pitching, has become a bonafide two-way threat.

Pine Barrens

Manager: John Veterano

Home: Bowker Field, Tabernacle

Roster: Rob Antoniewicz, Connor Arsenault, Greg Brooks, Matt Baer, Josh Brown, Frank Canuso, Chris Dellemonache, Ryan Derry, Shaun Flynn, Bob Henderson, Nick Henderson, Brian Henry, Dylan Johannink, Mike Kondrath, Ron Krankowski, Mike Lamola, Dan Lawrence, Rob McCabe, Rich Powelson, Eric Sellito, JT Triantos, Tyler Veterano, Doug Veterano.

Comments: The Phantoms are another team that could break through this summer. Krankowski (4-4, .387) and Powelson (.342) had solid 2012 campaigns.

Riverside

Manager: Mike Hynes, Matt Mann

Home: Kenney Field, Riverside

Roster: Bryan Bessinger, Jeff Briggs, Jim Capparelli, Frank Cerami, Kodi Doyle, Buey Garafalo, Joe Gutowski, Mike Hynes, Kevin Joo, Tim Kemmerle, Brett Knazek, Joe Knazek, Matt Leith, Kevin Lovitt, Matt Mann, TJ Mann, Gabe Mastrangelo, Jonnie McGugan, Eric Oliver, Jacob Reeder, Jason Sabol, Josh Sabol, Jake Still, Tyler Wolf.

Comments: In its fourth year, Riverside keeps getting better and better. Most of last year’s team returns, led by Oliver (.481) and TJ Mann (.405).

The team will hold a fundraiser June 1 at Throwbacks Bar and Grill on Route 130 in Delran. Cost is $12 for all the wings (soda included) you can handle between 4 and 6 p.m.

Burlington Township Pirates

Manager: Ed Eifert

Home: Viereck Field, Burlington Township

Roster: Al Antuzzi, Dan Callahan, Steve Colangelo, Phil Dunbar, Brian Eifert, Ed Eifert, Eddie Eifert, Wayne Feret, Eddie Hoffman, Matt Klish, Charles Lavin, Chris Liberatore, TJ Lovenduski, Mike Lynch, Eric McGillivray, Ryan Murtaugh, Joe Parzyck, Dom Perillo, Tom Taggart, Andrew Velzy, Zach Wallace, Mike Zier.

Comments: The first-year Pirates were scrappy all last summer and look to improve during their second season. Feret proved to be a solid center fielder and hit .397, with just three strikeouts in 78 at-bats.

The Burlington Mets had the tying run at third base but fell to Lehigh Valley 3-2 and were eliminated from the Tom Kerrigan Memorial Baseball Tournament.

Pedro Perez, starting his senior year at Burlington City High School this week, doubled a run home for the Mets in the bottom of the seventh. The two-bagger scored Mike Delellis, who’d doubled to start the inning.

Perez took third when Jon Wetzel grounded out. After a flyout, Frank Sirolli hit a grounder up the middle but the Lehigh Valley second baseman made a sliding stop and was able to throw Sirolli out to end it.

Lehigh Valley went on to finish third in the 32-team event held in and around York, Pa. Burlington, representing the Rancocas Valley League, had a 2-2 record in the tournament.

John Harvey pitched the first five innings for the Mets and struck out five. Ron Krankowski worked two scoreless innings and struck out two.

Burlington County Times, www.phillyburbs.com

The Burlington Mets, regular-season champions of the Rancocas Valley League, went 2-1 on Saturday as they started play in the 48th annual Tom Kerrigan Memorial Baseball Tournament.

The Mets defeated Conrads, champs of the Susquehanna League, 6-2 in their opener. After an 8-3 win over the Norristown Diamonds, they took a 12-0 drubbing at the hands of the Long Island Storm.

Burlington Mets 6,Conrads 2: Lefty Shaun Babula pitched a complete game six-hitter and struck out five in the 9 a.m. opener. Brian Black caught a fly ball in deep right field and threw out a runner at the plate in the seventh inning.

Burlington scored all its runs in the first inning. Frank Sirolli had an RBI double, Eric Schlitter an RBI single, Jon Wetzel a two-run single and sacrifice flys by Brian Black and Pedro Perez added the last two runs.

Mets 8, Norristown 3: Andy Eggleston pitched a complete game, allowing one earned run, and Sirolli and Schlitter each was 3-for-4 with two runs scored.

Babula doubled, stole third and scored on Schlitter’s first hit. Matt Fischer and Wetzel added RBI singles and Mark Stumpf had a two-run double.

L.I. Storm 12, Mets 0: Max Newill took the loss, but he was touched for three grand-slam home runs, two in the third inning and one in the sixth inning. Nick Clark hit two of the slams.

Playing first base for the Storm was Danny Almonte (0-for-3), who gained fame several years ago when he played in the Little League World Series as a 14-year-old.

Babula was 2-for-2, while Black had a double.

Perez (shortstop) and Stumpf (second base) have played well defensively for the Mets, who return to action Sunday morning at 9 a.m. against Lehigh Valley, an 8-1 winner over Reading. John Harvey is expected to start for the Mets. With a win the Mets would advance to a 3 p.m. game with Carl Taylor and Ron Krankowski ready for mound action.

Burlington County Times, www.phillyburbs.com

RVL NOTEBOOK

Haven’t had your fill of summer baseball yet? Neither have some members of the Rancocas Valley League.

The RVL’s regular-season champion Burlington Mets will field a 27-man roster — 25 RVLers and two outsiders — when they open play Saturday morning at 9 in the 48th Tom Kerrigan Memorial Baseball Tournament in York County, Pa.

The Mets, 27-3-2 during the regular season, will face Conrads at East Prospect Ball Field in Wrightsville to kick off the tournament, which uses 10 fields in Susquehanna and York counties.

Conrads won the regular-season title in the Susquehanna League with a 28-8 mark, but fell in the opening round of their

 league tournament. The Mets won their first round of RVL playoffs from Riverside, then lost to eventual champion Vincentown.

The teams met last year in the losers’ bracket, with Burlington winning 5-1. The Mets had a 3-2 record at last year’s tournament.

Beginning Saturday, games are at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m., through Monday. When you’ve lost twice, you go home.

Delran won the York Tournament in 2003.

Here is the Mets’ tournament roster:

Shaun Babula (Burlington) p-of, Brandon Barnes (Mount Laurel) of, Brian Black (Mount Laurel) of-p, Mike Delellis (Delran) c, Andy Eggleston (Keystone) p, Brandon Elliott (Burlington) p, Paul Guerrieri (Burlington) 1b;

John Harvey (Burlington) p, Vinny James (Burlington) c, Ronnie Krankowski (Pine Barrens) p, Brett Miller (Cinnaminson) p, Max Newill (Delran) p, Pedro Perez (Burlington) ss-p;

Eric Schlitter (Bridgeport) 3b, Jamie Schwantes (Willingboro) 1b, Frank Sirolli (Cinnaminson) of, Mark Stumpf (Willingboro) 2b, Carl Taylor (Burlington) p, Jeff Vitale (Burlington) 3b, Jon Wetzel (Willingboro) of.

Book signing

Baseball fans in Burlington County, Mercer County, South Jersey and Bucks County (Pa.) will have an opportunity to get a copy of “Covered Wooden Grandstands” during a book signing at the Oneida Boat Club in Burlington City on Sept. 5, 7-9 p.m.

The book is a look at some of the players, managers, teams and fields that are part of ball in the Garden State, Pennsylvania and other states over the past 120 years. Editor Bruce Johnson will be there, along with local writers Joe Mason and Dave Zangaro, and possibly Phil Anastasia and MaryJane Offord, wife of the late Jeff Offord.



Burlington County Times, Posted: Phillyburbs.com: Monday, August 27, 2012